Senior Instructional Designer

Senior Instructional Designer

Populus is an amazing company where our employees stay because they love their teams and the growth opportunities. Additionally, we offer a competitive 401K match, a generous paid time off package, and Health Benefits.

Our mission is to provide a broad range of quality financial products and services delivered with best-in-class customer service. We work and lead with integrity, and we celebrate employees who exemplify our values. Come join our team!

Job Summary The Senior Instructional Designer (SID) leads training content development for the ACE/Populus organization. This role is responsible for facilitating learning consulting sessions and producing instructional materials for both Field and Corporate employees. The SID will proactively identify opportunities to create new training programs and enhance existing ones. This position will ensure the instructional integrity of training deliverables through measurable outcomes and continuous improvement. This role oversees design and development of instructional design methodologies, principals and processes based on existing models (ADDIE, Gagne's Nine events and Bloom's Taxonomy) customized to fit ACE/Populus's unique culture. The SID is responsible for the implementation, curation, tracking, and reporting of learning deliverables through the Learning Management System (LMS).

Major Responsibilities

• Manage the Instructional Design technology, tools, and resources.
• Partner with the Director of Training to design and maintain impactful learning solutions for both operational and corporate initiatives.
• Conduct learning needs assessments to define objectives, identify knowledge gaps, and tailor content to learner profiles.
• Apply instructional systems design (ISD) principles and adult learning theory to develop engaging, scalable training solutions.
• Manage the end-to-end instructional design process with attention to detail, urgency, and quality.
• Develop creative training modules, games, job aids, facilitator guides, and elearning content.
• Design and maintain certification paths and sales programs.
• Ensure smooth transition from content design to program delivery.
• Ensure the quality of training content by managing defined quality control processes and infrastructure.
• Align training content with company SOPs.
• Drive successful project execution by managing milestones and assigning clear team responsibilities to ensure accountability.
• Collaborate with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and stakeholders to identify needs and translate them into performance-based learning solutions.
• Partner with leadership and internal clients to refine learning content and align with strategic goals.
• Demonstrate confidence in assessing customer needs and recommending tailored solutions.

Key Competencies

• Instructional Systems Design expertise
• Data-driven evaluation and learning effectiveness measurement (Kirkpatrick Model preferred)
• Stakeholder management and influence without authority
• Agile/Iterative content development experience
• Strong organization and project management skills

Interactions

• Direct Report Title, N/A
• Indirect Report Title, N/A

Other Internal/External Interactions

• Employees/Corporate & Field
• Outside Vendors

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the major responsibilities. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand or walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; stoop or bend; and talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 lbs. Must have appropriate vision to see up close, and at a distance with ability to adjust vision and focus.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

This is a full-time position, days and hours of work are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT. This position might require after hours and weekend work.

Travel

N/A

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in some work environments can be moderate.

Disclaimer

The above information on this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.

EEO Statement

Populus Financial Group is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. In compliance with applicable law, Populus Financial Group does not discriminate against any applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender or transsexual individual), national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, past, current, or prospective service in the uniformed services, genetic information, pregnancy status, or any other protected classification. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, training, promotions, discipline, compensation, benefits, and termination of employment.

Qualifications

Preferred Bachelor's Degree or better.

Required 5 years: Instructional Design experience, required. Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere, and Photoshop), Articulate 360/Storyline, required.

Preferred Experience with enterprise LMS platform (Cornerstone) Graphic design experience (work samples upon request), preferred. Experience in the retail industry/financial institution with field team, preferred. Strong project management and problem-solving abilities.

Equal Opportunity Employer This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.