About Mobile Loaves & Fishes

Mobile Loaves & Fishes (MLF) is a social outreach ministry that has been empowering communities into a lifestyle of service with the homeless since 1998. Founded in Austin, Texas, the organization serves its homeless neighbors through three core programs: Truck Ministry, Community First! Village, and Community Works. Often referred to as the most talked about neighborhood in Austin, Community First! Village is a 51-acre master planned development that provides affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for men and women coming out of chronic homelessness. We are now embarking on a new phase of community expansion, adding more than 1400 new neighbors over the next 5-10 years.

About the Role

The Learning & Development (L&D) Specialist is responsible for improving the productivity and development of the organization's employees through conducting needs assessments, designing training programs, developing instructional materials, delivering training sessions, and evaluating the results of training programs. This position will assess organization-wide developmental needs to drive training initiatives while identifying and arranging training solutions for our teams. This position actively searches, creatively designs, and effectively implements methods to educate, enhance performance and develop a culture of learning.

This is a full-time, non-exempt position reporting to the Director of Human Resources. Due to the nature and requirements of the position, hours are flexible to fit organizational needs, but typically include 8am-5pm Monday-Friday. The L&D Specialist will office at Community First! Village located at 9301 Hog Eye Road, Austin, TX 78724.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Assess training and development needs through surveys, interviews, focus groups, and communication with managers, instructors, and employees
• Create, organize, plan, and present various forms of onboarding, orientation, and skills training for employees and other stakeholders
• Create and execute learning strategies and programs based on a strong understanding of organizational objectives
• Coordinate and schedule internal and external training opportunities
• Create training opportunities for leadership growth
• Create opportunities to help staff learn about current processes and procedures (HR, Accounting, on the job training, new manager training, cross training, etc.)
• Build learning pathways in Learning Management System (LMS) based on current and future roles
• Create and/or acquire training procedure manuals, guides, and course materials
• Develop and implement various learning methods organization wide
• Design and deliver courses, workshops, and other trainings
• Assess the success of development plans and help employees make the most of learning opportunities
• Help managers develop their team members through career pathing and succession planning
• Coordinate and facilitate monthly Leadership Lunches
• Select and assign instructors to conduct specific training and development
• Evaluate program effectiveness through assessments, surveys, and feedback
• Maintain records of training and development activities, attendance, results of tests and assessments, and retraining requirements
• Maintain knowledge of the latest trends in training and development
• Prepare and implement training budget; maintain records and reports of expenses
• Other duties & responsibilities as needed

Knowledge Skills & Abilities

• Commitment to serving those who have experienced homelessness and personal alignment with MLF's vision, mission, core values, and goals
• The successful candidate will be passionate and knowledgeable about the nonprofit/social sector and MLF's vision, mission, core values and goals
• 3-5 years of proven experience in Learning & Development
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strong presentation skills
• Excellent organizational skills; sharp business acumen
• Adept with a variety of multimedia training platforms and methods
• Ability to evaluate and research training options and alternatives
• Experience in project management
• Proficient in MS Office Suite, Google Suite and Learning Management Systems (LMS)
• Ability to build rapport with employees and vendors

Work Environment & Physical Demands

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Must be able to present to large groups for up to 8 hours per day
• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at a time

Benefits

MLF is a faith-based organization with its ideals and philosophy coming directly from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

MLF is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Personnel are chosen based on ability without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, genetics, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation in accordance with federal and state law.