Learning & Development
Org Development
You architect how entire organizations learn, grow, and transform at scale. This path builds systems thinkers who become Chief Learning Officers—leaders who reshape company DNA through strategic talent development.
The Career Arc
Rotational · L1–L3
Build the Org Development craft. Prove you can wield the tools of Learning & Development.
Transformational · L4–L7
Deliver Org Development outcomes — each Learning & Development tour at this altitude has a defined mission and success criteria.
- L4 : Design OD interventions
- L5 : Manage OD function
- L6 : Define OD standards as enterprise authority
- L7 : Shape OD excellence through strategic expertise
Manage a Team?
Great Org Development managers are practitioners first. The Learning & Development IC responsibilities in L4–L7 are your foundation — your management responsibilities are additive:
- • Hire L&D professionals who measure impact—not just completion rates
- • Coach business alignment—training must serve strategic priorities
- • Run 1:1s that develop instructional design AND stakeholder management
- • Give feedback on learning outcomes—not just program delivery
- • Remove blockers—fight for budget, learner time, and leadership sponsorship
Foundational · L8–L9
Shape the Learning & Development organization from the Org Development chair — build institutions, not just products.
L1 — Associate OD Specialist Rotational
Mission
Learn organization development fundamentals
This tour of duty
Support your first OD projects
Own the outcomes
- • Learn organization development fundamentals and OD theory
- • Document organizational processes and structures
- • Participate in survey administration and data gathering
- • Support change initiative logistics
- • Build foundational knowledge of OD interventions
- • Assist with facilitation and workshop preparation
Org Development at L1 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Analyzing survey data
- • Generating diagnostic reports
- • Drafting intervention plans
L2 — Junior OD Specialist Rotational
Mission
Support OD initiatives
This tour of duty
Contribute to interventions that improve effectiveness
Own the outcomes
- • Own data analysis for organizational assessments
- • Execute survey processes and report generation
- • Build organizational health metrics and dashboards
- • Implement systematic approaches to change tracking
- • Debug issues in intervention implementation
- • Write clear diagnostic reports and recommendations
Org Development at L2 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Building assessment tools
- • Analyzing culture data
- • Creating change materials
L3 — Senior OD Specialist Rotational
Mission
Lead OD projects
This tour of duty
Lead projects that enhance organizational health
Own the outcomes
- • Lead OD projects and intervention design
- • Ensure interventions address root causes
- • Mentor junior staff on OD techniques
- • Design improvements to diagnostic processes
- • Coordinate with leaders on change initiatives
- • Build trusted advisor relationships with clients
Org Development at L3 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Modeling org scenarios
- • Synthesizing diagnostic data
- • Generating recommendations
L4 — Staff OD Specialist / Manager, Organization Development Transformational
Mission
Design OD interventions
This tour of duty
Design interventions that drive change
Own the outcomes
- • Own OD for business areas or major initiatives
- • Lead complex change management programs
- • Design organizational structures and processes
- • Mentor OD staff on consulting skills
- • Define quality standards for OD work
- • Architect approaches to culture transformation
Org Development at L4 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Analyzing effectiveness patterns
- • Building intervention frameworks
- • Creating coaching tools
L5 — Senior Staff OD Specialist / Senior Manager, Organization Development Transformational
Mission
Manage OD function
This tour of duty
Build OD practices that scale
Own the outcomes
- • Drive OD across the organization
- • Lead enterprise-wide change initiatives
- • Establish OD standards and methodologies
- • Own relationships with senior leadership
- • Define career paths for OD professionals
- • Architect organizational effectiveness frameworks
Org Development at L5 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Designing OD frameworks
- • Modeling change scenarios
- • Generating strategy documentation
L6 — Director, Organization Development Transformational
Mission
Define OD standards as enterprise authority
This tour of duty
Define OD strategy that transforms culture
Own the outcomes
- • Define OD standards and intervention frameworks as enterprise authority
- • Design governance frameworks for organizational changes excellence
- • Provide strategic counsel on complex organizational effectiveness scenarios
- • Influence how organizational effectiveness is built through thought leadership
- • Establish organizational health standards through expert guidance
- • Codify best practices and mentor senior OD professionals
Org Development at L6 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Analyzing OD patterns at scale
- • Building standards documentation
- • Creating executive reports
L7 — Senior Director, Organization Development Transformational
Mission
Shape OD excellence through strategic expertise
This tour of duty
Build the OD organization
Own the outcomes
- • Serve as the foremost OD authority for enterprise impact
- • Shape the vision for organizational excellence through strategic expertise
- • Architect operating models for global OD functions
- • Advise executives on organizational design and culture transformation
- • Define the strategic roadmap for OD investments
- • Develop OD leaders through mentorship and knowledge transfer
Org Development at L7 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Designing team capabilities
- • Building OD systems
- • Creating hiring frameworks
L8 — VP, Organization Development Foundational
Mission
Lead OD organization
This tour of duty
Navigate a major organizational transformation
Own the outcomes
- • Build organization-wide OD strategy
- • Define OD aligned with business transformation
- • Shape the culture of continuous improvement
- • Establish operating frameworks for major restructuring
- • Build executive presentations on organizational health
- • Define the multi-year roadmap for OD
Org Development at L8 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Modeling OD scenarios
- • Analyzing efficiency
- • Generating operating models
L9 — SVP, Learning & Development Foundational
Mission
Own OD enterprise-wide
This tour of duty
Transform OD into strategic differentiator
Own the outcomes
- • Define the OD vision for enterprise transformation
- • Shape organizational strategy at executive level
- • Establish OD as strategic business capability
- • Build the next generation of OD leaders
- • Define innovation agenda for organizational change
- • Shape enterprise transformation and M&A integration strategy
Org Development at L9 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Building strategic planning systems
- • Analyzing organizational trends
- • Creating OD architectures
What Hiring Managers Look For
L1-L3: You've designed and delivered measurable learning interventions that improved specific business metrics, not just completion rates.
L4-L6: You've successfully led enterprise-wide capability transformations that directly enabled new business strategies or market expansion.
L7+: You've built learning ecosystems that created competitive advantage and can articulate the ROI of human capital development to the C-suite.
Common Career Transitions
Org Development → HR Business Partner at L4-L5 for direct people strategy influence
Org Development → Change Management at L5-L6 for enterprise transformation scope
Org Development → Talent Management at L4-L6 for succession planning authority
Official Classifications
| System | Code | Official Title |
|---|---|---|
| O*NET-SOC (US) | 19-3032.00 | Industrial-Organizational Psychologists |
| ISCO-08 (UN/ILO) | 2634 | Psychologists |
| ESCO (EU) | — | psychologist |
| SSOC 2024 (Singapore) | 26340 | Psychologists |
| NCO-2015 (India) | 26340000 | Psychologists |
At L6 and above, the manager classification 1212 — Human Resource Managers applies IN ADDITION to the professional code — a manager is a superset of the individual contributor, never a replacement.
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