Director, Education, Workforce and Professional Development

Liberty Personnel Services, Inc.; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Liberty Personnel Services, Inc. is seeking a Director of Education, Workforce and Professional Development to lead the association’s education and workforce portfolio in Philadelphia.

The role will design multi-year curricula, launch training programs, and develop credentialing paths with educational partners. The position also oversees workforce development strategies, external funding and revenue generation, and safety services, ensuring program quality, delivery across formats, and

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain a multi-year curriculum roadmap grounded in member need, industry trends and workforce data; refresh annually and justify priorities with budget aligned evidence.
• Design and launch education, training and professional development programs from concept through delivery, including needs assessment, objectives, curriculum, instructors, modalities, pricing and launch.
• Develop stackable credentialing paths with partner credentialing bodies, community colleges and universities.
• Evaluate proposed programs and decide on development, partnership, licensing or retirement based on demand, performance and fit; document decisions.
• Own instructional quality: instructor selection/evaluation, participant assessment, completion data and follow-up with firms.
• Manage delivery mix across in-person, virtual, hybrid and on-demand formats and required platforms.
• Evaluate underperforming programs and propose improvements or retirement against enrollment, finances and value objectives; identify subsidized programs for strategic value.
• Set and execute workforce development strategy across awareness, exposure, apprenticeships, entry, advancement and retention; maintain and expand partnerships with relevant unions, districts and boards.
• Design and lead pipeline programming: career days, job fairs, contractor events, school engagement and recruitment sessions; establish progression outcomes and use results to improve programs.
• Build pathways into the industry for veterans, returning citizens and career changers; track hiring demand and provide annual workforce supply analysis.
• Identify, pursue and manage grant and tax-credit funded opportunities; prepare annual budgets with non-dues revenue targets; partner on sponsorship and promotions; own Tuition Reimbursement and curriculum guide; report financial performance.

Job description

Director, Education, Workforce and Professional Development

My client is a professional organization tied to the building trades. They are actively looking for someone to head up programs tied to education, workforce development and professional organizations. This person may come out of Academia or Public Administration. Could come out of Construction too! Key is a successful track record running programs! Duties include:

1. Education and professional development - program design

• Build and maintain a multi-year curriculum roadmap for the Association grounded in documented member need, industry trend analysis and workforce data. Refresh it annually and recommend priorities and resource requirements through the budget process, supported by evidence of member demand, expected outcomes, financial performance, and staff capacity.
• Design and launch new education, training and professional development programs from concept through first delivery - needs assessment, learning objectives, curriculum, instructor sourcing, modality, pricing and launch.
• Develop stackable credentialing and certification pathways that carry recognized value to member firms and to the individuals who complete them, including partnerships with credentialing bodies, community colleges and universities
• Evaluate proposed programs and recommend whether to develop internally, partner, license, or decline, based on member demand, expected financial performance, capability, and strategic fit. Document material decisions and obtain approval where required.
• Own instructional quality: instructor selection and evaluation, participant assessment, completion data, and post-program follow-up with participating firms.
• Manage the delivery mix across in-person, virtual, hybrid and on-demand formats, and the platforms required to support it.
• Evaluate underperforming programs and recommend improvement, redesign, or retirement against agreed enrollment, financial, and member-value objectives. Identify programs that warrant an approved subsidy because of their strategic value.

2. Workforce development - pipeline strategy and execution

• Set, execute and report on workforce development strategy across the full pipeline: awareness, exposure, pre-apprenticeship, apprenticeship, entry, advancement and retention.
• Maintain and expand partnerships with the Philadelphia Building Trades and affiliated locals, the Carpenters, the Laborers, Everybody Builds, joint apprenticeship committees, school districts and CTE programs, community-based providers, and regional and state workforce boards.
• Design and lead pipeline programming including career days, job fairs, contractor awareness events, school engagement, open houses and recruitment sessions. Establish appropriate progression outcomes for each activity, such as referral, application, enrollment, or placement, and use results to improve programming.
• Build pathways into the industry for populations the industry has historically underused, including veterans, returning citizens, career changers without a four-year pathway.
• Track member hiring demand and pipeline conversion and produce an annual workforce supply analysis

3. External funding and revenue development

• Identify, pursue and administer grant, public and tax-credit-funded opportunities that underwrite GBCA education and workforce programming, including Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit structure and comparable state and federal workforce funding.
• Prepare the annual budget for the function and manage to it, with explicit non-dues revenue targets by program.
• Partner with Membership Development and with Marketing and Communications on sponsorship, advertising and promotion of the education and workforce portfolio.
• Own the Tuition Reimbursement program and the annual curriculum guide, including associated advertising revenue.
• Report the financial performance of the portfolio to the Vice President of Operations, including contribution margin by program.

4. Safety services

• Coordinate and track the services delivered by the Association’s Construction Safety Consultant, including consultations, audits, program reviews and OSHA policy interpretation.
• Own the safety training and certification calendar and the Association’s safety resource library, including the toolbox talk toolkit.
• Develop safety programming that increases consultant utilization and measurably reaches more member firms.
• Directly supervise the Coordinator, Education & Workforce Development: set annual and quarterly objectives, manage workload, coach, conduct performance reviews and build a development path.
• Maintain a clear division of labor - the coordinator executes coordination, logistics and administration; the Director owns design, partnerships, funding and outcomes. Do not absorb the coordinator’s work; do not delegate the Director’s.
• Crosstrain within the function so that no program, partnership or system depends on a single person, and document processes accordingly.