H-1B Visa Professional Learning Specialist Jobs
Professional Learning Specialist roles qualify for H-1B visa sponsorship when the position requires a bachelor's degree in education, instructional design, curriculum development, or a directly related field. Employers in K-12 districts, edtech companies, and corporate learning teams regularly file LCAs for this occupation. No lottery exemption applies, so timing your job search around the April cap registration window matters.
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The Vice Provost for Workforce Partnerships and Professional Learning provides university-wide strategic leadership for Virginia Tech's workforce and professional learning enterprise by fostering innovative educational models and creating educational pathways that: respond to evolving workforce needs and employer demand; align with institutional priorities and Virginia Tech’s research and scholarly expertise; and advance Virginia Tech's land-grant mission through educational innovation, workforce preparation, and economic development. The Vice Provost builds partnerships across academic and administrative units and leads the growth of a sustainable portfolio of professional graduate degrees, certificates, executive education, and other credentialed workforce programs.
The Vice Provost has entrepreneurial drive and works collaboratively with and provides strategic leadership across the academic colleges and departments, research institutes, the Graduate School, Enrollment Management, Outreach & International Affairs (OIA), and Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) to launch and sustain programs that capitalize on the institution's strengths and geographic opportunities. As a member of the Provost's senior leadership team, the Vice Provost advises the Provost on institutional growth and sunsetting strategies related to workforce partnerships and professional learning.
The position will be based either in Blacksburg or the Greater Washington, D.C. area.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership
- Develop and implement Virginia Tech's strategy for professional workforce education.
- Develop an organization that brings coherence to activities related to workforce partnerships and professional learning that includes organizational design, staffing, governance, long-term strategic priorities, and a financial operating model such that it is a self-sustaining unit.
- Lead university-wide strategic development for professional master’s degrees, graduate certificates, executive education, and other relevant credentialing offerings, ensuring alignment with Virginia Tech’s academic strengths, research priorities, and market opportunities.
- Advise the Provost regarding institutional investments, policies, and priorities related to workforce education and professional learning.
- Identify and recommend changes to university policies, processes, and governance that enable more agile development and delivery of workforce education and professional learning opportunities.
- Coordinate workforce education and professional learning strategies across Virginia Tech's statewide locations to maximize institutional impact while responding to regional workforce priorities.
Organizational Strategy and Portfolio Management
- Lead institutional market and feasibility analysis and portfolio planning to identify opportunities for new workforce education and professional learning initiatives (in-person, fully online, or hybrid) aligned with Virginia Tech's strengths.
- In partnership with the Graduate School, academic colleges and departments, research institutes, and VCE, develop and manage a university-wide portfolio of workforce education and professional learning offerings, ensuring academic quality, financial sustainability, and alignment with institutional priorities.
- Regularly assess the portfolio using enrollment, financial, workforce demand, learner outcomes, and employer engagement metrics, recommending expansion, modification, or discontinuation as appropriate.
- Establish performance expectations and portfolio review processes for workforce education and professional learning initiatives.
Partnerships and Pathway Development
- Build strategic partnerships with academic leaders across Virginia Tech to leverage faculty expertise, research strengths, and geographic assets in support of workforce education and professional learning. Initial foci will center on Blacksburg/Roanoke and the Greater Washington, D.C. area, with emerging foci in the Tidewater and Richmond regions.
- Develop strategic partnerships with industry, government agencies, military organizations, health systems, and nonprofit organizations to expand workforce education and professional learning opportunities.
- Advance workforce education and professional learning as a strategic component of Virginia Tech's research enterprise by partnering with principal investigators and research institutes to integrate workforce development into major sponsored initiatives.
- In partnership with the Division of Enrollment Management, establish enrollment goals, evaluate market opportunities, prioritize new program development, and monitor portfolio performance using shared institutional metrics.
- Serve as the primary academic partner to VCE, establishing a collaborative division of labor for VCE-related non-credit training and professional certifications and for-credit graduate and certificate programs.
