Director, Learning & Development

Cohen & Co is embarking on a firmwide evolution of how we develop our people — and we’re looking for a leader to help build what’s next.

As Director of Learning & Development, you will lead the continued advancement of our learning strategy — shaping a scalable, enterprise learning capability that supports firm growth, leadership readiness, and long-term value creation.

Reporting to the Chief People Officer and partnering closely with Service Line Leaders, HR Business Partners, and firm leadership, this role will design and scale a modern learning ecosystem across three core areas:

• Technical Enablement & Business Acumen
• Leadership Development & Partner Capability
• Digital Learning & AI Enablement

This role is central to Cohen’s broader People Strategy and will play a key role in:

• Creating meaningful opportunities for our people to grow, build new skills, and explore diverse career paths and experiences — reinforcing Cohen & Co as a place where people build meaningful careers, deepen their expertise, and accelerate their growth
• Accelerating time-to-productivity and career progression
• Strengthening leadership and partner readiness across the firm
• Enhancing how learning is designed and delivered to balance quality, scalability, and efficiency
• Embedding measurement and insights to better understand learning’s impact on performance and business outcomes

The ideal candidate brings a builder’s mindset, strong business acumen, and the ability to translate strategy into scalable, practical solutions within a professional services environment.

Learning Strategy & Operating Model

• Build and execute a firmwide learning strategy aligned to growth objectives, workforce priorities, and the firm’s operating model
• Establish a scalable operating model that supports enterprise consistency while meeting service line needs
• Translate business priorities into structured development pathways aligned to career progression, promotion readiness, and performance expectations
• Implement governance, prioritization, and intake processes to focus on the highest-value learning initiatives
• Partner with leadership to identify capability gaps and align learning investments to business priorities

Technical Enablement & Business Acumen

• Evolve technical learning toward a more structured, scalable approach, leveraging instructional design principles and consistent learning frameworks
• Define technical learning pathways by service line aligned to role expectations and progression milestones
• Embed business acumen across levels to strengthen client impact and decision-making
• Balance internal development and external providers to deliver high-quality, efficient learning solutions
• Enhance how subject matter expertise is leveraged to support both learning quality and business priorities

Leadership Development & Partner Capability

• Design and implement leadership development experiences across all career stages, from emerging leaders through partners
• Strengthen partner and managing director capability aligned to firm strategy, growth, and succession priorities
• Refresh manager and leader capability expectations to support team effectiveness and development
• Integrate leadership development with broader talent processes, including performance management and succession planning
• Support leadership assessments (e.g., 360s, coaching) to inform development and growth

Digital Learning, AI & Measurement

• Expand digital learning capabilities to improve accessibility, consistency, and learner experience
• Partner across the firm to leverage technology and AI to enhance learning delivery and efficiency
• Build and evolve a measurement and analytics approach that provides insight into participation, effectiveness, and outcomes
• Use data to continuously refine learning strategy and inform investment decisions
• Ensure alignment across learning platforms and tools

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing Learning & Development team
• Build capabilities across instructional design, program management, and learning operations
• Drive accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence
• Collaborate closely with HR Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, and firm leadership

What Success Looks Like

• Increased employee engagement, retention, and internal mobility driven by meaningful development experiences and clear career pathways
• Scalable learning programs aligned to career progression and firm priorities
• Improved time-to-productivity for new hires and internal promotions
• Stronger leadership pipeline and succession readiness
• Enhanced consistency and quality of learning experiences across the firm
• Increased visibility into learning effectiveness and impact

Required

• Bachelor’s degree
• 10+ years of progressive experience in Learning & Development or Talent Development
• 5+ years leading enterprise-wide learning programs and teams
• Proven success designing and implementing scalable learning strategies
• Strong analytical and program leadership skills with the ability to operate in evolving environments
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills

Preferred

• Experience in a public accounting or professional services organization
• Experience with digital learning platforms, learning technologies, or AI-enabled solutions
• Experience building or enhancing learning measurement and analytics capabilities

Locations

• Chicago, IL; Cleveland, OH; Philadelphia, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; Milwaukee, WI; Baltimore, MD
• In office 4 days per week