Senior Director, Education & Enablement

Location: Chicago, IL or Dallas, TX (Preferred) or Remote USA
Reports To: Chief Strategy Officer, AVANT
Team: 3 direct reports initially, supporting an overall team of 8+
Travel: 25-40% depending on location

AVANT is redefining how organizations buy next-generation technology solutions through the power of Trusted Advisors (TAs). As the nation’s premier Technology Services Distributor (TSD), AVANT helps navigate today’s rapidly evolving landscape across AI, CX, cloud, cybersecurity, infrastructure, connectivity, and emerging technologies.

Education and enablement are central to AVANT’s strategy and differentiation. We are building one of the most forward-thinking technical education ecosystems in the channel — combining in-person intensive training, peer collaboration, sales enablement, and AVANT Academy (digital learning) into a scalable platform that helps Trusted Advisors stay ahead of the market. We are looking for an entrepreneurial leader to take that vision and build it into a business.

Employees located in the Greater Chicagoland Area or Dallas/Frisco area are currently expected to work from the office 1 day per week; however, this is subject to change.

Purpose of the role:

AVANT is seeking a Sr. Director of Education & Enablement to build and lead the next evolution of our education strategy: turning our programs into a scalable training & certification business, built around an established team and a current high-quality training portfolio.

Today, our programs reach Trusted Advisors through online courses in AVANT Academy, in-person intensives, regional workshops, and various other events throughout the year, including our annual Special Forces partner summit. These programs are largely funded through vendor sponsorship and delivered by sales engineers and channel managers acting as faculty.

This is a new, first-of-its-kind role, not a backfill. We are looking for a leader who will operate as an entrepreneur within AVANT: designing the business model, building revenue from both paid enrollment and vendor sponsorship, creating certifications that Trusted Advisors and their employers value and are willing to pay for, and establishing AVANT’s program as the gold standard for education in the technology channel.

This high-visibility role spans across AVANT’s full portfolio of offerings and multiple teams.

The ideal candidate is equal parts:

• Entrepreneur and business builder
• Operator
• Technical communicator and trainer
• Player-coach and mentor, leading and developing the team while delivering sales training and facilitating programs directly.

If you have built a training or certification business before and want to do it again in one of the most dynamic areas of technology, this role is for you.

Training & Certification Business Development

• Build and own AVANT’s training and certification business, designing a model that scales and establishes AVANT certification as the industry’s gold standard.
• Operate as an entrepreneur within AVANT: develop the business plan, sponsorship model, pricing, packaging, and revenue model that finances additional trainers and curriculum as it grows.
• Build and grow two revenue streams as a primary objective of the role: paid revenue (enrollment, certification, and tuition from Trusted Advisors and their employers) and sponsored revenue (vendor sponsorship of programs, content, and events).
• Design certification paths and credentials that Trusted Advisors use to validate knowledge of AVANT’s solutions & provider portfolio.
• Launch a recurring class cadence in Chicago and Dallas, developing both offices into on-site training campuses for new cohorts.
• Partner with marketing, sales, engineering, and vendor management on go-to-market, enrollment, and vendor sponsorship of education programs.
• Work closely with AVANT’s marketing team to promote training and certification programs, drive enrollment, and position AVANT education as a premium offering in the market.
• Partner with the events team on the logistical delivery of training, from in-person intensives and regional workshops to the training program at Special Forces, so that agendas, curriculum, sponsorships, and logistics come together as one plan.

Education Program Leadership

• Deliver AVANT’s full education portfolio across tiers, from entry-level onboarding to experienced sellers to elite programs for top-performing advisors. Determine what is best delivered online, regionally, or through multi-day in-person intensives.
• Drive innovation across the entire stack of education & training offerings.
• Tie programs to sales outcomes: Trusted Advisor onboarding and activation, pipeline influence, and readiness of AVANT’s internal sales teams.
• Use AI tools and workflows to improve the quality, reach, and cost-effectiveness of content creation, delivery, and learner engagement,

Team Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop a growing education & enablement team spanning program management, curriculum design, learning technology, and content production.
• Build a dedicated team of full-time trainers, shifting sales engineers and channel managers from delivery of training to contributing subject-matter expertise and joining programs as special guest trainers.
• This role is a Player-Coach delivering sales training and facilitating programs directly.

Ideal Candidate Profile

Required Experience & Skills

• 7+ years of experience in B2B training, education, certification, sales training, sales enablement, technical sales, or related fields, including people leadership
• Proven experience building and managing a portfolio of training curriculum and certification programs in a B2B environment, from entry-level to expert courses
• Entrepreneurial mindset and business acumen: the ability to treat education as a business, build a model, and grow it
• Working knowledge of multiple B2B technology domains (e.g., cloud, cyber, CX, connectivity, etc.) or the ability to come up to speed on them quickly
• Excellent presentation and communication skills with the ability to engage both technical and business audiences
• Strong sales training skills, with the ability to design and deliver B2B sales training and coach sellers to results.
• Demonstrated ability to operate strategically while executing tactically

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience at a sales training or sales methodology company, or leading B2B sales training programs
• Experience owning revenue or a P&L for paid training, certification, or education programs, for example at an independent training company, a technology vendor’s certification program, or a university’s professional education program
• Experience within the technology channel, TSD ecosystem, or partner enablement environments
• Fluency with AI tools, prompt engineering, workflow automation, and AI-enabled content creation

Benefits:

• Medical Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Commuter Benefits
• 401K Match
• Unlimited PTO
• Generous Parental Leave

The information contained in this job description is intended to convey information about the essential functions and requirements of the position. It is not an exhaustive list of the skills, efforts, duties, responsibilities or working conditions associated with the opportunity. In addition, the employee should be able to communicate effectively and in a constructive manner with management, peers and coworkers.