Director of Learning & Development

Job DetailsLevel: ManagementJob Location: Corporate Head Quarters - EL - Houston, TX 77079Position Type: Full TimeSalary Range: $120,000.00 - $125,000.00 SalaryJob Shift: Day About Emerge Living Emerge Living is the multifamily property management platform built by Disrupt Equity. We operate Class A through C and new-development communities across 20 properties and 5,000 units, serving more than 10,000 residents, with a concentration in Texas and a growing presence in additional markets. Our operating thesis is simple: disciplined execution at the property level is what produces NOI growth, resident retention, and durable investor returns. We keep asset loads per district manager intentionally manageable so that attention is real, not theoretical. We report financials in real time, so decisions are made on facts. And we believe that employment here means more than a job — it is a chance to grow and to seize opportunity. This role exists to make that promise operationally true. Why This Role Exists Emerge Living has grown faster than any informal, tribal approach to training can support. Today, a new leasing professional in Houston and a new leasing professional in Austin may learn the job two different ways, from two different managers, with two different standards. Property managers are promoted as excellent operators and are then expected to lead people without ever having been taught how. Our technology stack is capable of far more than most of our team members currently use it for. The Director of Learning & Development is the single owner of fixing that. This is not a curriculum-librarian role, and it is not a compliance-tracking role. It is a performance role: you will diagnose where execution breaks down, build the training that closes the gap, deliver it credibly to people who work onsite for a living, and prove the impact in operating metrics — leasing conversion, retention, employee turnover, and internal promotion rate. If you want to build a learning function from the ground up, own it end to end, and be measured on whether the portfolio performs better because of your work — this is that role. What Success Looks Like In your first 12–18 months, a successful Director of Learning & Development will have moved these numbers: Leasing conversion. Measurable lift in lead-to-tour and tour-to-lease conversion, and improvement in mystery shop scores portfolio-wide. Speed to productivity. A new leasing professional, maintenance technician, or property manager reaches full productivity in materially less time than they do today, against a defined and measured ramp. Bench strength. A visible internal pipeline, with an increased share of property manager and assistant manager openings filled from within. Retention. Reduced voluntary turnover among onsite associates in their first year, and improved resident renewal rates at properties where training has been deployed. System fluency. Consistent, correct use of our property management and CRM platforms across every community, with fewer data-integrity exceptions and cleaner reporting. Standardization. One documented Emerge Living way to lease, renew, collect, turn a unit, and run a community — taught the same way in every market. Core Responsibilities 1. Own the Learning Strategy and Architecture Build and own the enterprise learning strategy for Emerge Living, covering onsite roles (leasing, maintenance, assistant managers, property managers) and corporate roles (accounting, marketing, asset management, HR, shared services). Conduct a portfolio-wide training needs assessment, using operating data, mystery shops, resident feedback, audit findings, turnover data, and direct field observation to identify where performance breaks down. Define role-based competency models and career pathways for every onsite and corporate position, so team members know exactly what proficiency looks like and what the next step requires. Select, implement, and administer the learning management system (LMS) and support content library; own the vendor relationship, budget, and utilization reporting. Establish and enforce a single set of operating standards and documented playbooks in partnership with Operations, so training reinforces the way we want the work done. 2. Drive Leasing and Sales Performance Design and deliver a leasing and sales curriculum that raises closing ratios — including discovery, tour choreography, objection handling, urgency and closing technique, follow-up cadence, pricing and concession conversations, and telephone and digital lead handling. Build a mystery shop and call-audit program with scoring rubric, individual feedback loops, and targeted coaching for underperformers; hold managers accountable for follow-through. Coach the renewal and retention conversation with the same rigor as the new-lease conversation, including rent-increase discussions, resident objection handling, and service-recovery. Partner with Marketing and Revenue Management so that the message leasing teams deliver in person match the positioning, pricing strategy, and lead sources feeding the property. Run recurring live sales sprints — shop-and-share sessions, role-play labs, leasing competitions — that keep skill sharp between formal training events. 