How to hire a learning and development consultant

How to hire a learning and development consultant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step learning and development consultant hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a learning and development consultant job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new learning and development consultant
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a learning and development consultant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the learning and development consultant you need to hire. Certain learning and development consultant roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a learning and development consultant to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a learning and development consultant that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of learning and development consultant salaries for various roles:

   Type of Learning And Development Consultant	Description	Hourly rate
   Learning And Development Consultant	Training and development specialists plan, conduct, and administer programs that train employees and improve their skills and knowledge.	$24-54
   Trainer Lead	As a training lead, you are responsible for overseeing a company's employee training and development activities. You are also expected to perform various tasks that may include identifying training needs for the organization, supervising trainers' work, and developing effective employee training programs... Show more	$22-53
   Corporate Trainer	A corporate trainer is someone who essentially works as a teacher in a corporate setting. Daily duties include training employees with new company systems, skills, and strategies... Show more	$19-39

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Continuous Improvement
   • Learning Solutions
   • Program Effectiveness
   • Employee Training
   • Employee Development
   • Learning Programs
   • Project Management
   • Instructional Design
   • Human Resources
   • ELearning
   • Subject Matter Experts
   • Train-The-Trainer
   • PowerPoint

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead experiential learning in supervisory skills, conflict management, leadership, team building and organization process effectiveness.
   • Consult on employee satisfaction and climate improvement, process improvement, change management, team development, and organizational development interventions.
   • Develop and facilitate performance management initiatives including defining accountability and measuring results.
   • Streamline and execute marketing sales incentive programs, eLearning and content delivery.
   • Conduct enterprise-wide pilot for new eLearning tool that demonstrate tangible cost/time savings.
   • Develop an in-depth diversity train-the-trainer program for facilitators that provide legally-based fundamentals, facilitation skills, facilitator assessment, and testing.

   More learning and development consultant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your learning and development consultant job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A learning and development consultant salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, learning and development consultants' average salary in alaska is 54% less than in new jersey.
   • Seniority. Entry-level learning and development consultants earn 55% less than senior-level learning and development consultants.
   • Certifications. A learning and development consultant with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a learning and development consultant's salary.

   Average learning and development consultant salary

   $76,804yearly

   $36.92 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level learning and development consultant salary

   $51,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average learning and development consultant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$108,351	$52
   2	New Jersey	$107,232	$52
   3	North Carolina	$87,356	$42
   4	Illinois	$84,341	$41
   5	Pennsylvania	$82,458	$40
   6	Washington	$81,292	$39
   7	Colorado	$80,441	$39
   8	Maryland	$77,542	$37
   9	Texas	$74,781	$36
   10	New York	$74,607	$36
   11	Georgia	$73,853	$36
   12	Oregon	$72,247	$35
   13	Michigan	$71,557	$34
   14	Ohio	$69,305	$33
   15	Tennessee	$68,389	$33
   16	Indiana	$66,866	$32
   17	Missouri	$66,465	$32
   18	Idaho	$61,578	$30
   19	Iowa	$61,258	$29
   20	Wisconsin	$58,911	$28

   Average learning and development consultant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	SAS Institute	$109,087	$52.45	13
   2	Intel	$108,813	$52.31	7
   3	Hoffmann-LA Roche Inc	$100,380	$48.26	3
   4	IBM	$98,257	$47.24	66
   5	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$96,799	$46.54	79
   6	Ericsson	$93,942	$45.16
   7	JCPenney	$91,441	$43.96	12
   8	The Hanover Insurance Group	$91,285	$43.89
   9	Lenovo	$89,995	$43.27	3
   10	Emory University	$87,811	$42.22
   11	Idaho National Lab	$86,070	$41.38	2
   12	AmerisourceBergen	$84,545	$40.65
   13	SAM Companies	$83,531	$40.16
   14	LPL Financial	$82,815	$39.81	7
   15	Wells Fargo	$81,702	$39.28	4
   16	Mary Greeley Medical Center	$81,641	$39.25
   17	Legacy Health	$81,218	$39.05
   18	Samsung Electronics Device Solutions (Semiconductor & Display)	$80,448	$38.68	6
   19	Carnegie Mellon University	$78,627	$37.80	8
   20	Comerica	$78,621	$37.80

4. Writing a learning and development consultant job description

   A learning and development consultant job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a learning and development consultant job description:

   Learning and development consultant job description example

   Title:
   Machine Learning Algorithm Developer
   
   KBR is seeking a Machine Learning Algorithm Developer to join our team in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The candidate will support funded radar signal processing programs.
   
   Job Duties:
   

   • Enhance, extend, and modify existing Deep Learning tools & algorithms as needed support emerging customer data sets
   • Develop new Machine learning algorithms for processing Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, implement in software, and perform experiments for validation
   • Prepare and present briefings to current and prospective customers
   • Work with a flexible schedule and be willing to travel to accommodate customer priorities

   
   Required Qualifications:
   

   • 3-5 years' experience and a MS or PhD degree in electrical engineering, mathematics, or physics with experience in AI/ML/DL.
   • Programming experience in python, including standard DL packages, e.g., Keras and Tensorflow.
   • Ability to lead tasks from the proposal and planning stages though to software delivery
   • Ability to work independently and in a team environment
   • Ability to effectively interact with customers, both for program development and program status
   • Strong oral and written communication skills

   
   Security Requirements:
   

   • MUST BE A U.S CITIZEN WITH THE ABILITY TO OBTAIN A CLEARANCE.

   
   
   In compliance with the U.S. federal government's vaccine mandate, only candidates who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or have a reasonable accommodation or approved medical exception will be considered for this position.
   
   KBR is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, union status and/or beliefs, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right learning and development consultant for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your learning and development consultant job on Zippia to find and recruit learning and development consultant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit learning and development consultants, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new learning and development consultant

   Once you've found the learning and development consultant candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a learning and development consultant?