Sandton: Learning and Development Specialist posted by Dis-Chem Life

Purpose of the Role: At Dis-Chem Life, training is the engine that transforms potential into performance. This is not a coordination or administrative role. It is a position of strategic ownership, accountability, and instructional excellence that ensures our people have the competencies, confidence, and structure they need to deliver exceptional results across our core business units. Your mission: to drive structure, consistency, quality, and governance across all training streams. You will own the LMS end-to-end, manage trainers, and ensure that training consistently produces competent, high-performing team members who meet and exceed business expectations. Role Summary: The Learning and Development Specialist is responsible for owning the LMS, designing and governing the full training curriculum, establish quality standards, drive adoption of learning technology platforms, alignment in training delivery to business priorities, building competency frameworks, and managing trainers to ensure training translates into measurable performance outcomes. To succeed, you must be highly proficient in instructional design, content creation, facilitation, competency framework development, and advanced eLearning technology. You will take full ownership of training outcomes, trainer management, content quality, and performance measurement – ensuring training drives measurable improvements and consistently produces high-performing team members. This role demands a passionate, high-energy, well-rounded L&D professional with exceptional content expertise and the ability to drive structure, innovation, and measurable results across the business. Benefits: Competitive Salary Opportunity to build and scale the LMS from the ground up Shape the future of learning and development across a fast-growing business Access to ongoing L&D conferences, certifications, and professional development Lead strategic initiatives that directly impact business performance and team capability Work with visionary leadership committed to building a world-class training function Key Responsibilities : Team Leadership and Delivery Management Lead, manage and coach the Training team (trainers/facilitators, instructional designer(s), eLearning developer(s) as applicable) Set team goals, standards, capacity planning, delivery schedules, and performance management Drive consistent training quality across teams, channels, and programmes Create a structured learning pipeline (intake design build sign-off publish measure improve) Learning Strategy and Programme Ownership Own the full learning strategy for induction, product/process training, CX training, compliance training, and role-based learning paths Translate business priorities into learning roadmaps aligned to KPIs (QA outcomes, compliance adherence, productivity, NPS/CSAT, NTU/retentions – where relevant) Ensure training is practical, scenario-led, and designed for real performance across the various business units Instructional Design and eLearning Leadership Oversee and/or personally design storyboards, learning journeys, and assessment frameworks Ensure content is built to high standards (clear outcomes, practice-based learning, effective assessments, remediation paths) Guide development of digital assets: microlearning, interactive modules, animated explainers, job aids, playbooks, and quizzes Ensure content is user-friendly, visually aligned, and accessible LMS Ownership and Governance Own and manage the LMS end-to-end: User management, access control and role-based permissions Learning pathways, cohorts, assignments, and completion rules Assessments, pass marks, reattempt rules, certification and re-certification Reporting dashboards and evidence of learning (audit readiness) Maintain strong LMS governance: version control, publishing standards, archiving outdated content, change logs Partner with IT/Systems and vendors to manage enhancements, integrations, and platform performance Compliance Alignment and Quality Control Ensure all training content and assessments are compliant, accurate, and signed off where required. Build a clear sign-off workflow and ensure audit-ready proof of training and communications Use QA insights, complaints trends, coaching feedback and operational gaps to target training interventions Performance Measurement and Continuous Improvement Track training effectiveness using clear measures (completion, pass rates, readiness-to-floor, QA improvements, repeat fail reduction, operational outcomes) Build and maintain reporting to show programme impact and identify training gaps. Run continuous improvement cycles on learning content and delivery methods Stakeholder Management Partner with Sales, Client Services, QA, Compliance, Ops and Leadership to align on priorities and training needs Manage expectations, timelines, and delivery outcomes; communicate progress and risks proactively. Soft Skills: Passionate and high-energy with a genuine commitment to people development Intentional and strategic in designing learning experiences that drive results Innovative and aware of audience needs, able to adapt techniques accordingly with a modern learning mindset (digital-first, engaging, measurable) Exceptional communication skills with ability to engage and inspire diverse audiences and hold stakeholder engagements Well-rounded individual with strong structure-building and organizational capabilities Strong ownership and execution – builds structure and delivers consistently High standards: quality, compliance, client experience focused Technical Skills: Essential: Expert in instructional design, content creation, and facilitation Experience in using various eLearning tools like: Articulate Storyline/Rise, Captivate or equivalent LMS ownership experience, including governance, reporting, user management, and learning pathway design Experience building training programmes from ground up in fast-paced environments Beneficial: Experience in Animation/video: Vyond/Canva/After Effects AI-enabled learning production: script/quiz/scenario generation with validation and governance Data literacy: ability to interpret QA trends, operational metrics, and training performance data Experience: 5 years Learning and Development / Training Leadership experience with proven track record in content design and facilitation Call Centre / Financial Services experience (advantageous) Proven experience managing a training team and delivering large-scale training programmes Strong instructional design capability (storyboarding, assessments, learning journeys) Strong digital learning capability (eLearning development oversight or hands-on experience with various LMS or eLearning tools) Excellent stakeholder management, planning, and communication skills Strong compliance and quality mindset Qualifications: Bachelors degree in education, Instructional Design, Human Resources, Business, or related field (or equivalent experience) CIPD, ATD, or relevant L&D certifications (advantageous)