3. Develop Property Managers and Future Leaders Build a property manager development program that teaches the leadership half of the job: hiring and interviewing, onboarding a new team member, delivering feedback, performance management and documentation, delegation, conflict resolution, and holding a team accountable without burning it out. Teach the business half of the job as well: reading and defending a P&L, budget construction and variance explanation, delinquency and collections discipline, expense control, capital project oversight, and vendor management. Create an emerging-leader or "manager-in-training" track that identifies high-potential leasing professionals, assistant managers, and maintenance leads and prepares them for promotion before a vacancy appears. Develop and coach district managers and regional leaders on how to coach — building a multiplier layer so development does not depend solely on you. Partner with HR and Operations on succession planning, talent review, and calibration so promotion decisions are evidence-based. 4. Build Systems and Technology Proficiency Own role-based training and certification for the core operating stack — property management and accounting platform (Entrata / Yardi / RealPage or equivalent), leasing CRM, revenue management, maintenance and work-order systems, resident communication tools, and reporting dashboards. Translate technology capability into operating behavior: not "here is the screen," but "here is the workflow, here is the standard, here is what good data looks like, and here is why it matters to NOI." Champion responsible for adoption of AI and automation tools in leasing, resident communication, and back-office workflows, including practical guardrails and clear escalation to a human. Build quick-reference job aids, short-form video, and in-the-flow-of-work microlearning so team members can find the answer in two minutes instead of calling corporate. Serve as the training lead on every system implementation, upgrade, or process change, and on training for new property onboardings, acquisitions, and lease-ups. 5. Deliver in the Field, Not Just from Corporate Spend meaningful time at communities — observing tours, shadowing managers, listening to leasing calls, walking units and shops — so your curriculum reflects the actual job and your credibility with onsite teams is earned. Deliver training in the format the audience needs: in-person at the property, regional workshops, live virtual sessions, self-paced modules, and one-on-one performance coaching. Provide rapid, targeted intervention at underperforming or newly acquired assets, working alongside the district manager on a defined plan with a defined exit. Build and lead a network of internal subject-matter experts and peer trainers who extend the program’s reach across markets. 6. Own Onboarding and the New Hire Ramp Design a structured onboarding experience for every role — first day, first week, first 30 days, first 90 days — with clear checkpoints, an assigned buddy or mentor, and a defined certification before a team member is considered fully deployed. Partner with Talent Acquisition and HR so that onboarding begins before day one and that hiring managers know exactly what they own in the ramp. Track time-to-productivity by role and market and use it as a primary program metric. 7. Measure, Report, and Prove ROI Build a measurement framework that goes beyond completion rates and satisfaction surveys to change behavior and business results (Kirkpatrick Levels 3 and 4 or equivalent). Report quarterly to the COO and executive leadership on program activity, participation, competency attainment, and — most importantly — the operating metrics training was deployed to move. Manage the L&D budget with discipline and make clear build-versus-buy decisions on content, vendors, and third-party certification. Maintain required compliance and certification training (Fair Housing, safety, harassment prevention, and applicable affordable-housing programs) in partnership with HR and Compliance — accurate, current, auditable, and never the whole of what we do. Your First 90 Days We will judge the start of this role on learning and diagnosis, not on how fast you can push out content. Days 1–30 — Listen and Diagnose Visit a representative set of communities across markets; observe tours, shadow property managers, and sit with maintenance and leasing teams in their actual workday. Meet every corporate department head to understand their pain points and where onsite execution creates downstream work for them. Inventory what exists today: current training materials, onboarding practices, system documentation, LMS or content subscriptions, and compliance obligations. Pull and analyze the baseline data — conversion metrics, mystery shop scores, turnover, renewal rates, time-to-fill, audit and variance findings. Deliver to the COO a written diagnostic: the three to five capability gaps cost us the most, with evidence. Days 31–60 — Build the