Role: Digital Workplace Learning COE Program Lead – Staff Augmentation
Duration: 1 year
Location: Hybrid in Bloomington, MN (2 days onsite)
Rate: up to $67.96/hour W2
Job Summary
The client is seeking a senior contractor to lead its Modern Workforce Center of Excellence (COE) — an IT led initiative focused on advancing employee digital fluency across an organization of ~800 employees.
The COE launched in 2025 and has established a strong foundation: a monthly webinar series, a self-paced learning platform, a cross-departmental technology champions network, peer-learning communities, and department-specific custom training engagements. The Program Lead will scale these programs into a mature, measurable operation while expanding scope into AI literacy, data and analytics literacy (Power BI), Apple iOS, and internal business applications (UKG, JDE EnterpriseOne).
This is an influence-based role embedded within IT but serving every division. The contractor will operate as an extension of the internal team, engaging VPs, department directors, the PMO, HR, and frontline employees — without direct authority over any of them. Speed-to-productivity is expected; the foundation is built and documented.
This role is required to be on-site for a minimum of 2 days per week but will flex toward more days depending on the work activities (in-person training, presentations, etc.).
Relationships
- Reporting Relationship - Reports to the Director, Infrastructure and Operations
- Organizational - Works with internal staff at all levels, and all internal departments
- External Business - Contact with contractors, consultants, and IT vendors as appropriate.
Job Duties
Program Strategy
- Own the multi-year COE strategic roadmap and advance the 2026 priorities: Competency Framework & Learning Personas, Data Analytics & AI curriculum, LMS platform migration, Strategic Online Presence, and sustained program operations.
- Incubate an AI Adoption sub-initiative — foundational AI literacy for all employees plus applied training on Microsoft Copilot, Claude, and related tools, with acceptable use policies co-developed alongside Cybersecurity and Legal.
- Expand the COE’s scope beyond core M365 training into data analytics/AI, Apple iOS, and business applications such as UKG and JDE EnterpriseOne.
- Develop a digital competency framework with role-based personas mapping employees from all areas of the field to personalized learning paths.
Content, Curriculum & Delivery
- Assess, select, and curate multi-modal learning: live webinars, on-demand micro-learning, custom department sessions, consulting engagements, and peer-led champion workshops — across fundamental, intermediate, and advanced skill levels.
- Serve as the primary contact for COE involvement in the LMS platform migration, integrating Microsoft training content and ensuring seamless user adoption.
- Select AI-focused modules covering things like prompt engineering, output verification, responsible use, and tool-specific instruction for Copilot and Claude.
- Continuously refresh content offerings using adoption telemetry, survey data, and community feedback.
Stakeholder Engagement
- Serve as the connective tissue between IT and business divisions, maintaining trusted relationships with senior leaders, department heads, champions, and frontline staff.
- Recruit, activate, and sustain the technology champions network across all divisions.
- Design and deliver custom training and consulting sessions tailored to individual department workflows.
- Manage program communications (intranet articles, email campaigns, SharePoint content) in partnership with Strategic Communications.
Operations, Analytics & Knowledge Transfer
- Establish and report on program KPIs using M365 tenant data, LMS analytics, training attendance, employee satisfaction indicators, and more.
- Manage vendor relationships (Microsoft partner, learning platform provider)
- Manage the COE annual budget and track spending.
- Develop governance frameworks including “what to use when” tool guidance and AI acceptable use policies.
- Critical: Document all processes, playbooks, and institutional knowledge to enable long-term internal sustainability — building the client's capability, not creating dependency on the contractor.
Competencies
- Customer Focus. Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions
- Manages Complexity. Making sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems
- Resourcefulness. Securing and deploying resources effectively and efficiently
- Collaborates. Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives
- Communicates Effectively. Developing and delivering multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of unique needs of different audiences
- Leads Through Influence. Earns trust division by division through relevance and results, not positional authority — especially critical as an embedded contractor. Using compelling arguments to gain the support and commitment of others
- Translates Technology into Human Value. Connects tools to outcomes people care about, making the intimidating approachable across skill levels from trades workers to executives.
- Data-Informed. Uses tenant telemetry, LMS data, and survey results to prioritize investments and tell the program’s story to leadership.
- Builds Scaled Systems. Designs systems — competency frameworks, learning paths, feedback loops — that create lasting capability, not one-time events.
- Comfortable at the Technology Frontier. Evaluates emerging tools (especially AI), designs adoption strategies for mixed-readiness audiences, and develops policy-informed guidance.
- Speed-to-Impact Operator. Gets productive fast in a new environment, navigates ambiguity, and delivers in an organization where an airport never stops running.
Education Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in IT, Organizational Development, Instructional Design, Communications, or related field.
Minimum Requirements
- 5+ years in technology adoption, digital learning, change management, or COE/enablement functions within small- to mid-sized enterprises.
- Demonstrated experience designing multi-format learning programs (live, virtual, on-demand, peer led) for diverse, non-technical employee populations.
- Deep working knowledge of Microsoft 365 (Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Excel, Power BI, Power Automate, Copilot) with the ability to teach and consult on these tools.
- Proven experience with AI technologies and practical understanding of integrating AI tools into employee workflows and training strategies.
- Track record of operating through influence in matrixed or cross-functional environments without direct authority.
- Prior consulting, advisory, or staff augmentation experience — able to onboard quickly, assess the landscape, and produce results without a lengthy ramp.
- Experience managing vendor/partner relationships for training delivery and platform management.
Desirable Requirements
- Prosci Change Management, Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), CPTD, or equivalent certifications.
- Public-sector, government, or quasi-governmental experience with comparable stakeholder complexity and workforce diversity.
- Aviation, transportation, or critical infrastructure industry background.
- Hands-on LMS migration and configuration experience, particularly Microsoft-integrated platforms.
- Experience building technology champion/ambassador programs across operationally diverse workforces.
- Familiarity with UKG (Kronos), JDE EnterpriseOne, or similar enterprise business applications.
EXPECTED DELIVERABLES (subject to change) - FIRST 18 MONTHS
- Competency Framework Launched- Published digital competency model with defined learning personas connected to personalized paths within the new LMS.
- AI Adoption Program Operational - Structured AI enablement initiative live: foundational literacy modules, applied Copilot/Claude training tracks, a User Community established, and acceptable use policies in place.
- LMS Migration Complete - New platform with integrated Microsoft content and active user adoption meeting baseline metrics.
- Expanded Training Domains Launched - At least one new domain (Power BI, Apple iOS, or UKG/JDE) in addition to Data Analytics/AI with curriculum, content, and measurable enrollment.
