Sr. Director of Learning & Leadership Development

Overview

Shaping the Future of Dentistry Together - Dental Care Alliance’s mission is to advance the practice of dentistry by partnering with and supporting dental professionals to create a lifetime of healthy smiles . Headquartered in Sarasota, Florida, DCA currently supports over 400 allied practices and supports over 900 dentists across 2 4 states. DCA’s allied practices represent all dental specialties and treat patients under more than 150 brand names.

The Sr Director of Learning Design & Development is responsible for defining and executing a strategic vision for impactful learning and development initiatives. This role plays a central part in positioning Dental Care Alliance as a leader in talent development by ; designing, developing, and implementing high-quality, innovative learning solutions that align with our clinical and strategic vision . Leveraging best practices, data-driven insights, and emerging learning technologies, the role will drive programs that enhance business performance, foster a culture of continuous learning, and elevate clinical and non clinical leadership engagement , retention, and satisfaction. This position ensures that all learning content is optimized to meet current and future organizational needs, supporting DCA’s commitment to professional growth and a world-class employee experience across our global workforce.

Summary/Objectives

• The Sr Director of Learning Design & Development is responsible for defining and executing a strategic vision for impactful learning and development initiatives
  
  

• Leveraging world class best practices, data-driven insights, and emerging learning technologies, the role will drive programs that enhance business performance, foster a culture of continuous learning, and elevate teammate engagement and satisfaction
  
  

• This position ensures that all learning content is optimized to meet current and future organizational needs, supporting DCA’s commitment to professional growth and a world-class employee experience across our national network of nearly 400 multi-specialty dental practices.
  
  

• Leverage proven practices from research-based design methodology and adult learning theory to pilot and test new learning approaches, creating scalable prototypes that significantly enhance engagement, knowledge retention, and performance outcomes
  
  

• Identify , evaluate, and lead the implementation of emerging learning technologies, including AI, immersive experiences, adaptive learning systems, and mobile learning tools, to create personalized, impactful, and flexible learning experiences
  
  

• Develop and maintain comprehensive project documentation, including detailed project plans, task lists, timelines, and progress reports, to ensure transparency, accountability, and efficient project tracking across the lifecycle
  
  

• Define critical project paths, set clear milestones, and establish delivery dates, ensuring that stakeholder deliverables meet the need
  
  

• Cultivate and manage a network of external development vendors, ensuring access to high-quality learning resources that scale with the organization’s changing needs
  
  

• Drive the philosophy, strategy, and execution of the TD’s content optimization approach
  
  

• Recruit, mentor, and retain a cohesive team of learning professionals, fostering an environment that promotes collaboration, innovation, and high performance
  
  

• Establish and communicate clear expectations and quality standards for instructional design and content across all programs and conduct regular performance reviews and feedback sessions to ensure both individual and team success
  
  

• Develop and implement resource management strategies to optimize team capacity , utilization , and productivity, ensuring efficient and effective deployment of skills and talents across projects, balancing workload to maximize output while supporting employee well-being
  
  

• Facilitate continuous professional development in instructional design, offering team members access to stretch assignments, training in best practices, emerging tools, and other development opportunities
  
  

• Establish evaluation methods to assess the impact and effectiveness of training programs and utilize feedback and data to make evidence-based improvements that enhance learning impact
  
  

• Maintain strong, collaborative relationships with internal stakeholders to stay attuned to evolving business needs
  
  

• Set project priorities based on business needs, resource availability, and potential impact, ensuring efficient allocation of resources to deliver high-quality, timely learning programs
  
  

• Track and analyze budget performance, ensuring efficient use of resources and identify opportunities for cost savings that maintain or enhance program quality
  
  

• Work closely with the HR Business Partner team to review stakeholder feedback, uncover performance gaps, and identify future learning and development needs
  

Responsibilities

Principle Duties and Responsibilities (Essential Functions*) :

• Leverage proven practices from research-based design methodology and adult learning theory to pilot and test new learning approaches, creating scalable prototypes that significantly enhance engagement, knowledge retention, and performance outcomes.
  
  

• Identify , evaluate, and lead the implementation of emerging learning technologies, including AI, immersive experiences, adaptive learning systems, and mobile learning tools, to create personalized, impactful, and flexible learning experiences.
  
  

• Develop and maintain comprehensive project documentation, including detailed project plans, task lists, timelines, and progress reports, to ensure transparency, accountability, and efficient project tracking across the lifecycle.
  
  

• Define critical project paths, set clear milestones, and establish delivery dates, ensuring that stakeholder deliverables meet the need.
  
  

• Cultivate and manage a network of external development vendors, ensuring access to high-quality learning resources that scale with the organization’s changing needs.
  
  

• Recruit, mentor, and retain a cohesive team of learning professionals, fostering an environment that promotes collaboration, innovation, and high performance.
  
  

• Establish and communicate clear expectations and quality standards for instructional design and content across all programs and conduct regular performance reviews and feedback sessions to ensure both individual and team success.
  
  

• Develop and implement resource management strategies to optimize team capacity , utilization , and productivity, ensuring efficient and effective deployment of skills and talents across projects, balancing workload to maximize output while supporting employee well-being.
  

Work Environment

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to walk, stand, sit and reach with arms and hands.

The role operates within a professional environment and routinely uses standard office equipment .

Competencies

• Technical Acumen – Able to serve as technical leader, and subject matter expert for L&D technology and delivery systems
  
  

• Communication Proficiency - Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general hygiene data
  
  

• Strategic Thinking - Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
  
  

• Performance Management – Ability to develop processes that ensure goals and objectives are consistently being met in an efficient and effective method .
  
  

• Leadership - Developing people to meet their career goals and the organization’s goals . Places a high priority on developing others. Encourages people to accept developmental moves.
  
  

• Decision Making - Making good and timely decisions that keep the organization moving forward. Makes sound decisions, even in the absence of complete information. Considers all relevant factors and uses appropriate decision-making criteria and principles.
• Strategic Mindset - Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies. Anticipate future trends and implications accurately. Creates competitive strategies that show a clear connection between vision and action.
  

Qualifications

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent applicable experience required that is equivalent to a 4 year or advanced degree, typically obtained in a professional or military environment
  
  

• 7 + Years of experience in learning and leadership development
  
  

• Significant experience scaling and implementing L&D programming, preferably in a multi-site distributed workforce model
  

Preferred

Preferred Certifications (one or more strongly preferred)

• CPTM (Certified Professional Training Management)
  
  

• APTD (Associate Professional in Talent Development)
  
  

• CPTD (Certified Professional in Talent Development)
  
  

• Hogan Assessment Certification
  
  

• Gallup Strengths
  
  

• DDI
  
  

• Exec Coaching Certification
  

At DCA we don’t just accept differences — we celebrate them and recognize the value this brings to our patients and employees. DCA is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. Equal opportunity and consideration are afforded to all qualified applicants and employees. We won’t unlawfully discriminate on the basis of gender identity or expression, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, physical or mental disability, Veteran status, sexual orientation, and any other category protected by law.

The DCA team is best characterized by the relationships we have with our patients and each other. We embrace collaboration which is necessary to innovate in today’s changing world of dentistry. Our culture encourages participation, diversity of thought, innovation, and strong execution.

Shaping the future of dentistry together.