Operations & Learning Specialist

Based in St. Louis, Core & Main is a leader in advancing reliable infrastructure™ with local service, nationwide®. As a specialty distributor with a focus on water, wastewater, storm drainage and fire protection products and related services, Core & Main provides solutions to municipalities, private water companies and professional contractors across municipal, non-residential and residential end markets, nationwide. With over 370 locations across the U.S., the company provides its customers local expertise backed by a national supply chain. Core & Main’s 5,700 associates are committed to helping their communities thrive with safe and reliable infrastructure. Visit coreandmain.com to learn more.

Position Summary

The Operations & Training Specialist serves as a field-based resource responsible for supporting associate onboarding, training, development, and operational excellence initiatives across an assigned territory. This role partners closely with branch leadership, regional leadership, and the Learning & Organizational Development team to drive consistency in operational processes, support systems adoption, and enhance associate effectiveness.

The incumbent works directly alongside associates and managers within branch locations, providing hands-on coaching, onboarding support, process training, and operational development to ensure alignment with company standards and best practices.

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver hands-on training, coaching, and development for Inside Sales Representatives (ISRs) and other operational associates.
• Support new hire onboarding and accelerate associate productivity through structured training and development programs.
• Drive adoption and effective utilization of business systems, including ERP and operational technology platforms.
• Partner with branch and regional leadership to identify training opportunities and address knowledge or process gaps.
• Assist with warehouse operations training and the reinforcement of operational best practices.
• Conduct branch visits to observe workflows, provide coaching, and recommend process improvements.
• Facilitate classroom, virtual, and on-the-job training sessions as needed.
• Support change management and implementation initiatives related to operational processes, systems, and organizational programs.
• Collaborate with the Learning & Organizational Development team to ensure regional training efforts align with enterprise learning strategies.
• Track training progress, identify development needs, and provide feedback to regional leadership regarding opportunities to improve performance and operational effectiveness.

• Reports directly to Regional Leadership, with a dotted-line reporting relationship to the Learning & Organizational Development team to support alignment of training content, delivery methods, and development priorities.

Minimum Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience with Core & Main, ideally in a sales focused or supporting role.
• Ability to analyze performance data to identify gaps and drive improvements.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) and collaboration platforms (Teams/SharePoint).
• Ability to identify potential problems and develop effective solutions without immediate direction or supervision.
• Ability to manage deadlines, multi-task and operate in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work cohesively with all stakeholders and trainees.
• Must be able to motivate and hold groups of individuals accountable.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience in a learning & development, sales enablement, branch, talent development, or a related training role.
• Demonstrated experience facilitating training and coaching others (live and/or virtual) with measurable performance outcomes.
• Experience supporting a structured sales trainee, management trainee, or leadership development program.
• Experience coaching sales leaders/trainees using observation, call/meeting reviews, and skills assessments.
• Working knowledge of instructional design methodologies (e.g., ADDIE) and adult learning theory.
• Working knowledge of Operating Systems (Mincron or D365)

Environmental Job Requirements

• Located in a comfortable indoor area. Any unpleasant conditions would be infrequent and not objectionable.
• Typically requires overnight travel of 30-75% of the time.

Nature and Scope

• Identifies key barriers/core problems and applies problem solving skills in order to create creative and interactive training solutions. Troubleshoots and resolves problems. Makes decisions under conditions of uncertainty, sometimes with incomplete information, that produce effective end results.

• Independently performs assignments with instruction limited to the results expected. Determines and develops an approach to solutions. Receives technical guidance on unusual or complex problems or issues.

• Most of the time is spent sitting in a comfortable position and there is frequent opportunity to move about. On rare occasions there may be a need to move or lift light articles.

This information indicates the general nature and level of work performed by associates in this role. It is not designed to contain a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of associates assigned to this role. This description supersedes any previous or undated descriptions for this role. Management retains the right to add or change the duties of the position at any time.

Core & Main is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Employment at Core & Main is based solely on a person’s merit and qualifications directly related to professional competence.  Core & Main does not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, nationality, ancestry, age, disability, veteran status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, citizenship, or any other basis protected by law.

None of the questions in this application are intended to elicit information regarding any protected characteristics, nor imply any limitation, illegal preferences or discrimination based upon non-job-related information or protected characteristics.

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