Learning and Development Business Partner Director (Location Flexible)

We are the leading provider of professional services to the middle market globally, our purpose is to instill confidence in a world of change, empowering our clients and people to realize their full potential. Our exceptional people are the key to our unrivaled, culture and talent experience and our ability to be compelling to our clients. You’ll find an environment that inspires and empowers you to thrive both personally and professionally. There’s no one like you and that’s why there’s nowhere like RSM.

The Learning & Development Business Partner Director serves as a senior strategic learning and capability advisor to an assigned line of business and its leaders. This role translates business, workforce, and talent priorities into an integrated capability strategy that strengthens performance, builds professional readiness, and advances RSM’s First Choice Advisor strategy.

As a member of the L&D leadership team, the Director helps shape the future of learning at RSM, including operating models, workforce capability strategies, service delivery, and technology adoption. The Director builds trusted relationships across the business, L&D, and Talent to mobilize expertise, scale effective solutions, and lead complex initiatives with meaningful business impact.

Key Responsibilities

Business and Capability Strategy

• Build trusted relationships with senior business and talent leaders, serving as a first-choice advisor on workforce capability, performance, and development priorities.
• Translate firm, talent, and business strategies into multi-year capability roadmaps with clear priorities, outcomes, measures, and investment needs.
• Apply performance consulting and systems thinking to distinguish capability needs from process, role clarity, technology, capacity, leadership, and other performance barriers.
• Anticipate emerging capability risks and opportunities and advise leaders on priorities and the right mix of learning, experience, coaching, performance support, knowledge resources, and technology-enabled solutions.

Organizational Transformation and Change Leadership

• Champion the firm’s learning and capability transformation strategy, driving adoption of new operating models, workflows, governance, and technologies while challenging legacy approaches that no longer create sufficient value.
• Lead complex change efforts requiring alignment across service lines, Talent, Learning Operations, Talent Technology, and other shared services, balancing immediate business needs with long-term capability building.
• Identify barriers to transformation, develop mitigation strategies, and build stakeholder readiness for change.

Portfolio and Investment Leadership

• Own the strategic portfolio of capability investments for the assigned business, ensuring solutions are connected, scalable, aligned with business and career priorities, and leveraged across the firm where appropriate.
• Establish priorities and governance for major initiatives, including sponsorship, measures, dependencies, decision rights, and escalation paths.
• Oversee the business partner budget and recommend resource and investment trade-offs based on expected impact and enterprise priorities.

Solution Leadership and Cross-Functional Partnership

• Define business problems, target audiences, desired performance, success measures, and constraints before solution design begins.
• Mobilize and guide cross-functional teams across learning strategy, design, delivery, operations, technology, communications, change, and external partners.
• Communicate strategy, progress, decisions, risks, and required actions clearly to stakeholders at all levels.

Measurement, Impact, and Continuous Improvement

• Define meaningful measures that connect capability investments to business, talent, learner, adoption, and performance outcomes.
• Use data and stakeholder insights to evaluate impact and advise leaders on risks, trade-offs, improvement opportunities, and whether solutions should continue, expand, evolve, or retire.
• Champion responsible experimentation and adoption of new methods and technologies that improve access, speed, quality, personalization, and impact, and scale leading practices across L&D and Talent.

Enterprise and L&D Leadership

• Serve as a key member of the L&D leadership team, contributing to enterprise strategy, priorities, governance, and organizational performance.
• Lead or sponsor enterprise initiatives requiring coordination across businesses, functions, or geographies.
• Champion modernization through stronger capability consulting, integrated workflows, meaningful measurement, and effective use of technology.
• Balance business and enterprise priorities, challenge siloed approaches, and facilitate timely decisions with senior stakeholders.
• Model RSM’s 5 C behaviors by being caring, collaborative, courageous, curious, and an exemplary critical thinker.

People Leadership

• Build and develop a high-performing, inclusive team of learning professionals focused on business outcomes.
• Serve as a performance advisor to Managers and/or Associate Directors based on business need and organizational design.
• Delegate meaningful work, provide timely feedback, address performance gaps, and support career development and succession.
• Strengthen the team’s business acumen, consulting capability, learning expertise, change leadership, and data fluency while fostering collaboration, continuous learning, thoughtful challenge, and responsible innovation.

