Manager, Learner Services – Experiences

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States.

📋 Description

• Oversee the learner services segment of the instructional and learner support workplan, ensuring the management of projects, milestones, owners, timelines, and statuses.

• Facilitate the operating rhythm for learner services, which includes organizing team meetings, internal reviews, agendas, decisions, and follow-ups.

• Act as the representative for learner services during Functional Lead syncs, providing updates on progress, dependencies, decisions, and achievements.

• Establish and communicate learner services metrics, including service usage, resolution time, learner satisfaction, and retention rates.

• Provide recommendations regarding staffing, capacity, and budget as enrollment numbers increase.

• Guarantee that learner support services are functional, accessible, of high quality, and aligned with the needs of learners.

• Develop and uphold access pathways for academic advising, tutoring, wellness, and accessibility services.

• Monitor service usage to identify trends and obstacles to access.

• Manage the accommodations process from intake and documentation through to approval, faculty notification, and record-keeping.

• Establish service standards, response-time expectations, and guides for learners.

• Serve as the primary escalation contact for complex learner issues and create protocols for crisis situations and urgent matters.

• Oversee the learner complaint and grievance process in collaboration with the Compliance team.

• Lead and support Learner Success Partners through regular check-ins, prioritization, coaching practices, case load management, onboarding, and training initiatives.

• Manage external vendors and AI-enhanced tools, including selection, contracts, service levels, performance reviews, and renewals.

• Assess AI-driven support tools while ensuring learner privacy, accuracy, and effective human handoffs.

• Construct and enhance workflows for service access, triage, escalation, and ongoing improvement.

• Maintain learner services policies, procedures, service records, and outcome data for accreditation purposes.

• Collaborate with instruction, program design, recruitment, and enrollment teams to enhance courses and learner support.

⛳️ Requirements

• A Bachelor's degree is required; a Master's degree in higher education, counseling, or a related field is preferred.

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in student services, academic advising, coaching, or learner support, including the design or management of support services for online, adult, or non-traditional learners.

• Capability to manage and enhance complex systems that involve multiple stakeholders, tools, and processes.

• Exceptional organizational and project management skills within fast-paced environments.

• Proven experience in developing or refining processes to enhance user experiences.

• Comfort in a startup environment, focusing on creating service standards, policies, and processes where none currently exist.

• Experience in leading a team, whether formally or informally, preferably involving coaches, advisors, or other frontline support personnel.

• Experience in supporting learners, students, or participants in educational, workforce, or customer-facing roles.

• Familiarity with frameworks regarding accessibility, accommodations, or wellness support.

• Understanding of student data privacy laws and disability accommodation requirements (ADA/Section 504) in higher education, or the ability to quickly learn.

• Strong critical thinking skills for diagnosing and resolving complex or ambiguous challenges.

• Ability to handle sensitive situations with empathy and sound judgment.

• Excellent cross-functional collaboration and communication skills.

• Proficient in coordinating efforts among multiple stakeholders, including external partners.

• Clear and concise communication with both learners and internal teams.

• Comfortable utilizing data and feedback to identify trends and guide decision-making.

• Capable of translating insights into actionable improvements.

• Detail-oriented with a strong commitment to follow-through.

• Understanding of and ability to apply data privacy and data security frameworks to sensitive learner data.

• Committed to the mission and values of Merit America.

• Must reside within the 50 states or District of Columbia and possess full authorization to work in the 50 U.S. states and District of Columbia.

• Merit America does not provide employment visa sponsorship.

🏝️ Benefits

• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance (100% Paid Employee Only Coverage).

• Flexible Spending Account and Health Savings Account options available.

• Dependent care Flexible Spending Account.

• Fully funded Health Reimbursement Account by Merit.

• Reimbursement for education and personal development expenses.

• Access to a catalog of courses for professional learning and development.

• Short- and long-term disability coverage.

• Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO) after a 90-day introductory period.

• Paid Parental Leave and Adoption benefits after 1 year of employment.

• 11 federally recognized holidays.

• Two-week holiday office closure in December/January.

• 401(k) retirement plan with automatic contributions from Merit.

• Wellness Benefits and resources.

• Employee discount perks program.

• Stipend for phone and technology expenses.

• Home office setup stipend.

• Opportunities for community building and affinity groups through virtual, in-person, and/or regional meetups.