Director, Learning & Leadership Development

Putting people first, every day

BDO is a firm built on a foundation of positive relationships with our people and our clients. Each day, our professionals provide exceptional service, helping clients with advice and insight they can trust. In turn, we offer an award-winning environment that fosters a people-first culture with a high priority on your personal and professional growth.

Your Opportunity

BDO is on a mission to become a Top Tier learning organization, where learning drives business performance, talent growth, and cultural resilience. As Director, Learning & Leadership Development, you will serve as the internal engine powering that mission.

Reporting to the Chief Learning & Development Officer, you will oversee the operational strategy and execution of our enterprise learning function-ensuring alignment, consistency, and culture across all learning programs and teams.

You’ll also serve as a key ambassador of the function-facilitating high-profile sessions for senior leaders and helping build visibility and trust for the learning team across the firm.

In addition to the key responsibilities outlined below, we are looking for a leader who embodies our firm and team values:

• Embodies BDO’s core values of Integrity, Respect, and Collaboration.
• Demonstrates the L&D team’s values:
  • Ownership & accountability - proactive, solution-oriented, and reliable follow-through; support new ideas & initiatives with sound business case and rationale.
  • Professionalism & credibility - deliver best-in-class talent development experiences that elevate the function and strengthen our credibility across the firm.
  • Self-awareness & continuous growth mindset - know and leverage strengths, elevate our culture of talent development by giving and receiving feedback openly and modelling a growth mindset.

Key Responsibilities

Internal Operational Leadership

• Ensure strategic alignment across learning programs, initiatives, and resources.
• Oversee work responsibility allocation and team optimization-ensuring the right people are working on the right projects.
• Create and reinforce a high-performing, collaborative, and psychologically safe team culture.
• Drive process consistency and quality standards across all learning programs and modalities.
• Champion integration across learning operations, leadership development, and L&D delivery for greater cohesion and efficiency.

Team Leadership & Enablement

• Lead and coach a team of Senior Managers who oversee the functional pillars of L&D:
  • Leadership Development - executive programs, academies, emerging leader pathways
  • Learning & Development - Enterprise L&D: instructional design, facilitation, delivery; Learning Operations: technology, measurement, resource management, and reporting
• Enable team leaders to own their portfolios while supporting cross-functional collaboration and shared accountability.
• Support team cohesion through clear roles, shared vision, and professional development.

Reputation Building & Executive Facilitation

• Personally facilitate select high-impact leadership programs and sessions with Partners and executives.
• Serve as a strategic face of the learning function-building visibility, credibility, and trust across the business.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to promote the learning team as a Trusted Learning Advisor function.

Measurement, Technology & Systems Oversight

• Provide oversight for operational infrastructure-including learning technology platforms, vendor partnerships, dashboards, and budget.
• Lead the ongoing evolution of our measurement strategy to track learning impact and drive data-informed decisions.

How do we define success for your role?

• You demonstrate BDO's core values through all aspect of your work: Integrity, Respect and Collaboration
• You understand your client’s industry, challenges, and opportunities; clients describe you as positive, professional, and delivering high quality work
• You identify, recommend, and are focused on effective service delivery to your clients
• You share in an inclusive and engaging work environment that develops, retains & attracts talent
• You actively participate in the adoption of digital tools and strategies to drive an innovative workplace
• You grow your expertise through learning and professional development.

Your experience and education

• 15+ years of progressive leadership in Learning & Development, with deep experience running enterprise learning functions.
• Proven ability to lead through leaders-developing high-performing teams while operating at a strategic level.
• Experience managing internal operations: project/resource alignment, process improvement, team culture, measurement, and quality control.
• Strong consultative and relationship-building skills; highly trusted by business stakeholders.
• Comfortable facilitating sessions for senior audiences and representing the learning function at an executive level.
• Experience in a professional services or similarly complex, fast-paced environment is preferred.
• Strong executive presence, sound judgment, and a systems-thinking mindset.

Why BDO?

Our people-first approach to talent has earned us a spot among Canada’s Top 100 Employers for 2025. This recognition is a milestone we’re thrilled to add to our collection of awards for both experienced and student talent experiences.

Our firm is committed to providing an environment where you can be successful in the following ways:

• We enable you to engage with how we change and evolve, being a key contributor to the success and growth of BDO in Canada.

• We help you become a better professional within our services, industries, and markets with extensive opportunities for learning and development.

• We support your achievement of personal goals outside of the office and making an impact on your community.

Giving back adds up: Where company meets community. BDO is actively involved in our communities by supporting local charity initiatives. We support staff with local and national events where you will be given the opportunity to contribute to your community.

Total rewards that matter: We pay for performance with competitive total cash compensation that recognizes and rewards your contribution. We provide flexible benefits from day one, and a market leading personal time off policy. We are committed to supporting your overall wellness beyond working hours and provide reimbursement for wellness initiatives that fit your lifestyle.

Everyone counts: We believe every employee should have the opportunity to participate and succeed. Through leadership by our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leader, we are committed to a workplace culture of respect, inclusion, and diversity. We recognize and celebrate the valuable differences among each of us, including race, religious beliefs, physical or mental disabilities, age, place of origin, marital status, family status, gender or gender identity and sexual orientation. If you require accommodation to complete the application process, please contact us.

Flexibility: All BDO personnel are expected to spend some of their time working in the office, at the client site, and virtually unless accommodations or alternative work arrangements are in place.

Our model is a blended approach designed to support the flexible needs of our people, the firm and our clients. It’s about creating work experiences that meet everyone’s needs and providing flexibility to adjust when, where and how we work to meet the expectations of our role.

Code of Conduct: Our Code of Conduct sets clear standards for how we conduct business. It reflects our shared values and commitments and includes guiding principles to help us make ethical decisions and maintain trust with each other, our clients, and the public.

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Ready to make your mark at BDO? Click “Apply now” to send your up-to-date resume to one of our Talent Acquisition Specialists.

To explore other opportunities at BDO, check out our careers page.