National Council for Mental Wellbeing Director, Learning Delivery Systems

Job Description

Job Description

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

The vision of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing is to make mental wellbeing, including recovery from substance use challenges, a reality for everyone. Despite overwhelming need, nearly 30 million people across the U.S. do not have access to comprehensive mental health and substance use treatment.

Founded in 1969, the National Council is a 501(c)(3) membership organization that drives policy and social change on behalf of more than 3,100 mental health and substance use treatment organizations and the more than 10 million children, adults and families they serve. We advocate for policies to ensure equitable access to high-quality services. We build the capacity of mental health and substance use treatment organizations. And we promote greater understanding of mental wellbeing as a core component of comprehensive health and health care. Through our Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) program, we have trained more than 4.5 million people in the U.S. to identify, understand and respond to signs and symptoms of mental health and substance use challenges.

The National Council is growing to meet this moment. With an annual budget of $80 million, we've more than doubled our dedicated team to 240+ employees since 2020. Although we have office space in Washington, D.C., we operate as a remote-first organization, with employees working from their various locations across the United States.

DEPARTMENT SUMMARY

The Enterprise Technology Department enables the National Council’s mission by delivering and supporting the technology platforms that power our programs and operations. Partnering cross-functionally, the team ensures systems are secure, integrated, and reliable, so the National Council can scale its impact and better serve communities nationwide.

POSITION SUMMARY

As the Director, Learning Delivery Systems, you will be the primary solutions architect and technology leader for the learning platforms that power the National Council’s programs — including our flagship MHFA program. You will own the technical strategy and multi-year roadmap for the systems that enable the delivery, administration, and evaluation of learning experiences across the organization, ensuring they are scalable, secure, accessible, and delightful to use.

This is a pivotal moment for the Learning Delivery Systems team. You will lead the build and implementation of a new target-state learning ecosystem, which represents a major platform expansion designed to serve not only MHFA but the full breadth of the National Council’s training programs and clients. At the same time, you will manage a thoughtful transition away from the organization’s legacy platform, ensuring continuity of service for current business needs throughout the migration.

This role requires a leader with strong technical fluency and meaningful experience working with or leading software development, application delivery, cloud-based platforms, and systems integration. You should be able to guide technical architecture, evaluate application designs, understand APIs and data flows, assess technical tradeoffs, and make informed decisions about the platform. You bring an extensive knowledge of e-learning technologies, standards, and workflows, and have applied that knowledge to shape platform strategy, architecture, and development across multiple LMS environments.

You will bring a track record of delivering complex, cross-functional platform solutions and the leadership judgment to guide teams through ambiguity, competing priorities, and change. You will partner closely with program leaders, internal technology teams, and third-party vendors to turn learning strategy into reliable, measurable technology outcomes, advancing mental wellbeing for millions of people.

The Director, Learning Delivery Systems reports to the Vice President, Enterprise Technology, and directly manages a team of 3.

WHAT MAKES THIS ROLE DISTINCT

Most LMS Director roles focus on platform administration, configuration, and vendor management. This role is different. The National Council is building a new learning platform from the ground up, and this Director must be capable of:

• Designing the software architecture of a cloud-native LMS on AWS, not just managing or configuring one

• Evaluating and directing vendor-delivered technical work, including reviewing application designs and holding development teams accountable to architectural standards

• Making consequential decisions about system design, e-learning standards implementation, API architecture, and data and security patterns

• Leading a team through a complex legacy-to-modern platform migration while maintaining continuity for thousands of active learners

Candidates with strong LMS administration backgrounds but without software development or architecture experience will not be competitive for this role. Equally, strong developers without meaningful learning technology experience will face a steep learning curve this role cannot accommodate; you need both.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Platform Strategy & Solutions Architecture

• Serve as solutions architect for the organization’s learning delivery platforms, ensuring scalability, security, accessibility, performance, and strong user experiences.

• Establish and maintain a multi-year technology roadmap for learning delivery systems, aligned to organizational strategy and the needs of multiple business lines.

• Guide architecture decisions for cloud-based and integrated learning platforms, including build-versus-buy analysis, APIs, identity/access management, CRM integration, data flows, analytics, security, scalability, reliability, maintainability, and cost considerations.

• Apply extensive knowledge of e-learning technologies and standards, learning workflows, analytics, and reporting to shape platform strategy, architecture, and development in support of program, curriculum, client, instructor, learner, and organizational outcomes.

• Provide technical direction to vendor development resources, ensuring solutions meet business, security, accessibility, and operational requirements.

• Partner with internal technology teams to integrate learning delivery systems into the broader tech stack (e.g., identity/access management, CRM, data/analytics, communications).

Platform Delivery & Operations

• Lead the design, implementation, configuration, and administration of learning delivery platforms and supporting services.

• Coordinate with vendor development resources to ensure work is well-scoped, technically sound, appropriately tested, and delivered in alignment with business priorities, timelines, budget, and quality expectations.

