Director of Leadership Development - Dallas, TX

At Emler Swim & Gym, we believe confident kids build brighter futures. For decades, families have trusted us to create safe, fun, and empowering experiences through swim lessons, gymnastics, and youth programs. Behind every great student experience is a team of passionate, capable leaders — and we’re looking for a Director of Learning & Development to help shape and grow that leadership culture across our organization.

This is a high-impact role for a strategic builder who also loves execution. You’ll own the full learning lifecycle — from identifying organizational needs and designing scalable programs to facilitating training, measuring impact, and continuously improving the employee experience for more than 1,800 team members.

If you are energized by leadership development, adult learning, organizational growth, and building meaningful learning experiences in a people-centered environment, we’d love to meet you.

Leadership & Management Development

• Design and deliver scalable leadership development programs for leaders at every level — from first-time managers to senior leaders
• Build and maintain role-specific success profiles aligned to Emler Swim & Gym’s growth strategy
• Create development pathways for high-potential talent, including coaching frameworks, mentorship programs, online learning, and peer communities
• Conduct organization-wide learning needs assessments and skills gap analyses to identify development priorities
• Partner closely with the CHRO, Operations leaders, and HR Business Partners to align learning strategies with business goals and workforce planning
• Facilitate leadership feedback and post-training surveys to support self-awareness and measure effectiveness

Culture & Employee Experience

• Ensure learning experiences reinforce Emler Swim & Gym’s culture and values throughout the employee journey
• Support engagement survey initiatives and help leaders build actionable improvement plans
• Partner with HR and Operations on succession planning and career pathing initiatives

Training Design, Delivery & Measurement

• Establish measurable goals and reporting cadences for all learning programs, using LMS data, assessments, operational metrics, and business outcomes to demonstrate ROI
• Design blended learning solutions for a distributed, frontline-heavy workforce
• Coach site leaders and HR partners to build internal facilitation and training capability
• Deliver engaging in-person and virtual learning experiences tailored to diverse audiences
• Ensure training content aligns with employment law requirements in partnership with HR
• Use data and learner feedback to continuously improve programs and retire ineffective content

What Makes You Successful

You are:

• Passionate about developing people and creating meaningful employee experiences
• Equally comfortable building strategy and executing independently
• Skilled at diagnosing organizational needs and translating them into actionable learning solutions
• A strong instructional designer with expertise in adult learning and blended learning approaches
• An engaging facilitator who can connect with frontline staff, managers, and senior leaders alike
• Data-driven and comfortable using analytics to measure impact and improve outcomes
• A collaborative partner who influences effectively across teams and functions
• Adaptable, growth-oriented, and energized by organizational change

• Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Development, Education, Human Resources, or related field required; Master’s degree preferred
• ATD (CPTD/CPLP), SHRM, or related certification preferred
• 5+ years of progressive Learning & Development experience, including experience in a senior or lead individual contributor role
• Demonstrated experience designing leadership programs, conducting needs assessments, and building curriculum from the ground up
• Experience partnering with subject matter experts to create and refine learning content
• Proven success facilitating both in-person and virtual training sessions
• Experience using LMS platforms and learning analytics to measure effectiveness and report results
• Experience supporting a multi-site or frontline-heavy workforce strongly preferred
• Comfortable operating as a highly hands-on individual contributor

Why Join Emler?

• Annual bonus eligibility 15% of salary 
• Phone allowance per paycheck 

• Health, dental, vision and life insurance plan options

• Short term and long term disability insurance

• Voluntary Aflac supplemental insurance plans at discounted rates

• 401k with employer matching

• Paid Time Off 

• Discounted rates on pet insurance 

• Discounts on products and services through LifeMart

• Mission-driven, people-first culture
• Growing, multi-state organization with career advancement opportunities
• High visibility role partnering with operations and construction leadership
• Opportunity to build scalable systems and influence long-term facility strategy

At Emler Swim & Gym, our mission goes beyond lessons and programs — we help children build confidence for life. We invest deeply in our people and believe learning, growth, and leadership development are critical to our success. This role offers the opportunity to shape the future of learning and leadership across a growing organization that values connection, impact, and continuous improvement.

This is a hybrid role based at our Dallas headquarters, with periodic travel to Emler Swim & Gym locations for training delivery and program evaluation. Flexibility for occasional evenings or weekends may be needed to support frontline teams.

The position will remain open for up to 30 days from the posting date or until it is filled, whichever comes first.

Emler Swim and Gym and our partner brands participate in E-Verify to ensure all team members are authorized to work in the U.S. All applicants are subject to a background check following a conditional offer of employment.