[Hiring] Manager, Instruction and Program Design @Merit America

Role Description

The primary mission of the Manager, Instruction and Program Design is to build the courses Meritus College teaches and to lead the team that supports learners through them. This is a player-coach role that combines two distinct responsibilities: hands-on instructional and program design and program/project management for the function’s people and work.

You will design and build learning experiences yourself while leading the program designers, technology coordinators, coaches, and learner support staff who deliver and sustain them.

As Meritus College launches and builds in real time, you will own the course build process end to end, including:

• Partnering with subject matter experts and adjunct faculty to translate their expertise into competency-aligned, accessible, well-structured online courses.
• Holding that work to a consistent design standard.
• Using feedback from coaches and support staff to improve course design.

Just as importantly, you will serve as the program and project manager for the Instruction and Learner Support function, translating priorities into plans, coordinating people and dependencies, tracking work, resolving blockers, and ensuring follow-through.

Responsibilities

• Team Leadership and Program Management (40%):
  • Lead the full instruction and learner support workplan within the integrated College workplan.
  • Maintain projects, milestones, owners, timelines, and statuses.
  • Facilitate weeklies, key meetings, and internal reviews; set agendas; document decisions and next steps; ensure follow-through.
  • Translate priorities into actionable plans, track commitments, follow up with owners, and unblock issues as they arise.
  • Represent the program and learning design function in Functional Lead syncs within Meritus College.
  • Support hiring and capacity planning recommendations as enrollment and course volume grow.
• Learning & Program Design (30%):
  • Design and build college courses in the learning management system.
  • Translate competencies and learning outcomes into instructional design for working adult learners.
  • Create and maintain course design standards, templates, and style guides.
  • Design assessments and materials integrating AI-enabled tools.
  • Ensure every course meets accessibility requirements.
• Subject Matter Expert Partnership & Course Builds (20%):
  • Serve as the primary partner to contract subject matter experts and adjunct faculty on new course builds.
  • Manage course build timelines and dependencies.
  • Review SME-produced content for instructional quality and readiness.
• Quality & Continuous Improvement (10%):
  • Use feedback from course delivery to identify areas for improvement.
  • Maintain course and design documentation to a standard for accreditation review.
  • Proactively spot gaps in process, tooling, or ownership and build practical solutions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree in higher education, counseling, or a related field preferred.
• 5+ years in instructional or learning design, with a portfolio of courses you personally built.
• Experience managing people or leading a team, formally or as a project lead.
• Experience partnering with subject matter experts.
• Strong technical fluency with learning management systems and accessibility standards.
• Highly organized with strong project management instincts.
• Comfortable in a start-up environment.
• Learner-centered judgment.

Requirements

• Committed to Merit America’s mission to pave pathways to family-sustaining careers.
• Demonstrated history of embodying organizational values.
• Shared sense of responsibility and ownership for collective work.
• Committed to continuous learning and growth in advancing inclusive excellence.
• Passionate about fostering a workplace culture that embraces individual differences.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental and Vision insurance (100% Paid Employee Only Coverage).
• Flexible Spending Account and Health Savings Account.
• Dependent care Flexible Spending Account.
• Health Reimbursement Account fully funded by Merit.
• Education & personal development reimbursement.
• Catalog of courses for professional learning and development.
• Short and long-term disability.
• Flexible PTO (after a 90-day introductory period).
• Paid Parental Leave and Adoption benefits (after 1 year of employment).
• 11 federally recognized holidays.
• 2 week holiday office closure in December/January.
• 401(k) retirement plan with automatic Merit contribution.
• Wellness Benefits/Wellness Resources.
• Discount perks at work program.
• Phone/technology stipend.
• Home office setup stipend.
• Affinity groups and community building via virtual, in-person, and/or regional meetups.