- In partnership with OIA, establish a collaborative transition plan and division of labor to transition contract credit programs and other credentialing programs that may lead to professional graduate degrees.
- In partnership with the Graduate School, academic colleges and departments, and research institutes, identify, evaluate, and prioritize opportunities for new and expanded professional master’s programs and develop formal non-credit-to-credit pathways that allow students to complete training and certifications to stack, articulate, or ladder into credit bearing graduate certificates and degrees.
Academic Programs and Operations
- Provide executive oversight for the operational infrastructure supporting workforce education and professional learning programs, including admissions, enrollment, learner records, instructional delivery, student support, and compliance.
- Partner with Enrollment Management to develop recruitment, marketing, enrollment, and student success strategies that support sustainable program growth.
- Navigate university governance and collaborate with academic leaders to secure academic approval for new and revised programming.
- Establish dashboards and performance metrics for academic leaders to monitor enrollment and program effectiveness.
- Maintain compliance with regional accreditation bodies regarding relevant academic standards.
Financial Leadership
- Develop self-sustaining financial models for workforce education and professional learning initiatives, including incentive structures that encourage academic units to participate in these initiatives.
- Identify and pursue new revenue streams through sponsored programs, state initiatives, corporate partnerships, philanthropy, and self-supporting educational programs.
- Recommend institutional investments and resource allocations.
- Oversee budgets and financial performance.
- Establish financial performance metrics and accountability measures.
Required Qualifications
- Education: Master’s degree
- Significant, progressively responsible academic leadership experience.
- Specific, demonstrable success launching credential- and/or credit-bearing programs for working professionals.
- Management of large-scale professionally oriented education programs, workforce development programs, and/or online programs.
- Experience managing a self-supporting or revenue-generating unit.
- Experience leading change with prior history of navigating traditional university structures while maintaining agility.
- Proven ability to manage multi-stakeholder curriculum rollouts and instructional design resources.
- Experience monitoring and tailoring programming to market demands.
- Demonstrated record of strategic leadership resulting in significant organizational growth or transformation.
- Demonstrated ability to build consensus and lead through influence across decentralized academic organizations.
- Demonstrated understanding of faculty governance, academic decision making, accreditation, and institutional policy.
- Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
- Ability to travel across the Commonwealth of Virginia on a regular basis. The position will be based either in Blacksburg or the Greater Washington, D.C. area, with regular time spent in both locations regardless of which campus site is the primary location.
Preferred Qualifications
- Education: Doctorate
- Experience working with and supporting faculty principal investigators on extramural research proposals.
- Management of modern learning management systems and student information systems.
- Success in securing workforce education and development grants, federal training allocations, or philanthropic gifts.
Questions about the position should be directed to search chair, David Knight at dbknight@vt.edu
Overtime Status
Exempt: Not eligible for overtime
Appointment Type
Regular
Salary Information
Commensurate with Experience
Hours per week
40+
Review Date
October 21, 2026
Additional Information
The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.
About Virginia Tech
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors College. The university has a significant presence across Virginia, including Blacksburg, the greater Washington, D.C. area, the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, sites in Newport News and Richmond, and numerous Extension offices and research institutes. A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $650 million in research annually.
Virginia Tech endorses and encourages participation in professional development opportunities and university shared governance. These valuable contributions to university shared governance provide important representation and perspective, along with opportunities for unique and impactful professional development.
Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students, or applicants on the basis of age, color, disability, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, ethnicity or national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, or military status, or otherwise discriminate against employees or applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or the compensation of other employees or applicants, or on any other basis protected by law.
If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Lisha Farrier at lfarrier@vt.edu during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to the event.
Job Description
The Vice Provost for Workforce Partnerships and Professional Learning provides university-wide strategic leadership for Virginia Tech's workforce and professional learning enterprise by fostering innovative educational models and creating educational pathways that: respond to evolving workforce needs and employer demand; align with institutional priorities and Virginia Tech’s research and scholarly expertise; and advance Virginia Tech's land-grant mission through educational innovation, workforce preparation, and economic development. The Vice Provost builds partnerships across academic and administrative units and leads the growth of a sustainable portfolio of professional graduate degrees, certificates, executive education, and other credentialed workforce programs.
