Position Summary

The Managing Director of Professional Development & Education provides strategic and operational leadership for the organization’s education, training, and certification programs. This role promotes program innovation, revenue growth, stakeholder engagement, and team performance, all while ensuring offerings align with the organization’s mission, strategic priorities, and standards of excellence. It is responsible for establishing educational practices and processes that honor volunteer engagement, build technical authority, and support the association’s broader goal of serving humanity. The department’s work includes education, training, and professional certification. Building partnerships that offer specialized services and expand markets is a vital part of the department’s success.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The essential functions include but are not limited to the following:

• Develop and implement professional growth strategies aligned with the association’s long-range plan.
• Manage fiscal resources, human resources, and revenue projections to support strategic objectives.
• Communicate with volunteer leadership to inform members about education and certification opportunities and business implications.
• Translate volunteer-established policies into actionable education strategies with measurable success metrics.
• Lead and inspire professional development and certification staff teams.
• Foster a culture of engagement and professionalism within the teams.
• Monitor fiscal performance and implement corrective actions to meet financial goals.
• Evaluate and manage partnerships with suppliers, associations, and government entities to ensure return on investment.
• Introduce innovative technologies to enhance efficiency, customer satisfaction, and market reach.
• Oversee licensing sales agreements to expand market penetration.
• Develop and administer training and certification programs to strengthen the association’s value proposition.
• Ensure ethical, timely, and high-quality content development while respecting volunteer contributions.
• Manage branding and corporate awareness sales, including content acquisition and distribution strategies.
• Guide leadership in education, certification, and related activities.
• Serve as a key resource for business decisions within the association.
• Represent the association at domestic and international conferences, meetings, industry events, and partner engagements to promote educational programs, certification initiatives, and strategic objectives.
• Travel domestically and internationally, including overnight travel, as needed to support volunteer leadership activities, stakeholder engagement, business development efforts, educational program delivery, and organizational initiatives. Anticipated travel may occur multiple times annually, including at least two international trips per year based on organizational needs.

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)

• College degree required.
• Minimum of 12 years of experience in career development.
• Experience in identifying and capitalizing on business opportunities.
• Previous association experience highly desirable.
• Strong interpersonal skills to earn trust and respect from volunteers, staff, and business contacts.
• Ability to present the business perspective authoritatively within the association.
• Effective representative of the association at industry events.
• Capable of reinforcing the association’s mission and addressing key industry issues.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those required of an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to use hands or fingers and to handle or feel objects, tools, or controls. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, sit, and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus. The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate.

Travel Requirements

This position requires regular domestic travel and periodic international travel in support of association programs, conferences, meetings, volunteer leadership engagement, and business development activities. Travel may include overnight stays and is expected to occur throughout the year, including at least two international trips annually, subject to organizational needs. The employee must be able to travel independently with or without reasonable accommodation.

Note

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) incumbent in this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the incumbents will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills, or abilities. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at-will” relationship.

ASHRAE is an Equal Opportunity Employer, a drug-free workplace, and complies with applicable ADA regulations.

ASHRAE invites you to check out our website at www.ashrae.org to learn more about us. Let ASHRAE be the right place to share your skills and enhance your résumé. Please send a cover letter and your résumé, including title of the position you are applying, along with your salary requirements, to hr@ashrae.org. No calls, please. ASHRAE is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

About ASHRAE - American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers

ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a global society advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built environment. The Society and its more than 50,000 members worldwide focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability. Through research, standards writing, publishing, certification and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow's built environment today.

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