Strategic Learning & Development Leader
Learning that moves the business, not just the course catalog.
I'm Darren Jones — a strategic L&D leader who translates complex talent challenges into measurable business outcomes. From technical bootcamps to leadership pipelines, I build learning systems that bridge the gap between enterprise strategy and everyday execution.
2,572
survey responses across 17 lines of business
239
engineers onboarded through 18 coordinated SMEs
1,800+
users trained to enterprise Figma compliance & usage standards at 68% 30-day completion
200+
developers certified through security training
Featured Work
Programs with results you can measure
Learning Strategy & Analytics
Enterprise People Leader Survey
Directed the enterprise-wide launch of a People Leader survey spanning 17 lines of business, then turned 2,572 responses into the data foundation for leadership development strategy.
Technical Enablement
Technical Onboarding & Security Certification at Scale
Scaled technical onboarding and security certification programs by coordinating 18 internal SMEs — training 239 incoming engineers and rolling security training out to 200+ developers — while building a self-sustaining onboarding system teams could run without me.
Adoption & Compliance
Enterprise Figma Enablement
Transitioned 1,800+ associates from ungoverned tool usage to standardized enterprise operating guardrails — linking mandatory training directly to software access, reaching 68% completion within 30 days, and establishing automated tracking for 1,000+ editors.
Regulatory Governance
Research Compliance Training Overhaul
Partnered with Legal, Privacy, and Risk to rebuild research compliance training from the ground up — replacing outdated coursework with a modern curriculum and enrolling roughly 700 design and research employees.
How I work
Trusted advisor at every level of the organization
From senior executives to engineering and design partners, I bridge the gap between organizational strategy and workforce capability. I oversee the full learning lifecycle from discovery to launch — pairing deep needs analysis with business metrics to direct investments, secure alignment, and eliminate performance bottlenecks.
Kind Words
What colleagues and leaders say
Darren ensures accountability by taking on the responsibility and outcome for others. He pushes himself and others for results... builds strong sponsor and stakeholder relationships, uses customer insights, and drives project completions that exceed company expectations.
Montoya Warner Mays, MBA, SHRM-SCP
Sr. Director, Talent Management & Leadership Development · ACCC
Direct Manager · Enterprise Leadership Initiatives · Mar 2020
Through his influence, partnership and sharing of his expertise in human centered design and learning and development, he has been able to lead and engage in multiple projects... He successfully designed and launched XD's Figma CBT and collaborated with our risk partner on the compliance strategy to ensure all users of Figma are educated on the policy and guidelines related to Figma usage.
Khadijah Jackson
Design Operations & Tools Lead · Capital One
Cross-Functional Partner · Enterprise Figma Enablement · Jun 2023
Darren is collaborative, communicative and results driven and his forward thinking has enabled us to shape our Learning Plan in a way that will drive next level impact... The expertise and energy Darren brings into everything he executes on is truly unmatched. I look forward to any opportunity I have to partner with him in the future.
Zoe Williams
EPTech People Ecosystems · Capital One
Cross-Functional Partner · EPTech TPM Onboarding · Sep 2025