Associate Development Program Lead

Position Details

Title: Associate Development Program Lead

Department: People & Impact

Reports to: Sr. Manager of Organizational Effectiveness

Location: Dearborn, MI

Job Classification: Hybrid

FLSA Status: Exempt

Job Band: Professional

Job Summary

The Associate Development Program Lead is responsible for designing, implementing, and continuously improving enterprise-wide development strategies that strengthen associate growth, capability building, career development, and organizational performance. This individual will partner closely with Human Resources, Business Leaders, People Managers, and other stakeholders to create development experiences to help associates build the skills, capabilities, and behaviors necessary for current and future success.

A primary focus of this role is ensuring development programs, tools, and resources are aligned to Carhartt's Core Competencies, helping associates understand what success looks like and how to intentionally grow throughout their careers.

Inspired by Hard Work

At Carhartt, the values of hard work—dependability, honesty, and trust—are rooted in the legacy of our founder, Hamilton Carhartt. His commitment to serving hardworking people continues to inspire everything we do. Guided by his legacy and our mission—We serve and protect all hardworking people by building durable products—we remain dedicated to upholding these principles in every decision we make and every product we create.

Associate Responsibilities

• Lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of enterprise-wide associate development strategies and programs.
• Partner with Human Resources, business leaders, and People Managers to identify organizational capability gaps and development opportunities.
• Build and maintain development frameworks, resources, and tools that help associates grow skills, capabilities, and experiences aligned with business needs.
• Serve as a subject matter expert on competency-based development, ensuring development programs are aligned with Carhartt's Core Competencies and expected behaviors.
• Develop resources and guidance that help associates create meaningful development plans tied to career aspirations, business needs, and competency growth.
• Partner with Talent Management and HR teams to support career pathing, internal mobility, succession readiness, and associate growth initiatives.
• Consult with leaders and People Managers on development planning, coaching conversations, and strategies for growing talent within their teams.
• Facilitate development workshops, learning experiences, and capability-building sessions for associates and teams.
• Support the design and execution of leadership development initiatives by providing development frameworks, competency expertise, and program support.
• Develop tools and resources that improve development planning, feedback quality, coaching effectiveness, and career growth conversations.
• Utilize engagement survey data, talent insights, performance trends, and associate feedback to identify development priorities and opportunities.
• Measure and evaluate the effectiveness of development programs using participation, engagement, capability growth, and business impact metrics.
• Research emerging development practices and recommend innovative approaches that strengthen associate growth and organizational capability.
• Build strong partnerships across the organization to ensure development solutions are practical, scalable, and aligned with evolving business needs.

Required Education

• Bachelor's degree in Organizational Development, Human Resources, Business Administration, Communications, Psychology, Organizational Effectiveness, or related field required.

Required Skills & Experience

• 8+ years of progressive experience in Human Resources.
  • Experience in associate development, talent development, organizational effectiveness, or learning and development preferred
• Demonstrated experience creating and implementing competency-based development programs and frameworks.
• Strong understanding of talent development, career pathing, workforce capability development, and associate growth strategies.
• Experience partnering with business leaders and HR teams to identify capability gaps and develop targeted solutions.
• Experience designing development planning tools, career resources, and capability-building programs.
• Ability to translate organizational strategy and competency expectations into practical development experiences.
• Strong understanding of performance and development processes and how they support associate growth.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and relationship-building skills.
• Strong analytical mindset with the ability to leverage data and insights to inform development priorities and measure effectiveness.
• Ability to influence across a matrixed organization without direct authority.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities while balancing strategic and operational responsibilities.

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions

• Sedentary; lifts up to 10 lbs. involves sitting most of the time but may involve walking or standing for brief periods of time.
• Office equipment used: such as computer, copier, projector, phone, etc. 
• Light Travel; less than 10%

• This position has a Hybrid location: Associate will work on-site regularly as needed for work activities.
• Carhartt is a tobacco free workplace.

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