Education Director

Overview

Smithbucklin
, a 650-person, employee-owned professional services company with more than 70 years of success serving the association market, with primary offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C., is looking for an Education Director to join our Education and Learning Services (ELS) unit in our Washington DC office
. The Education Director leads education strategy, is responsible for the overall delivery of education programs and related financial outcomes for an assigned group of clients. This role develops education strategy, leads teams to implement and execute on that strategy while delivering superior service and works in collaboration with the Head of ELS and Senior ELS Leadership team. At Smithbucklin, we embody a culture driven by optimism, ambition, expertise, and thoughtfulness
, where every team member is empowered to exceed expectations and deliver exceptional results for our clients. Join us in shaping the future of association management, where our values serve as the cornerstone of our success.

What You Will Do:

• Lead strategy, operations, and innovation for credentialing programs, including identifying opportunities for program evolution and growth.
• Develop and implement comprehensive education strategies for an assigned group of clients.
• Partner with Executive Directors and client leaders to define strategic education goals, KPIs, and expectations for program quality and revenue.
• Establish and manage education budgets, develop product business models, and monitor financial performance.
• Lead teams in designing and delivering tailored programs that integrate with marketing, events, sales, and IT strategies.
• Oversee educational experience design; engage specialized expertise when needed.
• Identify and introduce innovations to enhance client outcomes, profitability, and operational efficiency.
• Champion new approaches to learning design, delivery modalities, and content development.
• Serve as relationship manager for client organizations when appropriate.
• Lead post program evaluation to assess outcomes, determine learnings, and recommend enhancements.

• Oversee project plans, clarify team roles, and maintain alignment through regular project meetings.
• Direct staff involvement with client volunteer committees and boards.
• Develop accurate forecasts and manage performance against education budgets; resolve financial or operational issues proactively.
• Ensure strong communication and client management, including schedules, status reporting, issues, and resolutions.
• Troubleshoot challenges and implement course corrections to strategy or execution plans.

• Serve as an executive member of the ELS team, driving unit initiatives and performance.
• Raise talent development needs and opportunities with the Unit Head.
• Support high engagement and top performance through coaching.
• Provide input to ELS leadership on guidelines for education strategy and experience design.
• Recommend and support improvements to processes, tools, and methodologies.
• Ensure teams consistently apply standards, processes, and delivery models.

• Are results-driven
  , staying focused on priorities and consistently delivering on commitments and goals.
• Have a natural curiosity
  , enjoy research, and proactively seek new information, trends, and ideas that elevate your work.
• Value autonomy
  , thrive in environments where you can shape processes, and also respond well to direction when strategic alignment is needed.
• Build strong relationships
  , demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills and a service-oriented mindset that fosters high-performing, collaborative teams.
• Communicate with clarity and impact
  , exhibiting exceptional verbal and written communication skills tailored to diverse audiences.
• Excel at negotiation and influence
  , with a proven ability to maintain positive, productive working relationships across clients, teams, and stakeholders.

Education Management

• Comprehensive knowledge of education design and modalities, eLearning, assessment methodologies, event models, and speaker management.
• Experience designing and executing virtual learning experiences (UX/LX experience preferred), not limited to traditional virtual conferences.
• Mastery of credentialing program strategy, operations, and governance within associations.
• Deep expertise in education technology (abstract management systems, LMS, eLearning platforms, etc.) and instructional design.
• Familiarity with association environments and member-driven business models.
• Strong orientation toward innovation, best practices, and adoption of new learning methodologies.
• Data-driven approach to defining success metrics and decision-making.

• Proven ability to manage and forecast budgets.
• Complex program management experience with multiple clients and diverse learning portfolios.

• 7+ years of leadership experience in an association, professional services or…