Associate Director, Professional Engagement

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is seeking an Associate Director, Professional Engagement to join our Science and Health Care team. The Associate Director, Professional Engagement, provides operational oversight and programmatic direction for healthcare professional education and engagement initiatives within the American Diabetes Association’s Science & Health Care Division. This grant-funded position leads the development, implementation, and evaluation of large-scale educational initiatives designed to address identified professional practice gaps and improve clinician knowledge, competence, performance, and patient care.

The Associate Director works collaboratively with internal teams, healthcare professionals, volunteer leaders, faculty, professional societies, external partners, vendors, and funding organizations to advance the ADA’s professional education mission. The position oversees multiple concurrent initiatives, contributes to grant deliverables and periodic funder reports, and ensures that programs are delivered on time, within budget, and in alignment with established performance and educational outcomes. The Associate Director also provides leadership and development for staff responsible for professional education programs. This position reports to the Senior Director, Professional Engagement.

Responsibilities

Educational Strategy and Program Leadership

• Implement the strategic planning, development, and continuous improvement of the healthcare professional education components of large-scale ADA initiatives.
• Establish program objectives, deliverables, timelines, performance indicators, and measures of educational impact.
• Apply adult learning principles, instructional design practices, and learner engagement strategies across in-person, virtual, hybrid, and enduring educational formats.

Program Development and Execution

• Oversee the development and delivery of healthcare professional education activities, including program and agenda development, faculty engagement, organizational outreach, promotion, implementation, and evaluation.
• Manage multiple complex projects with accelerated timelines, interdependent workstreams, and multiple internal and external stakeholders.
• Anticipate project challenges and barriers, develop solutions, and escalate significant issues when appropriate.

Outcomes, Evaluation, and Continuous Improvement

• Integrate program evaluation efforts, including measurement of participation, learner engagement, satisfaction, knowledge, competence, professional practice, and other defined outcomes.
• Use program data, learner feedback, stakeholder input, and outcomes findings to inform ongoing program improvement and future educational strategy to strengthen program measurement and demonstrate educational impact.

Staff Leadership

• Provide leadership, coaching, performance management, and professional development for direct reports responsible for professional education programs.
• Set clear expectations, establish priorities, and support staff in managing high-volume work and rapid-turnaround deliverables.

Faculty, Volunteer, and Partner Engagement

• Lead advisory groups, planning committees, and other expert bodies that support professional education initiatives.
• Identify, recruit, orient, and engage qualified faculty and subject matter experts.
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with volunteer leaders, healthcare professionals, professional societies, healthcare organizations, advocacy groups, and other external partners.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Represent Professional Engagement on internal work groups and cross-functional initiatives, as assigned.
• Serve as a professional education resource to internal teams and contribute subject matter expertise to program positioning, audience engagement, communications, and promotion strategies.

Additional Responsibilities

• Maintain knowledge of trends and emerging practices in healthcare professional education, digital learning, learner engagement, diabetes, and cardiometabolic health.
• Represent the ADA professionally in interactions with faculty, volunteers, partners, supporters, vendors, and other stakeholders.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in education, public health, healthcare administration, business, communications, a health-related discipline, or a related field.
• Minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in healthcare professional education, continuing education, healthcare program management, association management, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience designing, implementing, and evaluating professional education programs.
• Experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects with concurrent workstreams, shifting priorities, and accelerated timelines.
• Experience delivering virtual, hybrid, and in-person educational programs.
• Demonstrated knowledge of adult learning principles, instructional design, learner engagement, and educational outcomes measurement.
• Experience leading advisory groups, planning committees, faculty, subject matter experts, or senior-level volunteers.
• Experience managing staff, including setting priorities, coaching performance, supporting professional development, and building team accountability.
• Experience developing and managing program budgets, financial reconciliations, and financial or grant reports.
• Strong project management, organizational, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
• Exceptional ability to manage time, competing demands, and multiple concurrent projects while maintaining attention to quality and detail.Strong written and verbal communication, presentation, facilitation, and interpersonal skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, virtual meeting platforms, cloud-based collaboration tools, and project management systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in education, public health, healthcare administration, business, instructional design, or a related field.
• Experience managing grant-funded healthcare professional education programs.
• Experience contributing to funding proposals, program concept development, grant budgets, and supporter reports.
• Experience with learning management systems, digital learning platforms, learner engagement technologies, and educational data or analytics.
• Experience developing education for healthcare professionals in diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, or broader cardiometabolic health.
• Experience working within a nonprofit organization, professional association, healthcare organization, or mission-driven environment.
• Knowledge of continuing education or accredited education standards and practices.
• Experience developing educational initiatives that address health equity, access to care, or the needs of diverse professionals and patient populations.

Why Work Here
The American Diabetes Association ® (ADA) offers a rewarding career working for one of the premier voluntary health organizations in the world supporting people living with diabetes and/or obesity. Our employees consistently say that our mission, culture, work-life balance, and total rewards package are what they like most about working at the ADA. benefits and our culture:

• Industry competitive base pay. Base offers are determined by several factors including but not limited to your relevant work experience, education, certifications, location, internal pay equity, etc.
• A culture of recognition including new hire welcome announcements, service anniversary awards, referral bonuses, monthly All Employee Assembly, appreciation awards
• Generous Paid Time Off, including holidays, vacation days, personal days and sick days
• Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), disability & life insurance, pet insurance, and retirement savings
• Guided by our mission, we provide full diabetes supply coverage through our medical benefits program
• A company focus on offering mental health programs and work/life balance with most of our employees working remote
• Joining our dedicated team affords the gratification of knowing beyond a doubt that you will impact the lives and well-being of millions

About the Organization
The American Diabetes Association ® (ADA) is the nation’s leading voluntary health organization fighting to end diabetes and helping people living with diabetes thrive. Since 1940, we have driven discovery and research to prevent, manage, treat, and ultimately cure diabetes. We advocate for policy changes and improved access to quality care for all people living with diabetes and/or obesity. Through the Obesity Association, a division of the ADA, we are also working to reduce the prevalence of obesity—a leading risk factor for type 2 diabetes.