Plan and Prove Fast Present a 12-month L&D roadmap with sequencing, resourcing, budget, and the specific metrics each initiative is designed to move. Land one visible early win — most likely a leasing conversion or mystery shop intervention at a defined set of properties — and measure it. Finalize the LMS and content strategy recommendation (keep, replace, or build) with a cost and implementation plan. Publish the competency models and career pathways for the highest-volume onsite roles. Establish the standing operating rhythm with district managers: how training requests come in, how coaching is assigned, how follow-through is tracked. Days 61–90 — Launch and Institutionalize Launch the redesigned onboarding program for onsite roles, with certification checkpoints in place. Launch the first cohort of the property manager development program. Stand up the reporting dashboard that leadership will use to see participation, competency, and impact. Deliver a 90-day readout: what you found, what you built, what moved, and what you need to accelerate. Who You Are Required Experience 7+ years of progressive experience in learning and development, training, sales enablement, or operations leadership, including at least 3 years designing and owning programs at a multi-site or portfolio level. Multifamily or comparable multi-site operating experience. You understand what a property manager’s week looks like, how a lease gets signed, and how occupancy, delinquency, renewals, and turns drive NOI. Adjacent multi-site operators (hospitality, retail, senior living, restaurant, fitness, single-family rental) will be considered if the sales-and-service coaching depth is clearly there. Demonstrated facilitation ability with frontline audiences. You can hold a room for leasing professionals and maintenance technicians who did not ask to be in training and leave them better at their jobs. Instructional design capability. You can build the curriculum yourself — needs analysis, learning objectives, blended delivery, assessment, and reinforcement — not just source it from a vendor. Sales and service coaching depth. A real track record of improving conversion, closing ratios, or customer experience scores through coaching. LMS and learning technology fluency, including implementation or administration, content authoring tools, and short-form video production. Data literacy. Comfortable in spreadsheets and operating reports; able to build a business case and defend program ROI to an executive audience. Willingness to travel approximately 30–50%, with a valid driver’s license and the ability to travel by air as needed. Bachelor’s degree in a related field, or equivalent professional experience. Preferred NAAEI credentials — CAM, CAPS, NALP, CAMT, or CAS — or willingness to obtain them. L&D certification such as ATD CPTD/APTD, or certification in a recognized sales or coaching methodology. Hands-on expertise in Entrata, Yardi, or RealPage, plus a leasing CRM and revenue management platform. Experience supporting acquisitions, lease-ups, or new property onboardings from a training standpoint. Experience building a first-generation training function where none previously existed. Bilingual English/Spanish. Affordable housing program knowledge (LIHTC, HUD, Tax Credit compliance). How You Work Builder, not caretaker. You are energized by a blank page and comfortable being the whole department before you are a team. Operator’s mindset. You measure your work in occupancy, conversion, retention, and turnover — not in courses launched. Credible in the field. Onsite teams can tell within ten minutes whether you have done the work. You have. Direct and coachable. You give candid feedback well and receive it without friction. High autonomy, high accountability. You set your own priorities against the business’s needs and report on them without being asked. Genuinely invested in people. You take real satisfaction in watching a leasing professional become an assistant manager, and an assistant manager run their own community. Travel and Work Environment Approximately 30–50% travel, weighted toward Texas communities with periodic travel to other markets; heavier during program launches, acquisitions, and lease-ups. Regular presence at apartment communities, including walking properties, touring vacant units, climbing stairs, and time outdoors in varying weather. Occasional evening or weekend work to reach onsite teams during operating hours and to support leasing events. Corporate time based in Houston, TX, with a hybrid schedule at the discretion of the COO. Compensation and Benefits Emerge Living offers a competitive base salary commensurate with experience, a performance-based bonus tied to portfolio and program outcomes, medical, dental and vision coverage, paid time off and holidays, [401(k)], reimbursement for industry credentials and continuing education, and travel and mileage reimbursement. To Apply Submit a resume and a brief note describing one training or coaching program you built and the specific business metric it developed. We are more interested in that story than in a cover letter.Qualifications