Senior Manager, Learning & Organizational Effectiveness

Woodard & Curran is a national engineering, science and operations firm with a simple vision for clean water, a safe environment, healthy communities and happy people. As an employee-owned company, we strive to cultivate teams that encourage collaboration in an inclusive culture. We seek talented individuals from all backgrounds to help us address a broad range of water and environmental issues. We prioritize our people, offering opportunities for professional growth, ownership and flexibility. This commitment enables us to make a meaningful impact on our clients, communities and the planet.

Woodard & Curran is offering an exciting opportunity to join our People & Culture team and play a pivotal role in shaping leadership capability, organizational effectiveness, and workforce readiness across the firm.

The successful candidate will be a strategic, people‑centered professional with the ability to design, implement, and evaluate enterprise learning and organizational effectiveness initiatives. Reporting to the Chief People Officer, you will own the strategy, design, and impact of learning, development, and OE programs that strengthen leadership practices, enhance team effectiveness, and support a high‑performance, people‑first culture. You will partner closely with Talent Partners and business leaders, equipping them with the tools, frameworks, and development experiences needed to lead well and grow their teams.

You will have the opportunity to shape firmwide systems and practices that build trust, accountability, stewardship, and growth. This role offers the ability to influence how leaders show up, how teams operate, and how our people prepare for the future. Woodard & Curran fosters a collaborative, employee‑owned environment where you will work across the organization to deliver scalable, consistent, and high‑impact solutions.

Who are we looking for:

We are seeking a leader who can design and deliver enterprise frameworks, programs, and interventions that Talent Partners can leverage across the firm. You will collaborate with partners at all levels—junior through senior leadership—to ensure our learning and OE strategies are aligned, effective, and grounded in human‑centric development. The ideal candidate brings deep experience in organizational effectiveness, leadership development, and modern learning practices, with a strong ability to translate strategy into practical, scalable solutions.

You will serve as a thought partner to Talent Partners and business leaders, helping them navigate organizational challenges, strengthen leadership capability, and enhance team performance. This role requires someone who can balance strategic vision with hands‑on design and delivery, ensuring our people systems and development experiences support a thriving, future‑ready workforce.

This role directly supports Woodard & Curran’s People Strategy, particularly:

• Culture & Empowerment – Equipping leaders and teams to operate with clarity, trust accountability and shared ownership.
• Growth, Learning & Careers – Building clear, practical development pathways that support performance and long term careers .
• Future‑Ready Organization, Technology & Succession – Developing capabilities, leadership agility and scalable systems to support growth and continuity.

Location: Remote or Hybrid. No preferred location other than in the continental US.

Travel: Yes, 20% based on learning programming, primarily in core offices across the U.S.

Success will be measured by how effectively learning and OE practices are embedded into daily operations, resulting in:

• More effective and accountable leaders and managers
• Clear, practical career pathways and development frameworks that are actively used
• Stronger succession pipelines readiness and bench strength
• Learning initiatives that drive measurable behavior change and performance
• Clear linkage between people investments and business outcomes
• Consistently positive feedback from leaders, HR Partners, and employees

Learning Strategy & Capability Building

• Own and execute an enterprise learning and development strategy aligned with business priorities and the firm’s future capability needs.
• Design leadership and manager development experiences aligned to People Leader expectations, values, and employee‑ownership mindset.
• Develop scalable learning solutions that blend experiential, digital and on‑the‑job learning.
• Partner with Talent Partners to ensure learning solutions address real business needs.
• Translate identified skill and capability gaps into practical, embedded learning solutions.
• Continuously evaluate and refine learning effectiveness based on feedback, outcomes, and business needs.
• Work closely with HR Technology and Optimization leader to leverage technology for learning delivery and employee experience.

Organization Effectiveness & Change Enablement

• Advise leaders on organization effectiveness, team health, and change leadership.
• In partnership with Talent Partners, diagnose organizational and team challenges using data, talent insights, leader input.
• Support change initiatives tied to strategy, growth, and operating model evolution.
• Design and facilitate targeted interventions that improve trust, alignment, and execution.
• Enable leaders with practical tools and frameworks to improve team effectiveness

Learning Strategy, Career Pathways & Skill Development

• Partner with the Chief People Officer and Talent Partners to define and evolve enterprise career pathways, ensuring clarity, consistency, and relevance.
• Build clear, consistent development frameworks across technical, professional, and leadership roles.
• Ensure career pathways and skill expectations are actionable, relevant and widely adopted.
• Embed development into day‑to‑day work and performance conversations.

