Program Designer, Curriculum
Role Overview
As a Program Designer at Merit America, you will be central to developing and enhancing our learning solutions and program models. This role focuses on creating effective, industry-aligned curricula and program frameworks that drive learner success and scalability. You will work closely with cross-functional teams, including Product, Coaching, Operations, and Admissions, to integrate best practices and innovative strategies into our programs. Your role combines strategic planning with hands-on execution, leveraging data-driven insights to continuously improve our offerings. Day-to-day, you will collaborate with teams to design, test, and refine curriculum resources and coaching strategies, directly supporting learners through customized programs while continuously analyzing data to ensure the content aligns with industry needs and learner success.
The Program Designer position is an exempt role reporting directly to the Director, Program Experience & Innovation. You will primarily collaborate with the Program team and frequently engage with other functional areas at Merit America. This role requires a strong commitment to our mission and values, a proven ability to drive innovation and continuous improvement, and the capability to balance high-level strategic goals with day-to-day operational excellence.
Responsibilities
Designer, Curriculum:
Develop and deliver integrated curriculum strategies that support learners from onboarding through job success, driving engagement, retention, and career outcomes.
Design and maintain curriculum resources across learning tracks that align with industry standards, employer demands, and learner needs.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams and third-party content providers to ensure scalable, current, and relevant content and instructional learning practices.
Utilize data insights and learner feedback to refine curriculum content and instructional methods, improving performance and learner support processes.
Maintain standards of excellence in curriculum, ensuring consistent delivery across tracks in a virtual environment.
Train and support coaches, equipping them with up-to-date tools, content, and resources that enhance learner experiences and outcomes.
Core Responsibilities:
Curriculum Design & Development (60%):
Design, curate, and customize high-quality, end-to-end learning solutions and resources for multiple tracks.
Partner with the coaching team to streamline the learner experience through clear objectives, instructions, and feedback mechanisms.
Work with third-party content providers to ensure content relevance, scalability, and alignment with industry needs.
Regularly update and refine curriculum based on feedback, trends, and data.
Integrate best practices into curricula and program models, ensuring effective and engaging learning experiences.
Manage subject matter experts and content development tasks as needed.
Apply human-centered approaches to enhance learning resources and methods.
Program Model Development (40%):
Develop and implement program models that enhance the learner experience, focusing on innovative and scalable delivery methods.
Collaborate with Program Operations to ensure effective communication of curricular updates.
Develop and execute strategies for evaluating program effectiveness through data analysis.
Design resources and training for internal stakeholders to support effective program delivery.
Design experiments to optimize program delivery and engagement, aligning innovation projects with organizational goals.
Engage with industry partners and internal data to evolve program offerings.
Work with strategic partners internally and externally, to ensure program/curriculum designs are scalable and cost-effective, while aligned with organizational goals.
Skills and Competencies
We recognize that individuals from marginalized backgrounds, including women, people of color, and those with disabilities, are often less likely to apply when they don’t meet 100% of the job qualifications. Don’t let that be the reason you miss out on this opportunity! We want to emphasize that your unique skills, experiences, and perspectives are valuable, and we encourage you to apply if you can demonstrate many of the skills and competencies. Below are the skills that are relevant for thriving in this role:
Must-Haves:
Innovative Thinking: Propose and implement projects using available data, focusing on practical, data-informed approaches to address current needs and opportunities.
Project and Data Management: Oversee projects and utilize data to guide decisions and improvements, with a focus on maintaining efficiency and effectiveness within given resources.
Problem-Solving: Apply practical solutions to address challenges and streamline processes, with an emphasis on achievable and evidence-based improvements.
Learner-Centered Mindset: Approach the role with a focus on learner success, applying a flexible and curious attitude to instructional tasks. Previous coaching experience is beneficial.
Curriculum and Program Support: Assist in developing and curating content and assessments to support effective, learner-focused educational experiences.
Stakeholder Collaboration: Work effectively with team members and stakeholders to support program objectives and ensure alignment with organizational goals.
Lifelong Learning Commitment: Engage in ongoing professional development to stay current with industry practices and improve skills relevant to the role.
Mission Alignment: Contribute positively to the organizational mission, demonstrating commitment to supporting underrepresented adults through education.
Values Alignment: Uphold the organization’s core values in daily work, contributing to a positive and inclusive work environment.
Teamwork Mentality: Support team success by working collaboratively and responsibly within a team setting.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Assist in implementing DEIJ initiatives, ensuring that programs and curricula reflect these principles.
Nice-to-Haves:
Experience in conducting research (qualitative and/or quantitative).
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Experience developing curriculum for technical careers, including software programming languages.
Other Logistics
This position is full-time: 4-day work week, Tuesday - Friday
Location: Remote
Salary: $102,485
Our goal is to have competitive and equitable compensation. We have a market-based compensation approach, which means we benchmark each role from reputable data sources. We compare our benchmarks against similarly sized non-profit organizations with comparable annual budgets and geographical areas. We pay the same rate for the same roles and adjust to comply with statutory mandates.