ABOUT THE FEDERAL DEFENDER LEADERSHIP CENTER
The Leadership Center is dedicated to cultivating a culture of inspired leadership within the federal defender community — developing the next generation of leaders, strengthening current ones, and building the systems and programs that make leadership development sustainable over time.
We are embedded within the federal public defender system and operate as a fully virtual organization. Our team is small by design — every role carries real ownership, real visibility, and real impact. We are in an active building phase, which means this is an opportunity to shape something from the ground up, not inherit someone else’s playbook.
We are a proud equal opportunity employer whose central mission is to keep people out of prison through holistic representation, collaboration, and education. Federal public defender clients are people accused of federal crimes who cannot afford private lawyers, whose humanity is honored and protected at every stage of the criminal case and beyond.
Diversity and dignity are central to our work, and we hire without regard to race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, height, weight, veteran status, military obligations, or marital or parental status. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment in any personnel decisions or employee interactions.
THE OPPORTUNITY
As a Senior Learning Designer, you will support the full range of Leadership Center programming — from virtual and in-person workshops and leadership trainings to cohort-based learning, coaching engagements, and everything in between. You will bring design expertise, facilitation skill, and operational range to a team building a national leadership development function in real time. This is a high-scope, high-ownership role for someone who thrives when the work is dynamic, meaningful, and never the same day twice.
We are looking for a candidate who cares about impact, not just activity, with focused experience and interest in several distinct areas described below. We encourage you to indicate which one speaks most directly to your background and passion – and consider whether both fit. We are interested in discussing how your skills and experiences might span multiple areas.
- Mentorship Programs: Mentorship is one of the most powerful forces in professional development – and one of the most consistently under-designed. We are looking for someone with experience to design, develop, and scale mentorship programming at the national level — creating the infrastructure, frameworks, matching systems, mentor development resources, and evaluation tools that make mentorship stick. Equal parts visionary and operational, you will own the full lifecycle of this work, from initial design through ongoing program management and iteration, with the goal of building something the federal defender community can replicate and rely on for years.
- Leadership Development Programming: Most leadership development professionals are strong in one or two dimensions – they can design, or they can facilitate, or they can run a program. This role calls for all three to support the full range of Leadership Center programming — from virtual and in-person workshops and leadership trainings to cohort-based learning, coaching engagements, and everything in between. You will bring design expertise, facilitation skill, and operational range to a team building a national leadership development function in real time. If you do your best work when no two days look alike and the mission runs deep, this role was built for you.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
Program Design & Architecture
- Design and develop leadership development programs across modalities — virtual workshops, in-person intensives, cohort-based learning, and blended experiences
- Build curriculum that is evidence-based, experientially grounded, and calibrated to the specific culture and challenges of the federal defender community
- Develop facilitator guides, participant materials, pre-work, and application tools that extend learning beyond the training event
- Contribute to the Leadership Center’s overall content strategy and programming roadmap
Implementation & Management
- Lead the national rollout of community or subject-specific programming, coordinating across geographies and office contexts
- Manage ongoing program operations — matching cycles, participant check-ins, cohort management, and facilitator support
- Identify and resolve program issues proactively, before they become participant experience problems
- Facilitate workshops, leadership trainings, cohort sessions, and learning experiences — virtually and in person — with credibility and craft
- Adapt facilitation approach in real time to the energy, experience level, and needs of the group
- Create psychologically safe learning environments where participants are willing to be challenged, take risks, and try new behaviors
Collaboration & Production Partnership
- Work alongside colleagues with digital communications and production expertise — collaborating on both the design and execution to produce something genuinely useful, polished, and built for the people who will use it.
- Serve as the instructional authority in content development cycles — owning the learning objectives and assessment strategy while collaborating with partners on design logic and the digital experience.
- Contribute to the development of content standards and quality guidelines for the Leadership Center’s programs
Community Building & Support
- Build and maintain professional community with program participants, sponsors, and stakeholders across the federal defender community – creating connection, shared learning, and mutual support
- Design and facilitate convenings, peer learning forums, and community touchpoints that strengthen both skill and shared learning and support
Evaluation & Continuous Improvement
- Define program success metrics and build evaluation processes that measure real developmental impact, not just participation
- Collect, analyze, and act on participant feedback systematically
- Produce clear reports and insights for Leadership Center leadership and key stakeholders
- Continuously iterate — treating the program as a living design, not a finished product
EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURE
The Operations Director will serve as an employee of a Federal Public Defender Office and will be supervised by the Leadership Center staff. This structure provides the stability and benefits of federal employment alongside the dynamic, start-up culture of the Leadership Center itself — an unusual and genuinely attractive combination.
ACCESSIBILITY
We are committed to an inclusive and accessible application process. If you need an accommodation due to a disability during any stage of the application or interview process, please contact us at NVX_LeadershipCenter@fd.org. If hired, we are dedicated to providing reasonable accommodations to support your success and ensure equal access to opportunities in the workplace.
HOW TO APPLY
We are reviewing applications on a rolling basis and will move quickly for candidates who are a strong match. First review will occur on April 15, 2026. To apply, please submit the following, in a single pdf, to NVX_LeadershipCenter@fd.org, include in the subject line Senior Learning Designer A 2026:
- A current resume highlighting relevant learning and development experience, particularly in designing or delivering leadership and management programs or mentorship programs
- A cover letter — not a form letter. Tell us about a training program that deeply influenced you professionally and how it shapes the way you design and deliver programs today
- Optional: a brief description of a mentorship program you built or significantly improved
- References will be required from candidates selected for interview