The Vice Provost has entrepreneurial drive and works collaboratively with and provides strategic leadership across the academic colleges and departments, research institutes, the Graduate School, Enrollment Management, Outreach & International Affairs (OIA), and Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) to launch and sustain programs that capitalize on the institution's strengths and geographic opportunities. As a member of the Provost's senior leadership team, the Vice Provost advises the Provost on institutional growth and sunsetting strategies related to workforce partnerships and professional learning.
The position will be based either in Blacksburg or the Greater Washington, D.C. area.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership
- Develop and implement Virginia Tech's strategy for professional workforce education.
- Develop an organization that brings coherence to activities related to workforce partnerships and professional learning that includes organizational design, staffing, governance, long-term strategic priorities, and a financial operating model such that it is a self-sustaining unit.
- Lead university-wide strategic development for professional master’s degrees, graduate certificates, executive education, and other relevant credentialing offerings, ensuring alignment with Virginia Tech’s academic strengths, research priorities, and market opportunities.
- Advise the Provost regarding institutional investments, policies, and priorities related to workforce education and professional learning.
- Identify and recommend changes to university policies, processes, and governance that enable more agile development and delivery of workforce education and professional learning opportunities.
- Coordinate workforce education and professional learning strategies across Virginia Tech's statewide locations to maximize institutional impact while responding to regional workforce priorities.
Organizational Strategy and Portfolio Management
- Lead institutional market and feasibility analysis and portfolio planning to identify opportunities for new workforce education and professional learning initiatives (in-person, fully online, or hybrid) aligned with Virginia Tech's strengths.
- In partnership with the Graduate School, academic colleges and departments, research institutes, and VCE, develop and manage a university-wide portfolio of workforce education and professional learning offerings, ensuring academic quality, financial sustainability, and alignment with institutional priorities.
- Regularly assess the portfolio using enrollment, financial, workforce demand, learner outcomes, and employer engagement metrics, recommending expansion, modification, or discontinuation as appropriate.
- Establish performance expectations and portfolio review processes for workforce education and professional learning initiatives.
Partnerships and Pathway Development
- Build strategic partnerships with academic leaders across Virginia Tech to leverage faculty expertise, research strengths, and geographic assets in support of workforce education and professional learning. Initial foci will center on Blacksburg/Roanoke and the Greater Washington, D.C. area, with emerging foci in the Tidewater and Richmond regions.
- Develop strategic partnerships with industry, government agencies, military organizations, health systems, and nonprofit organizations to expand workforce education and professional learning opportunities.
- Advance workforce education and professional learning as a strategic component of Virginia Tech's research enterprise by partnering with principal investigators and research institutes to integrate workforce development into major sponsored initiatives.
- In partnership with the Division of Enrollment Management, establish enrollment goals, evaluate market opportunities, prioritize new program development, and monitor portfolio performance using shared institutional metrics.
- Serve as the primary academic partner to VCE, establishing a collaborative division of labor for VCE-related non-credit training and professional certifications and for-credit graduate and certificate programs.
- In partnership with OIA, establish a collaborative transition plan and division of labor to transition contract credit programs and other credentialing programs that may lead to professional graduate degrees.
- In partnership with the Graduate School, academic colleges and departments, and research institutes, identify, evaluate, and prioritize opportunities for new and expanded professional master’s programs and develop formal non-credit-to-credit pathways that allow students to complete training and certifications to stack, articulate, or ladder into credit bearing graduate certificates and degrees.
Academic Programs and Operations
- Provide executive oversight for the operational infrastructure supporting workforce education and professional learning programs, including admissions, enrollment, learner records, instructional delivery, student support, and compliance.
- Partner with Enrollment Management to develop recruitment, marketing, enrollment, and student success strategies that support sustainable program growth.
- Navigate university governance and collaborate with academic leaders to secure academic approval for new and revised programming.
- Establish dashboards and performance metrics for academic leaders to monitor enrollment and program effectiveness.
