Lead Instructional Designer

The Lead Instructional Designer is a key contributor responsible for designing and implementing engaging learning experiences that support employee execution and business objectives. Working closely with subject matter experts (SMEs) and stakeholders, the individual will develop curriculum, e-learning, job aids, and other learning solutions while helping establish consistent learning standards and practices across the organization. This role is a senior individual contributor who combines instructional design expertise with hands-on content development to deliver practical, scalable learning solutions.

A key focus of this position is expanding enterprise learning development capabilities by designing and maintaining learning programs and assets that can be efficiently managed and scaled within the organization. This is a highly visible execution-focused role that requires the ability to apply instructional design best practices while developing curriculum, learning content, facilitation materials, and scalable learning solutions that will support employees, field-based contractor networks, clients, and other external stakeholders as driven by organizational priorities. The role also evaluates learning effectiveness, gathers actionable learner and stakeholder feedback, and continuously improves learning solutions to ensure relevance, impact, and alignment with business outcomes.

The Lead Instructional Designer functions as an individual influencer with no direct reports, leading through expertise and execution. Success in this role is defined by the ability to deliver meaningful learning solutions quickly while contributing to Drug Free Sport International’s long-term learning strategy and capability-building efforts.

What You Will Do:

Framework Design

• Apply and continuously improve instructional design methodologies and standards.
• Support the development and standardization of learning frameworks and curriculum across the organization.
• Translate business challenges and performance needs into practical and scalable learning solutions.
• Partner with department leaders to validate demand, prioritize initiatives, and align learning solutions with organizational goals.
• Evaluate current learning framework, programs, and delivery approaches to identify gaps and opportunities for retooling, redeployment, or repurposing.
• Partner with stakeholders to optimize the use of learning technologies and platforms.

Curriculum Development & Content Creation (Hands-On)

• Partner with SMEs across departments to extract expertise and convert it into structured, role-based curriculum.
• Design and support certification, recertification, and competency-based learning pathways for field-based personnel, contractor networks, employees, clients and/or other external stakeholders.
• Design and build end-to-end learning experiences, including interactive e-learning, microlearning modules, videos, playbooks, and other digital platforms.
• Serve as the primary liaison for outsourced learning development projects, providing direction to third-party content developers and contributors and ensuring deliverables meet quality standards, business objectives, project timelines, and budget expectations.
• Design learning experiences that are culturally relevant, accessible to non-native English speakers, and effective across diverse global audiences.
• Develop content and learning approaches aligned to performance outcomes, competencies, and program expectations while helping participants navigate complex and occasionally conflicting client requirements.
• Establish consistent structure, standards, and formats across learning assets to support scalability, reuse, and alignment across divisions and programs.
• Partner with quality and operational leaders to incorporate audit findings, corrective actions, and performance trends into training content and remediation pathways.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of learning programs and courses through learner feedback, performance data, and business outcomes, and continuously enhance content and learning experiences to meet evolving needs.
• Maintain organized development and evaluation records, and prepare course effectiveness reports that capture learner satisfaction, key insights, and opportunities for continuous improvement.

Learning Innovation & Future Readiness

• Remain current on instructional design best practices, adult learning theory, and emerging technologies, including AI-enabled learning.
• Evaluate how evolving technologies, including AI, may reshape training needs, delivery models, and future learning investments.
• Assess the effectiveness of current and new approaches to inform long-term learning strategy decisions.