Director, Customer Success & Strategic Implementation - Craft Education

If you're passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country-and you're committed to working hard to play your part in building that future-consider Craft Education as the next step in your career.

Craft Education is on a mission to solve skilled labor shortages by powering work-based learning pathways for all.

At Craft, we're revolutionizing the apprenticeship degree, combining on-the-job learning with accredited instruction to create innovative educational pathways that accommodate working professionals and meet employer needs. Our flagship product - Craft Connect - helps organizations administer apprentice degree programs and address mission-critical data and reporting needs. Through the same platform, Craft is also transforming how on-the-job learning converts into academic credits.

Our team of technology, education and workforce professionals also provides technical assistance to organizations looking to launch and manage apprenticeship degree programs. We are working tirelessly to accelerate the expansion of these programs along with the data infrastructure that underpins them.

If you're looking to join the work-based learning revolution, we'd love to talk with you. At Craft, you'll have the opportunity to solve hard problems in a high-growth startup environment and make a lasting impact on the future of education and workforce development. We couldn't be more excited to advance this work as a team of innovative, collaborative and mission-oriented professionals - we hope you'll consider joining us.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Job Description

The Director, Customer Success and Strategic Implementation will lead Craft Education's efforts to deploy scalable apprenticeship pathways and provide high-impact technical assistance in workforce development. This senior leadership role will oversee a team of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and Project Managers, who are responsible for executing the organization's client project pipeline, maximizing outcomes for customers, and driving opportunities for scale, monetization, and broader market impact. Additionally, this role will oversee Customer Success, Customer Education, and Apprenticeship Degree Instructional Support/Curriculum Technical Assistance teams to ensure successful program implementation that meets compliance and performance standards. The senior leader will foster ongoing feedback loops between program delivery, product, and sales team to ensure the platform and services continue to meet and anticipate user needs.

• Leads the organization responsible for the design, development, and deployment of scalable work-based learning pathways that address specific employer skill gaps, improve workforce retention, and respond to labor market demands.
• Has the overall responsibility within the senior leadership team for customer retention, strategic partner management, customer account development, services revenue, and learner pathway outcomes.
• Oversees the creation and implementation of apprenticeship programs, ensuring their scalability, regional relevance, and compliance with federal and local standards.
• Ensures that programs are tailored to meet sector-specific needs across industries, such as education, healthcare, business, and IT, while addressing distinct workforce challenges and skill gaps.
• Collaborates with pilot partners to test apprenticeship pathways in live environments, utilizing the organization's freemium-to-premium service model to refine program offerings and scalability potential.
• Supervises and supports a cross-functional team of SMEs, project managers, and staff across Customer Success, Customer Education, Onboarding, Consulting, and Apprenticeship Degree Instructional Support/Curriculum Technical Assistance, ensuring each team aligns with the organization's strategic goals.
• Drives a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement by gathering insights from program deployments, turning these insights into actionable feedback for both program enhancement and product development.
• Manages the organization's pilot project pipeline, identifying opportunities for program scale and monetization through findings, and optimizing program execution to meet compliance, business objectives, and strategic growth.
• Cultivates strategic partnership with employers, education institutions, and workforce boards to ensure the alignment of the organization's platform and seamless implementation of work-based learning programs.
• Oversees the onboarding and technical assistance for Registered Apprenticeship (RAP) sponsors and stakeholders, ensuring smooth operations, data compliance, and robust reporting mechanisms.
• Provides customized technical assistance to partners, helping them leverage the platform for streamlined program execution, compliance tracking, and sustainable growth.
• Gathers and analyzes feedback from client engagements to guide platform enhancements and future program offerings, making data-informed decisions to strengthen alignment with partner needs.
• Collaborates closely with Product team to feed real-time insights from client engagements and customer onboarding into product development, creating a continuous feedback loop that drives feature enhancements and platform improvements.
• Partners with Sales to provide them with real-world case studies and insights that will inform go-to-market strategies and reinforce the value proposition.
• Engages with key enterprise clients, RAP sponsors, and training providers to co-develop and refine scalable work-based learning pathways, ensuring alignment with employer needs and labor market demands.
• Works with the Director of Data & Research to measure the impact of apprenticeship pathways, ensuring alignment with the organization's strategic objectives and data-driven improvement efforts.
• Collaborates with the data team to maintain compliance with federal and local standards, including DOL and Participant Individual Record Layout (PIRL) requirements, to ensure program integrity and sustainability.
• Coordinates with regional and program-specific accrediting bodies to ensure pathways align with academic and industry standards.
• Uses compliance data and program evaluations to continually refine the pathways, ensuring alignment with evolving labor market needs and strengthening workforce outcomes.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

This job description includes a general representation of job requirements rather than a comprehensive inventory of all required responsibilities or work activities. The contents of this document or related job requirements may change at any time with or without notice.

Qualifications

• Knowledge and experience designing workforce development programs, with a preference for experience across multiple sectors, such as education, healthcare, IT, and business.
• Proven expertise in project management with a focus on initiatives involving workforce boards, employers, and educational institutions.
• Strong strategic partnership skills, especially with educational institutions and workforce boards, aligning programs with labor market demands.
• Data-drive approach to optimizing programs, including tracking impact and supporting continuous improvement.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement skills with the ability to communicate effectively with RAP sponsors and workforce boards.
• Willingness to travel occasionally to engage with stakeholders, partners, and team members.

• Bachelor's Degree

Experience

• 15 years of management experience, including a demonstrated ability to scale teams and drive operational efficiency
• 10 years of leading cross-functional teams in complex, multi-stakeholder projects across multiple verticals
• 3 years of managing vendor relationships and budgets, including RFP processes from curation to submission

Experience in lieu of education

Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for education degree requirements. Generally, equivalent relevant experience is defined as 1 year of experience for 1 year of education and is the discretion of the hiring manager.

Travel

This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including required attendance at designated company summits (typically one to two per year). Additional travel may include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed. Additional travel may be assigned as needed to support business requirements.

Position & Application Details

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It's not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.