Learning & Development Program Manager

Learning & Development Program Manager

Location: Downtown Los Angeles, CA

Schedule: Hybrid 3 days a week (4 days a week for the first 90 days)

Compensation: $140,000-$170,000 + bonus

Industry: Legal

Employment Type: Direct Hire

Work Schedule

During the first 90 days, the position will be onsite Monday through Thursday to support onboarding and integration with the team. Following the initial 90-day period, the position will transition to a flexible hybrid schedule requiring approximately three days per week in the office.

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Learning & Development Program Manager to build, develop, and execute internal learning, leadership development, and talent programs across the organization.

This is a newly created, highly visible individual contributor role for someone who enjoys building programs from the ground up . The Program Manager will design scalable learning experiences, leadership development programs, manager training, performance and talent initiatives, and practical resources that strengthen employee capability and organizational effectiveness.

This is not primarily a training coordination or vendor-management position. The ideal candidate has personally designed, developed, launched, facilitated, and evaluated internal learning and talent programs and is comfortable owning initiatives from concept through implementation.

Key Responsibilities

Learning & Leadership Development

• Design and implement leadership development programs for emerging, new, and experienced leaders.
• Build manager training around topics such as coaching, feedback, performance management, employee relations, communication, and leadership effectiveness.
• Develop internal training content, presentations, toolkits, guides, resources, and facilitator materials.
• Facilitate instructor-led workshops, manager training sessions, cohort programs, and other learning experiences.
• Apply adult learning and instructional design principles to create practical and engaging programs.
• Partner with leaders and subject matter experts to identify capability gaps and translate business needs into targeted learning solutions.
• Evaluate program effectiveness through participant feedback, adoption, engagement, and business outcomes.
• Continuously enhance learning programs based on organizational needs and emerging best practices.

Talent & Performance Development

• Support and lead annual performance management processes, including performance reviews, calibrations, and promotions.
• Develop talent assessment and employee development programs.
• Support succession planning and identification of high-potential employees.
• Build frameworks supporting career development, leadership readiness, and internal mobility.
• Analyze employee engagement and talent trends and partner with leadership to develop targeted solutions.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen employee retention and organizational capability.
• Establish meaningful metrics to evaluate talent and development initiatives.

Program Management & HR Partnership

• Manage multiple learning and talent initiatives simultaneously from development through implementation.
• Partner closely with HR leadership, HR Operations, Talent Acquisition, Compensation, Benefits, and business leaders.
• Maintain visibility into broader HR priorities to ensure learning and talent programs align with organizational needs.
• Use workforce, performance, engagement, and talent data to identify trends and recommend solutions.
• Identify opportunities to improve existing talent processes, frameworks, and resources.
• Maintain strong project plans, timelines, communications, and stakeholder alignment.

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Education, Business, Psychology, or a related discipline.
• Approximately 6-10 years of progressive HR, Learning & Development, Talent Development, Organizational Development, or related experience .
• Demonstrated experience building internal L&D programs from the ground up .
• Strong experience developing manager and leadership development programs.
• Experience personally facilitating workshops, training programs, and group learning experiences.
• Strong understanding of adult learning principles and instructional design.
• Experience with performance management and employee development initiatives.
• Exposure to succession planning, talent assessment, high-potential programs, or organizational development initiatives.
• Strong program and project management skills.
• Ability to independently own major initiatives while collaborating effectively across teams.
• Excellent presentation, facilitation, communication, and relationship-building skills.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate talent and employee data into actionable programs.
• Experience with Microsoft Office and HRIS platforms such as Workday.

Preferred

• Experience within a law firm or professional services environment .
• Professional certifications such as ATD/CPTD, SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, or SPHR .
• Experience developing learning programs for sophisticated professional or executive-level audiences.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a builder who enjoys taking an organizational challenge and turning it into a practical development solution.

This person should be equally comfortable meeting with leadership to identify development needs, designing the learning strategy, creating the actual materials, facilitating the program, and measuring whether the initiative delivered results.

The successful candidate will be proactive, polished, collaborative, highly organized, and comfortable operating independently in a visible role with significant ownership.

By submitting to this position, you are agreeing to be included in our talent pool for future hiring for similarly qualified positions.

Equal Opportunity Notice

Highspring LLC (d/b/a Vaco by Highspring) and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries ("we," "our," or "Vaco by Highspring") are committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race (including but not limited to traits historically associated with race such as hair texture and hair style), color, sex (includes pregnancy or related conditions), religion or creed, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, status as a veteran, union membership, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, political affiliation, or any other protected characteristics as required by applicable law. The company is also committed to ensuring that persons who need them are provided with reasonable accommodations; if an accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact View email address on click.appcast.io .

Vaco by Highspring also wants all applicants to know their rights that .

Representation Notice

By submitting to this position, you agree that you will be giving Vaco by Highspring the exclusive right to present your as a candidate for the foregoing employment opportunity. Additionally, you agree to be included in our talent pool for future hiring for similarly qualified positions. You further agree that you have represented information about yourself accurately and have not affirmatively misrepresented your qualifications. Lastly, you agree to maintain as confidential, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any information you learn from Vaco by Highspring about the position and you will limit disclosure of information about the position only to the extent necessary to perform any obligations in furtherance of your application. In exchange, Vaco by Highspring agrees to exercise reasonable efforts to represent you through all solicitation, job screening and resume dispersal.

For residents of Ontario, Canada only: to the extent the position for employment is not with Highspring or not otherwise noted as vacant above, candidate should be informed that this role is to replace a presently employed person at Vaco by Highspring's client.

Privacy Notice

Vaco by Highspring respects your privacy and are committed to providing transparent notice of our policies.

• California residents may access Vaco by Highspring HR Notice at Collection for California Applicants and Employees .


• Virginia residents may access our state specific policies .


• Residents of all other states may access our policies .


• Canadian residents may access our policies in English and in French .


• Residents of countries governed by GDPR and UK GDPR may access our policies .

Additionally, submissions to this position are subject to the use of AI to perform preliminary candidate screenings, focused on ensuring minimum job requirements noted in the position are satisfied. More details about Vaco by Highspring's use of AI can be found here (). Further assessment of candidates beyond this initial phase will be conducted by recruiters and hiring managers. Vaco by Highspring does not know and cannot opine on if its client's use of AI products in hiring.

Pay Transparency Notice

Determining compensation for this role (and others) at Vaco by Highspring depends upon a wide array of factors including but not limited to:

· the individual's skill sets, experience and training;

· licensure and certification requirements;

· office location and other geographic considerations; and

· other business and organizational needs.

With that said, as required by local law, Vaco by Highspring believes that the following salary range referenced above reasonably estimates the base compensation for an individual hired into this position in geographies that require salary range disclosure. The individual may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses and/or participation in medical, dental, and vision benefits as well as the company's retirement plan (or similar retirement benefits).