• Manage scope, schedule, resources, budget, and risk for platform releases, enhancements, and operational improvements.

• Define and enforce standards for quality, accessibility, privacy/security, documentation, and support readiness for all releases.

• Lead continuous improvement initiatives informed by user feedback, performance data, and evolving business needs.

Vendor & Stakeholder Management

• Manage relationships and contracts with third-party software providers, ensuring value, accountability, and alignment with organizational standards.

• Evaluate and hold vendors technically accountable, including reviewing application designs and architecture for quality, standards compliance, and alignment with platform direction.

• Translate between technical and non-technical stakeholders to align program, business, and technology priorities.

People Leadership

• Oversee a team with 3 direct reports, providing a safe and welcoming team environment and ensuring employee growth and development by providing regular coaching, guidance, and feedback.

• Establish and track team goals, timelines, and deliverables, and ensure alignment with organizational and departmental strategic goals.

• Take ownership and accountability for decisions made by direct reports.

• In partnership with the National Council’s human resources leadership, determine performance ratings, recommend compensation (merit increases) for direct reports, and manage performance issues if necessary.

QUALIFICATIONS
There are many paths to the skills and perspective this role requires. We take a broad view of experience and want to get to know you and the unique strengths you bring to this work. We are most likely to be interested in your candidacy if you can demonstrate the majority of the qualifications below.

Software Development & Learning Technology Experience

• Demonstrated hands-on experience with software development, application delivery, and systems integration. Experience working directly with or leading development teams on cloud-based platforms, not only administering or configuring them.

• Experience designing and leading the ground-up build of at least one custom LMS or learning platform from architecture through deployment.

• Deep working knowledge of e-learning standards (SCORM, xAPI/Tin Can, LTI, AICC) as implemented in software, including how these standards are built into a platform.

• Experience with multiple LMS platforms and the ability to apply that cross-platform knowledge to shape architecture decisions and platform strategy.

• Experience guiding architecture decisions for cloud-based platforms on AWS (or equivalent), including APIs, data flows, security, scalability, reliability, and cost considerations.

Platform & Delivery Leadership

• 7+ years of experience delivering and/or technically leading enterprise software products, digital platforms, or SaaS-based ecosystems.

• Experience leading platform delivery governance across the full SDLC, including requirements definition, solution design review, QA/UAT, release/change management, and operational readiness.

• Track record of leading complex platform migrations while maintaining continuity of service.

• Experience providing solutions architecture oversight for complex, integrated platforms (e.g., APIs, SSO/IAM, CRM, data/analytics).

• Experience ensuring user-facing platforms meet accessibility and privacy/security requirements.

Leadership & Communication

• 5+ years of experience leading high-performing teams, including direct people management.

• 3+ years of experience in product management, product strategy, or platform ownership (roadmap, prioritization, stakeholder management).

• Demonstrated ability to evaluate and hold vendors technically accountable for the quality of software design and delivery.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate between technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Demonstrated emotional intelligence, delegation, coaching, strategic thinking, and a future focus.

• Strong time management skills and attention to detail.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.

Preferred

• Experience with LearnUpon or comparable learning management/learning experience platforms.

• AWS certification (AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Developer, or Cloud Practitioner) or equivalent cloud architecture training or experience.

• Experience with Agile/Scrum methodologies in a software development context.

• Experience with nonprofit or mission-driven organizations.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:

The salary range for this position is $155,000-$170,000. Salary decisions within the range are based on experience, education, and internal equity.

The National Council offers a comprehensive benefits package, which includes (but is not limited to):

• Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance

• 403(b) retirement plan with employer contributions after 1 year of service

• Paid time off, including vacation, sick, personal, floating holiday, bereavement, and observed federal holidays

• Parental support benefits, including adoption, fertility and surrogacy reimbursement and two weeks paid parental leave

• Free unlimited Relias professional development courses

• Annual professional development and tuition reimbursement funds

• Calm Premium access

While this position can be done remotely from anywhere in the U.S., you must primarily work our Washington, D.C. business hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET

HOW TO APPLY

Interested candidates are encouraged to submit their applications promptly through our online portal. All applicants will receive a response. Please contact Jung at Positively Partners with questions or to request support in submitting your application.

Candidates who advance can expect an initial phone interview with the Positively Partners team, a follow-up interview with the VP, Enterprise Technology, and a multi-part final interview with a range of stakeholders. The Director is expected to begin work in Early Fall 2026.

Positively Partners is committed to conducting an equitable, accessible search process. Accommodation requests during the interview process will be handled confidentially. Please email View email address on ziprecruiter.com to make a request.

The National Council is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. We embrace individuals from all backgrounds and perspectives, welcoming people of all races, ethnicities, religions, genders, sexual orientations, and ages, as well as veterans, people with disabilities, and those with lived experiences in mental health and substance use challenges to apply. We are committed to fostering a welcoming environment and recruitment process for everyone.

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