Senior Content Specialist (Disney Institute)

For over 30 years, Disney Institute has helped business professionals learn the Disney approach to customer and employee experiences. Rooted in time-tested business insights on leadership, employee engagement, and quality service, the Disney approach helps create a culture of excellence at our Disney parks and resorts. Disney Institute helps professionals, teams, and organizations around the world apply these business insights to improve their own experiences. Disney Institute offers professional development in-person and virtually through private engagements for groups and advisory services for entire organizations.

For over 100 years, the Walt Disney Company has been home to the world’s foremost creative and innovative storytellers. That continues into the future with the Disney Institute Delivery, Operations and Content Team. We are the storytellers and content crafters behind professional development on behalf of The Walt Disney Co. Our mission is to tell world-class, immersive stories in unforgettable ways. Every day, we create compelling, impactful creative content that inspires and impacts our participants around the world.

Disney Institute is searching for a Sr. Content Development Specialist reporting to the Program Operations Director and will sit onsite in Anaheim, CA or Celebration, FL.

You will be part of an opening team that will be responsible for developing the curriculum from the ground up for a new portfolio of products for Disney Institute. You will be responsible for designing modern, industry-leading content and experiential learning moments for learning events and advisory services engagements for executive, senior manager and front-line manager and employee audiences. Through deep and comprehensive research approaches, the Senior Content Specialist will identify best practices from across the Walt Disney Company related to this new content pillar and develop them into frameworks, case studies, examples, discussions, activities, and field experiences that can be shared with our clients.

This position will be responsible for the curriculum strategy and design execution of several, all-new experiential learning events both onsite at Disney Destinations and offsite at client locations. Pre-launch, this position will research current best practices from all segments of The Walt Disney Company and develop immersive learning experiences in theme parks and other Disney Destinations and their associated physical and digital course materials. Through strong project management expertise and technical skills, they will align learning objectives and methodologies as well as incorporate trends and consumer insights related to this content pillar for in-person instruction with audience-appropriate assets. This role will also help with project assignments for non-senior roles.

Post-launch, this role will continuously improve and maintain the curriculum and course assets for accuracy, relevancy, and quality, while ensuring content reflects current technology-enhanced delivery methods and contemporary business theory and practice, with relevant examples placed in the proper time context. This person must be well-organized, able to handle multiple tasks and projects and motivated to be a part of an exciting reimagining of Disney Institute’s Content and Delivery strategy with a clear delivery deadline in FY ‘25. A critical skill for this role is the ability to think creatively and have the resilience to implement innovative ideas.

You Will/Responsibilities:

• Design and development of learning and development strategies, curriculum, solutions, and content.

• Interview subject matter experts to research best practices from across The Walt Disney Company and then distill those findings into adaptable business insights that can be shared with Disney Institute Clients.

• Develop keynote slides, participant guides, facilitator guides, videos and other collateral and partner with content partners (content specialists, graphic designers, copy editors, multimedia etc.) to project manage those assets to completion and within scope.

• Develop and manage production schedules to ensure all content and materials are delivered on time and in scope.

• Ensure brand standards are maintained for Disney Institute content and client branded materials.

• Provide initial training for Disney Institute Delivery Cast as appropriate.

• Develop reusable tools to support Delivery Cast in client engagements.

• Monitor delivery of content for quality and effectiveness using a variety of evaluation methods.

• Periodic on-stage delivery of training, pilots, premieres, and client programs as assigned.

• Ability to remain current with business, consumer and societal trends related to this new pillar of content.

• Mentor and engage multi-disciplinary internal stakeholders, subject matter experts, other content specialists, writers, and multimedia partners, as well as external vendors, suppliers, and contractors during development.

• Collaborate and consult internally with Disney Institute Delivery Team members to understand and develop holistic approaches to the needs of external clients.

• Interact with clients and participants to assess needs and gather feedback in the piloting and testing of content

• This role may travel between Anaheim, Glendale and Burbank, CA to visit various Disney worksites.

You Will Have/Basic Qualifications:

• 8+ years Disney Leadership Experience, or related professional experience

• 8+ years of adult learning/training and development experience as an Instructional Designer (or related field Organizational Design Manager, Educator, Business Consultant, Video Producer)

• Experience with project management including leading detailed and well organized projects within a deadline

• Experience with adult learning and organization improvement principles

• Experience reviewing business strategy and translating it into learning solutions

• Demonstrated written, verbal and presentation communication skills

• Experience collaborating with internal and external partners

• Experience working on a variety of content such as keynote presentations, participant guides, facilitator guides, videos and other collateral

• Experience using Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint) and Keynote (preferred)

• Demonstrated ability to interact credibly and represent the Disney brand with internal partners and external business clients at all levels (including executives).

• Ability to deal with ambiguity and fast-paced change driven by growth and client expectations

• Willingness to travel within the U.S. for pilots, premiers, and design sessions.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 2+ years experience as a Facilitator at Disney, or related professional experience facilitating meetings to achieve objectives, such as content design or information gathering meetings

• Experience designing executive education programming (content for Leadership, Executive and Manager audiences)

• Familiarity with creative problem solving and/or innovation processes.

• Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) through ATD

• Demonstrated ability to write or help localize content to multiple cultures and languages around the globe.

• Detailed research practices regarding Disney historical records and archives as well as with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

• Experience mentoring, leading and engaging with content partners, internal stakeholders and external vendors, suppliers and contractors.

Required Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent work experience in related field (Content/Instructional Design, Organizational Design, Education, Business, Video Production)

Preferred Education:

• Master’s degree in related field (Content/Instructional Design, Organizational Design, Education, Business, Video Production)

Our Benefits: Disney offers a rewards package to help you live your best life. This includes health and savings benefits, educational opportunities and special extras that only Disney can provide. Learn more about our benefits and perks at https://jobs.disneycareers.com/benefits

The hiring range for this position in California is $77,100 - $103,400 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.