Succession & Talent Readiness

• Partner closely with the CPO, Talent Partners, and HR Business Partners to support enterprise and business‑unit succession planning efforts.
• Help define role‑critical capabilities, and leadership readiness criteria.
• Design development strategies for high‑potential and critical‑role talent
• Use talent review insights to inform learning and OE priorities.

Measurement, Tools & Continuous Improvement

• Establish and define success metrics tied to engagement, performance, and readiness.
• Leverage data, assessments, and learning technologies to measure impact.
• Continuously improve programs using insights and  external best practices

Leadership & Influence

• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, Talent Partners and CPO.
• Influence without authority in a matrixed, collaborative organization.
• Model company values and an employee‑ownership mindset in all interactions.
• Helps leaders prioritize effectively, challenge assumptions and move to action.

What you will need to succeed:

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree in Organization Development, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Learning & Development, or related field preferred.
• 8–12+ years of progressive experience in learning, organization effectiveness, organization development, or consulting.
• Demonstrated experience designing and delivering leadership development, change initiatives, and OE interventions.
• Skilled facilitator with leadership teams and senior leaders.
• Experience in professional services, consulting, engineering, or similarly complex, project‑based environments strongly preferred.
• Strong systems thinking, data‑informed decision‑making, and practical problem‑solving capability.
• High credibility, strong communication skills, and comfort working with leaders across levels.

$120,000 - $165,000 a year

This role has the option for remote work, and the anticipated pay range is flexible, depending on factors such as the employee’s primary work location, skills, experience, and education. The following examples illustrate how the pay range for the same role can vary based on different locations.

Group A (MT, ME, FL) = $120,000 - $125,000

Group B (PA, MA, MO, GA, RI) = $130,000 - $140,000

Group C (CT, CO, NJ, Andover/Canton MA, CA, NY) = $145,000 - $165,000

This position’s anticipated pay range is provided; the final exempt salary or non-exempt hourly pay will depend on experience level and consider a percentage-based geographic differential based on where the final candidate will be working. Geographic differentials recognize and reflect the cost of labor differences between geographic markets.

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Mutual Dispute Resolution (MDR)

As part of our commitment to a fair and respectful workplace, Woodard & Curran uses a Mutual Dispute Resolution (MDR) to help resolve most employment-related concerns efficiently and consistently.

What this means:

• MDR applies to both you and the Company
• Most workplace-related disputes are resolved through binding arbitration, rather than court proceedings
• Certain exceptions are outlined in the full agreement

AS PART OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS, YOU’LL BE REQUIRED TO REVIEW AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE MDR.

🔗 Review the full agreement here: Mutual Dispute Resolution Agreement

Employee Support & Benefits

Retirement Savings:

• 401(k) Pre-tax or Roth Contributions: The company matches 100% of the first 3% of salary contributed

Time away from work:

• Observed holidays: Choose up to 8 holidays to observe annually
• Vacation: Accrued based on years of experience and calculated on hours worked
• Sick time: Paid sick time for non-work-related illness or injury.
• Parental leave: Up to 80 hours of Paid Parental Leave for child bonding

Coverage and support for your needs and well-being:

• Disability: Paid short- and long-term disability
• Health: Medical plan options; plus dental and vision plans.
• Life: Basic employee group life insurance and AD&D benefits; additional voluntary life insurance for employees and families is available through Sun Life.
• Wellbeing: DarioMind assistance program combined with personalized mental health and wellbeing resources.

Workplace Information

E-Verify Participation

Woodard & Curran participates in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify program to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. As part of this process, we display the required Notice of E-Verify Participation and Right to Work posters.

🔗 View required Right to Work and E-Verify posters here.

Equal Employment Opportunity & Accessibility

Woodard & Curran is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to non-discrimination and make employment decisions based on job-related factors. Individuals with disabilities and protected veterans are encouraged to apply. If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please contact Beth Sweitzer.

🔗 View our Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

🔗 View the “Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster

Inclusion & Belonging

We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and believe diverse perspectives strengthen our ability to serve clients and communities.

As an employee-owned company, we are committed to fostering a respectful and inclusive environment where employees can grow, contribute fully, and deliver meaningful impact.

Recruitment Agency Policy

We do not accept unsolicited resumes from recruitment agencies. Submissions without a signed agreement in place will be considered unsolicited and not eligible for referral fees.

Text Message Communication Notice:

To support an efficient hiring process, we may send brief SMS updates or reminders. You may opt out at any time by replying “STOP.”

Terms, Privacy & Use of AI in Hiring

🔗 Woodard & Curran Terms of Use

🔗 Woodard & Curran Privacy Statement

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support aspects of the hiring process (e.g., application review or resume screening). These tools assist our team but do not replace human decision-making. All final hiring decisions are made by people.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.