Managing Director, Education Services

US-REMOTE, Lead the education business behind the world's automation workforce The International Society of Automation (ISA) is hiring a Managing Director, Education Services to run one of the most trusted technical training and credentialing portfolios in industry. This is a senior leadership seat with full P&L ownership, a team of four managers, and a direct line to the CEO, COO, and Board. Automation is changing faster than at any point in ISA's 80-year history. Industrial cybersecurity, AI-enabled operations, and a wave of retirements across the plant floor are creating demand for skilled, credentialed professionals that no training provider has fully met. ISA's courses, labs, and credentials (including the Certified Automation Professional and Certified Control Systems Technician programs and the ISA/IEC 62443 cybersecurity certificates) are the global reference point. We need a leader who will modernize how we build and deliver them and grow the business in the process. If you have run a revenue-generating education operation, know how to take a legacy portfolio into on-demand, virtual, and blended formats without losing what makes it rigorous, and want your work to matter to engineers and technicians in every manufacturing sector on earth, read on. What you'll own: You will set the strategy for ISA's entire education and credentialing portfolio and be accountable for its growth, quality, and financial performance. Strategy and growth

Sit on the senior leadership team and advise the Board on education and credentialing. Set the multi-year strategy for every education program, tied to ISA's revenue goals. Track the competitive landscape and emerging workforce competency gaps, and act on what you find. Make sure marketing and communications are resourced and pointed at the growth plan.

Content and delivery

Direct the full content lifecycle: needs analysis, design, development, delivery, evaluation, retirement. Build a balanced portfolio across instructor-led, virtual, on-demand, blended, and section-delivered formats. Set delivery standards, recruit instructors strategically, and expand into new delivery markets. Own all subject-matter-expert and instructor engagements and contracts. Own the learning management system and the technology stack behind it. Keep ISA's hands-on labs and equipment at a standard that supports real adult learning.

Credentialing

Grow ISA's professional credentialing programs while protecting their integrity and reputation. Oversee the full credential lifecycle: eligibility, job task analysis, exam development, psychometrics, delivery, scoring, recertification, and appeals. Safeguard exam security, validity, reliability, fairness, and legal defensibility. Keep certification decisions firewalled from training and sales. Manage testing vendors and psychometric consultants. Explore new credentials, micro-credentials, and digital badges as the profession changes.

Finance and performance

Build the budget, forecast against it, and control expenses. Use competitive and value analysis to set pricing. Define the KPIs and report on them to the senior leadership team.

People

Lead and coach four managers and, through them, the whole Education Services team. Hold the team to high performance and build a culture of innovation, inclusion, and accountability. Shape the team structure for the portfolio you are building, not the one you inherited. Work across departments; education touches every part of ISA.

What you bring: Required

Bachelor's degree. 10+ years leading a large revenue-generating operation, ideally in professional or technical education. A record of building high-performing teams and developing the managers under you. Comfort owning a budget, a forecast, and the hard conversations that come with both.

Preferred

Association or nonprofit experience. Experience in science, engineering, or industrial organizations. Hands-on experience with credentialing: exam development, psychometrics, accreditation (ANSI/ISO 17024 or similar). Experience taking a classroom-era portfolio into on-demand, virtual, and blended delivery.

The leader we are looking for

You treat education as a business and a mission at the same time, and you can show results on both. You are curious about where automation and AI are taking the profession, and you want ISA's curriculum ahead of that curve rather than behind it. You care about the learner's and the instructor's experience, and you measure it. You are direct, decisive, and collaborative, and you make the people around you better.

Some travel is required. What ISA offers:

A seat at the table. You report to the Chief Operating Officer, sit on the senior leadership team, and brief the Board directly. Decisions here are made by a small group of people who can move quickly. A portfolio worth leading. ISA's training and credentials are recognized around the world, backed by 80 years of standards work and a member community of practicing engineers and technicians who care about getting it right. Room to build. The mandate is modernization and growth, with the backing to do it. Compensation. Competitive salary, depending on experience, plus eligibility for ISA's leading edge incentive plan. Benefits. Medical, dental, and vision coverage; a 403(b) retirement plan with employer contribution; six weeks of combined paid time off; and professional development support. Location. Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, home to ISA's headquarters and hands-on training labs. Hybrid schedule.

About ISA Founded in 1945, the International Society of Automation (ISA) is a nonprofit professional association that sets the standard for the people who apply engineering and technology to improve the management, safety, and cybersecurity of automation and control systems across industry and critical infrastructure. ISA develops widely used global standards, certifies professionals, provides education and training, publishes books and technical articles, and hosts conferences and exhibits for automation professionals worldwide. ISA is an equal opportunity employer. We make hiring decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. No agencies or recruiters, please Must be eligible to work for any US employer