Sales L&D Instructional Designer

At American Equity Investment Life Holding Company®we offer leading annuity products that help empower our clients to fulfill their needs and wants in retirement. Our success comes from hiring high-energy individuals who embody the beliefs that drive our unique culture. We currently fund over half a million retirements nationwide, and have been headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, for over twenty-five years with satellite offices in Charlotte, NC and New York, NY.

General Purpose Of The Job:    

The Learning & Development (L&D) Instruction Designer for American Equity Sales is responsible for designing, developing and implementing effective training programs for internal and external annuity salespeople. This role requires an understanding of how adults learn, instructional design best practices, and technical expertise in learning management systems (LMS) and other training technologies. The incumbent is responsible for creating engaging, learner-centered training materials that drive sales performance and an increase in business acumen. 

Essential Duties And Responsibilities:

• Designs, develops and implements comprehensive training programs for annuity sales representatives, including e-learning modules, instructor-led training, virtual training, and blended training solutions.
• Collaborates with subject matter experts (SMEs) to gather content and ensure accuracy and relevance of training materials.
• Applies adult learning principles and instructional design methodologies to create engaging and effective learning experiences.
• Utilizes learning management systems and other training technologies to deliver and track training programs.
• Creates media to support learning (visual aids, infographics, interactive exercises, animations, job aids).
• Develops assessments and evaluations to measure the effectiveness of training programs to make data-driven improvements.
• Stays current on industry trends, products, and regulatory requirements related to annuities and incorporates this knowledge into training programs.
• Works closely with sales managers and leadership to identify training needs and align training programs with business objectives.
• Manages the maintenance and updates of training materials to reflect changes in products, regulations, or industry best practices.
• Maintains American Equity Sales knowledge base.
• Cooperatively and successfully works with employees at all skill and communication levels.
• Identifies opportunities for improvement/updates to processes and training materials through regular monitoring, review, and assessment.
• Ensures the quality and consistency of course content throughout a course lifecycle.
• Develops methodology to gauge retention of knowledge after training; provides timely and effective reinforcement training and feedback to learners based on evaluation criteria.
• Performs other related work as required. 

Supervisory Responsibilities: 

Direct Reports: None 

General Description of Indirect Reports (2 and 3-downs): None 

Education And/Or Experience:   

• Bachelor’s degree in adult learning or related field of study; plus three (3) years of relevant experience in training, adult education, and/or multimedia training materials development.
• Two (2) years of experience with a Learning Management System as a developer or administrator.
• Experience with HTML and audio and video editing software preferred. 

Certificates, Licenses, Professional Designations: 

• Instructional Designer Certification(s) preferred
• Articulate Certification(s) preferred 

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities:    

• Must have a deep understanding of adult learning methodology and instructional design best practices.
• General knowledge of financial services and insurance industry.
• Ability to solve technical problems independently or in teams.
• Has a good team spirit and positive attitude. Enjoys a varied pace of working and copes well under pressure.
• Self-directed work habits, applied with creativity, resourcefulness, and a sense of personal responsibility.
• Excellent follow-up, time management and organization skills
• Strong editing, written and oral communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Ability to coordinate several projects simultaneously
• Proactive technical troubleshooting and problem-solving skills
• Technical expertise with software programs such as:
  • Articulate
  • Adobe
  • Vyond, etc.
  • 360 Learning & Other Learning Management Systems
  • Microsoft Office Suite
• Experience with Digital Adoption Platforms a plus
• Knowledge of performance-based learning, Simulation based training, Course/ User Interface Design, an digital Curriculum Development required.

Self-directed work habits, applied with creativity, resourcefulness, and a sense of personal responsibility.