Head of Applied Financial Expertise - Mariner Academy

Advisor Development Lead – Functional Skills

Position Summary

The Senior Instructor, Functional Skills, leads the curriculum development and training delivery for Functional Skills spanning Mariner’s diverse financial services business units. This key role ensures associates gain the practical functional knowledge and capabilities necessary for strong job performance across the organization. Partnering closely with business-unit leaders and subject matter experts, the Senior Instructor defines role-specific skill requirements, sets clear and consistent capability standards, and delivers scalable, engaging training that fosters a uniform, high-quality learning experience for all associates.

Acting as a bridge between theoretical knowledge and real-world application, the Senior Instructor empowers financial professionals with practical skills, best practices, and sound professional judgment—all rooted in proven adult learning principles. Leveraging deep expertise in at least one business area, this individual is driven to document, develop, and deliver training for functional skills required throughout Mariner’s business units.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Own the Functional Skills learning domain within Mariner Academy, including curriculum strategy, design, delivery, evaluation, and continuous improvement for all financial services business units.

• Collaborate with business-unit leaders and subject matter experts to identify the functional knowledge, skills, behaviors, judgment, and best practices associates need for effective performance.

• Transform complex technical and functional expertise into engaging, practical learning that bridges theory with on-the-job effectiveness.

• Establish consistent functional skill standards and learning objectives across business units while tailoring content for domain-specific needs.

• Design and deliver training utilizing adult learning principles, experiential methods, real-world scenarios, practice, and feedback opportunities.

• Develop scalable training solutions that maintain consistency in associate capability while capitalizing on subject matter expertise within business units.

• Document and update functional skills, processes, and best practices in collaboration with subject matter experts, ensuring resources reflect evolving business practices, regulations, and evidence.

• Facilitate Functional Skills Capstone courses, both in person and virtually, to enable associates to demonstrate practical application of learned skills.

• Partner with external trainers and Mariner business units, as needed, to supplement and enhance functional skills training.

• Expand expertise to additional business-unit domains and continuously grow the Academy’s Functional Skills curriculum.

• Use established and validated skill metrics to evaluate and track learner performance in Capstone courses.

• Collaborate with Learning Experience Managers to support individualized development plans for associates requiring further skill development.

• Identify opportunities to retire outdated or unsupported practices and drive adoption of evidence-based approaches in partnership with subject matter experts and business leaders.

Qualifications

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, business, economics, accounting, education, organizational development, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.

• A relevant professional designation, such as CFP®, CFA®, CPA, ChFC®, CLU®, or similar industry credential.

• Experience training in functional skills within at least one financial services field (e.g., wealth management, financial planning, tax, institutional advising, investment banking, or insurance).

• Proven ability to translate complex technical knowledge into impactful training, instruction, coaching, or related learning experiences for professionals.

• Experience partnering with subject matter experts and business-unit leaders to define role-specific competencies and performance expectations.

• Background in designing or delivering learning that connects technical knowledge to workplace application, professional judgment, and performance.

• Experience facilitating learning for adult professionals in-person, virtually, or in blended settings.

Preferred Education and Experience

• Advanced degree in business, finance, education, adult learning, organizational development, or a related field.

• Experience designing large-scale or multi-business-unit learning programs that balance standardization with business-unit specificity.

• Formal training in adult learning principles.

• Experience developing capstone, experiential, simulation-based, or case-based learning that measures real-world application of skills.

• Knowledge and use of validated performance measures, skills assessments, or competency frameworks to evaluate functional capability.

• Familiarity with evidence-based communication techniques (e.g., Motivational Interviewing), or willingness to attain proficiency in such techniques within one year.

• Experience replacing outdated practices with evidence-informed approaches in partnership with subject matter experts.

• Experience capturing and documenting institutional knowledge, processes, and evolving best practices in dynamic technical environments.

• Skills in leveraging technology, including AI-enabled tools, within professional learning, skill assessment, or workflow applications.

• Experience working across multiple financial services disciplines or strong ability to quickly develop functional fluency in new domains.

Skills

• Deep functional knowledge and practical experience in at least one financial services discipline, with ability to learn and drive skills development in additional domains.

• Expertise in training and curriculum design, translating technical content into accessible, actionable learning.

• In-depth understanding and application of adult learning principles and experiential learning methods.

• Excellent facilitation skills for both in-person and virtual delivery to experienced professionals.

• Strong business partnership skills; credibility to work with leaders and experts and challenge the status quo when needed.

• Systems thinking; ability to identify and align common functional capabilities while respecting key distinctions by profession.

• Skills in assessment and measurement of learning outcomes using meaningful, validated standards.

• Commitment to evidence-based practice and continuous improvement based on data and learner/business outcomes.

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; ability to simplify complex concepts thoughtfully.

• Proven collaboration skills for working across units, disciplines, and organizational levels.

• Adaptability with technology and AI-enabled tools in learning and assessment environments.

• Strong professional judgment; recognizing when to standardize and when to adapt for professional or regulatory requirements.

We welcome your interest in being a part of our firm. We believe in giving associates progressive opportunities, actively nurturing professional growth and giving back to the community. We are dedicated to building a diverse culture where everyone has the support they need to achieve their career goals. We offer an innovative workplace and a culture that fosters camaraderie, teamwork and work-life balance.

By submitting your application, you agree to the collection and use of your personal information as described in our Employee and Applicant Privacy Notice.

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