About The Position
The Vice President, Learning Innovation sets the enterprise Learning & Development strategy and oversees a team of learning and development professionals dedicated to creating engaging, scalable, and innovative learning experiences that align with the University’s mission and business objectives. As part of the Human Resources leadership team, the individual partners with HR colleagues and business leaders to design impactful programs that elevate leadership effectiveness, build future-ready skills, and foster an enduring culture of learning and growth.
At University of Phoenix, we believe education should fit the lives of those who have the most to gain from it. Founded in 1976, we pioneered higher education for working adults, individuals with jobs, families, and ambitions too often overlooked by traditional universities. Nearly 50 years later, that founding mission has evolved into a powerful, data-driven model that helps adult learners move confidently from learning to earning.
In 2025, the University’s parent company, Phoenix Education Partners, Inc., took an important next step by becoming a publicly traded company (PXED) on the New York Stock Exchange, after more than eight years of ownership by private equity companies Apollo and Vistria, who remain our majority owners.
Today, the University serves approximately 83,000 students, the vast majority of whom are first-generation college students and working adults with an average age of 37. We’ve aligned 100 percent of our programs to career-relevant skills, helping our students graduate with competencies employers seek. Our faculty of nearly 2,300 professionals have an average of 29 years of industry experience.
Over the last near-decade, University of Phoenix has undergone a sweeping transformation. We modernized our technology infrastructure, invested $500 million in AI-driven platforms, and harnessed two petabytes of data to personalize learning, enhance student outcomes, and increase operational efficiency.
Behind these impressive outcomes is a passionate team of 3,400 employees who come to work every day inspired by one goal: to help adult learners achieve real career mobility and lifelong success.
Reporting to the Chief Human Resources Officer, this leader oversees a team of L&D professionals dedicated to creating engaging, scalable, and innovative learning experiences that align with the University’s mission and business objectives. This role partners closely with the HR leadership team and business leaders to design impactful programs that elevate leadership effectiveness, build future-ready skills, and foster an enduring culture of learning and growth.
What You’ll Do
- Lead, inspire, engage and develop a multidisciplinary team of learning and talent development specialists, facilitators, and instructional designers; foster a culture of innovation, collaboration and continuous improvement.
- Define and operationalize the end-to-end Learning & Development strategy, from long-term capability-building vision to roadmap execution and ongoing optimization.
- Lead the enterprise-wide shift to a skills-based learning model, integrating AI-enabled platforms to personalize learning, boost learner engagement, strengthen the achievement of learning objectives, and measure business impact.
- Partner with key stakeholders to identify skill gaps, define learning journeys, align L&D investments with organizational priorities and drive measurable business outcomes.
- Establish and communicate a clear vision for fostering a culture of learning, growth, and continuous improvement across all levels of the Company.
- Develop and oversee enterprise learning programs, including leadership development, onboarding, functional training, and professional growth initiatives.
- Implement scalable and comprehensive programs that ensure employees possess the knowledge, tools, and industry expertise to deliver world-class service and student experiences.
- Introduce and champion innovative delivery methods, such as blended learning, experiential learning, and AI-driven learning platforms.
- Leverage a range of learning modalities within our fully remote workforce, including synchronous virtual classroom, experiential, and self-directed learning, to enhance learner engagement and knowledge retention.
- Regularly assess and modernize our learning tech ecosystem, reviewing legacy tools and exploring new innovations to ensure we spend wisely and maintain a cost-effective, future-ready learning environment.
- Build understanding and enthusiasm for learning through change leadership—using influence to gain buy-in from key stakeholders and aligning efforts across functions.
- Partner with vendors and external experts to bring fresh, creative, and effective learning solutions to the Company.
- Utilize data analytics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness and ROI of learning programs. Translate insights into actionable improvements and future L&D strategies.
- Select, mentor, coach and evaluate staff; establish and monitor appropriate employee performance objectives; prepare and present employee performance discussions, including one-on-one meetings and quarterly check-ins; implement mentoring and coaching plans, or disciplinary action, where appropriate
- Perform other duties as required or apparent.
NOTE: The Primary Accountabilities above are intended to describe the general content and requirements of the position and are not intended to be an exhaustive statement of duties. Incumbents may perform all or most of the Primary Accountabilities listed above. Specific goals or responsibilities will be documented in incumbents’ performance objectives as outlined by the incumbents’ immediate manager.
Supervisory Responsibilities
Direct and indirect management of staff
What You Bring To The Table
MINIMUM EDUCATION AND RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE:
- Bachelor’s degree in Learning & Development, Talent Management, Human Resources, Organization Psychology, or a related field
- Ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in Learning and Development
Additional Qualifications
- Master’s Degree
- Recent, demonstrated success leading digital transformation or workforce reskilling initiatives leveraging AI, analytics, and automation
- Robust, proficient user of AI in daily activities
- Experience developing or deploying enterprise skill architectures (skills taxonomies, mapping, and proficiency frameworks)
- Strong business acumen with ability to present workforce readiness metrics to key leaders
- Exceptional leadership, interpersonal, team collaboration and consultative skills; capable of influencing across all levels of the organization
- Strong analytical mindset; able to interpret data to measure impact and drive decision-making
- Excellent communication, facilitation, and presentation skills
University of Phoenix is an equal opportunity employer.
If you are an active-duty military member seeking employment when off-duty, compliance with Department of Defense Joint Ethics Regulation, 5500-7-R, is required prior to starting employment with University of Phoenix. You are advised to contact your base Judge Advocate General to seek such approval and answer any questions.
