Development Director Jobs in Houston, TX

INTRODUCTION

The Director of Talent Development and Learning Experiences provides strategic leadership for the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of university-wide employee, manager, and leadership development programs and initiatives. In partnership with the Assistant Vice President of Talent Experience and senior leaders across the university, this role translates organizational priorities into scalable learning experiences and development solutions that strengthen employee engagement, leadership capability, performance, and organizational effectiveness. The Director leads a team of talent professionals and oversees key areas including leadership development, manager development, coaching, career growth programs, learning systems, and professional development initiatives, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and measurable impact.

Essential Functions

Strategic Learning and Talent Development

• Leads a team of Leadership, Learning, and Development professionals and establishes departmental goals, budget priorities, and performance expectations for the function.
• Develops and implements a University-wide talent development and learning strategy aligned with organizational priorities and workforce needs.
• Serves as a strategic advisor to leadership on talent development, workforce capability building, and learning priorities.
• Partners with leaders across the organization to identify development priorities and align learning solutions with current and future workforce needs.
• Translates business needs and operational insights into scalable development approaches that strengthen employee growth and organizational effectiveness.

Learning and Development Programs

• Leads the design, implementation, and evaluation of University-wide learning and development programs and initiatives that support employee growth, employee engagement, leadership capability, and organizational effectiveness.
• Supports and contributes to learning and change enablement efforts for system and process transformations by partnering with stakeholders to develop role-based training, support adoption, and reinforce new ways of working.
• Develops customized leadership development programs, workshops, retreats, and other learning solutions aligned with strategic goals and institutional priorities.
• Ensures programs reflect sound learning practices and support ongoing growth and development.

Coaching, Career Development, and Succession Readiness

• Establishes and oversees coaching frameworks and development programs that support employee performance and growth.
• Supports career development efforts that help employees build skills and prepare for future opportunities.
• Contributes to the development of succession readiness efforts by partnering with leaders to identify critical talent needs, support readiness discussions, and align employee development strategies with future organizational needs.
• Promotes development practices that strengthen feedback, growth conversations, and people leadership effectiveness.

Learning Culture and Stakeholder Partnership

• Champions a culture of continuous learning, development, and growth across the university.
• Embeds learning into daily work practices through coaching, knowledge sharing, and experiential learning opportunities.
• Builds strong relationships with leaders, academic units, administrative departments, and HR partners to align development efforts with university priorities.
• Influences and engages stakeholders in advancing talent development initiatives that strengthen culture, employee engagement, and organizational values.

Learning Systems, Evaluation, and Continuous Improvement

• Oversees learning resources, curriculum, development platforms, and support tools that improve access to learning, reinforce adoption, and support ongoing compliance and development needs.
• Establishes metrics and evaluation methods to measure program effectiveness, participant outcomes, and overall impact.
• Analyzes data, participant feedback, and business outcomes to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

• Communicates results, trends, and recommendations to leadership and ensures learning initiatives remain responsive to evolving organizational needs.

• Responsible for the design, execution and effectiveness of a system of internal controls which provides reasonable assurance that operations are effective and efficient, assets are safeguarded; financial information is reliable and compliant with applicable laws, regulations, policies and procedures.

• Manages Human Resources activities for direct reports in regards to: recruiting and selection; hiring and termination, training, development, mentoring, counseling, performance evaluations, and salary planning.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Certifications / Skills:

• Expertise in leadership development, adult learning, coaching, talent management, and organizational development.
• Strong strategic thinking, business acumen, and consulting skills.
• Ability to influence and build credibility with leaders at all levels.
• Experience developing and implementing scalable learning and development solutions.
• Knowledge of succession planning, career development, and leadership competency frameworks.
• Experience with learning technologies, learning management systems, and development platforms.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to measure outcomes and evaluate effectiveness.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and lead complex initiatives in a dynamic environment.

Minimum Education:

• Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Business Administration, Education, Leadership, or a related field required
• Master's Degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Business Administration, Education, Leadership, or a related field preferred

Minimum Experience

• 7 years of progressive experience in talent development, learning and development, organizational development, leadership development, or a related field required
• 4 years should include leadership experience with responsibility for leading teams, programs, and major initiatives required
• Demonstrated success designing and implementing leadership and professional development programs required
• Experience partnering with senior leaders and influencing organizational strategy through talent development initiatives required
• Experience in healthcare, higher education, academic medicine, or similarly complex organizations preferred