Required Qualifications

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant experience required; advanced degree in learning, organizational development, business, talent management, or a related field preferred.
• Typically 12+ years of overall experience, with significant relevant experience in learning and development, capability building, performance consulting, organizational effectiveness, talent, or a related discipline. Relevant scope, complexity, and demonstrated impact are more important than tenure alone.
• Demonstrated success developing strategies that impact business performance and leading large-scale, complex, global, or enterprise-wide initiatives.
• Experience influencing senior leaders, managing key internal client relationships, and navigating sensitive or high-impact business matters.
• Experience leading professional teams and serving as a performance advisor to experienced people leaders.
• Experience in professional services, public accounting, consulting, or another complex, regulated, or knowledge-intensive environment preferred.
• Knowledge of Assurance, Tax, Consulting, or Firm Client Service business models preferred; CPA or other relevant professional certification is a plus.

Business, Consulting, and Leadership Capabilities

• Strategic and systems thinking with the ability to connect business strategy, workforce needs, talent practices, and capability investments.
• Executive-level consulting, influence, facilitation, and communication skills, including the ability to challenge assumptions and recommend trade-offs.
• Deep knowledge of adult learning, performance consulting, capability development, instructional design, assessment, transfer of learning, and evaluation.
• Ability to use qualitative and quantitative data to diagnose needs, establish measures, and communicate business impact.
• Ability to lead through ambiguity, manage risk, resolve complex issues, and align stakeholders across organizational boundaries.
• Financial and portfolio management experience, including budgeting, investment prioritization, resource decisions, and vendor oversight.
• Working knowledge of learning technology, digital learning, performance support, knowledge enablement, and emerging approaches to capability development.
• Proficiency with Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, Excel, SharePoint, and other tools used to analyze, communicate, and manage strategic work.

Success in This Role

• Business leaders view L&D as a trusted advisor and engage the Director early in strategic workforce and capability decisions.
• Capability investments are clearly prioritized, connected to business needs, and demonstrate meaningful measures of adoption, performance, and business impact.
• L&D expertise and effective solutions are mobilized and scaled across the enterprise while distinct business needs are thoughtfully addressed.
• The Director develops strong leaders and teams and contributes meaningfully to the modernization and impact of L&D.

 

At RSM, we offer a competitive benefits and compensation package for all our people. Learn more about our total rewards at https://rsmus.com/careers/working-at-rsm/benefits.

We believe flexibility and in-person connection both play an important role in how we work and grow. Most roles at RSM follow a hybrid workstyle, which means team members are aligned to an RSM office and come together in person when it best supports clients, teams, development or relationship-building. Some roles may be virtual or primarily on-site based on role requirements, team priorities and client needs.

All applicants will receive consideration for employment as RSM does not tolerate discrimination and/or harassment based on race; color; creed; sincerely held religious beliefs, practices or observances; sex (including pregnancy or disabilities related to nursing); gender; sexual orientation; HIV Status; national origin; ancestry; familial or marital status; age; physical or mental disability; citizenship; political affiliation; medical condition (including family and medical leave); domestic violence victim status; past, current or prospective service in the US uniformed service; US Military/Veteran status; pre-disposing genetic characteristics or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law. 

Accommodation for applicants with disabilities is available upon request in connection with the recruitment process and/or employment/partnership. RSM is committed to providing equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application, interview, or otherwise participate in the recruiting process, please call us at 800-274-3978 or send us an email at careers@rsmus.com.

RSM does not intend to hire entry level candidates who will require sponsorship now OR in the future (i.e. F-1 visa holders). If you are a recent U.S. college / university graduate possessing 1-2 years of progressive and relevant work experience in a same or similar role to the one for which you are applying, excluding internships, you may be eligible for hire as an experienced associate.

RSM will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records. For those living in California or applying to a position in California, please click here for additional information.

At RSM, an employee’s pay at any point in their career is intended to reflect their experiences, performance, and skills for their current role. The salary range (or starting rate for interns and associates) for this role represents numerous factors considered in the hiring decisions including, but not limited to, education, skills, work experience, certifications, location, etc. As such, pay for the successful candidate(s) could fall anywhere within the stated range.

Compensation Range: $147,000 - $260,700