- Maintain compliance with regional accreditation bodies regarding relevant academic standards.
Financial Leadership
- Develop self-sustaining financial models for workforce education and professional learning initiatives, including incentive structures that encourage academic units to participate in these initiatives.
- Identify and pursue new revenue streams through sponsored programs, state initiatives, corporate partnerships, philanthropy, and self-supporting educational programs.
- Recommend institutional investments and resource allocations.
- Oversee budgets and financial performance.
- Establish financial performance metrics and accountability measures.
Required Qualifications
- Education: Master’s degree
- Significant, progressively responsible academic leadership experience.
- Specific, demonstrable success launching credential- and/or credit-bearing programs for working professionals.
- Management of large-scale professionally oriented education programs, workforce development programs, and/or online programs.
- Experience managing a self-supporting or revenue-generating unit.
- Experience leading change with prior history of navigating traditional university structures while maintaining agility.
- Proven ability to manage multi-stakeholder curriculum rollouts and instructional design resources.
- Experience monitoring and tailoring programming to market demands.
- Demonstrated record of strategic leadership resulting in significant organizational growth or transformation.
- Demonstrated ability to build consensus and lead through influence across decentralized academic organizations.
- Demonstrated understanding of faculty governance, academic decision making, accreditation, and institutional policy.
- Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
- Ability to travel across the Commonwealth of Virginia on a regular basis. The position will be based either in Blacksburg or the Greater Washington, D.C. area, with regular time spent in both locations regardless of which campus site is the primary location.
Preferred Qualifications
- Education: Doctorate
- Experience working with and supporting faculty principal investigators on extramural research proposals.
- Management of modern learning management systems and student information systems.
- Success in securing workforce education and development grants, federal training allocations, or philanthropic gifts.
Questions about the position should be directed to search chair, David Knight at dbknight@vt.edu
Overtime Status
Exempt: Not eligible for overtime
Appointment Type
Regular
Salary Information
Commensurate with Experience
Hours per week
40+
Review Date
October 21, 2026
Additional Information
The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.
About Virginia Tech
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors College. The university has a significant presence across Virginia, including Blacksburg, the greater Washington, D.C. area, the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, sites in Newport News and Richmond, and numerous Extension offices and research institutes. A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $650 million in research annually.
Virginia Tech endorses and encourages participation in professional development opportunities and university shared governance. These valuable contributions to university shared governance provide important representation and perspective, along with opportunities for unique and impactful professional development.
Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students, or applicants on the basis of age, color, disability, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, ethnicity or national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, or military status, or otherwise discriminate against employees or applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or the compensation of other employees or applicants, or on any other basis protected by law.
If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Lisha Farrier at lfarrier@vt.edu during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to the event.
See all 95+ H-1B Visa Professional Learning Specialist Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new H-1B Visa Professional Learning Specialist Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding H-1B Visa Sponsorship as a Professional Learning Specialist
Verify your degree field matches the role
USCIS requires your degree to align specifically with instructional design, education, or curriculum development, not just any bachelor's degree. Pull your O*NET occupation profile for Professional Learning Specialist to confirm which fields USCIS recognizes as directly related before applying.
Target employers with established LCA filing history
Search Migrate Mate to filter Professional Learning Specialist roles by employers who have active LCA filings for this occupation. Districts and edtech companies with prior filings have already cleared the DOL prevailing-wage certification process, which reduces your sponsorship risk.
Distinguish edtech employers from K-12 districts early
Public school districts are government entities and cap-exempt, meaning your H-1B petition bypasses the annual lottery. Corporate edtech employers are cap-subject. Identifying which type you're targeting changes your filing timeline by as much as a full fiscal year.
Confirm the prevailing wage tier before negotiating
Run the OFLC Wage Search for your specific SOC code and work location before you reach the offer stage. Your employer's LCA must certify a wage at or above the prevailing wage level, and knowing the floor prevents late-stage offer complications.
Prepare a portfolio that documents specialty occupation standing
USCIS scrutinizes Professional Learning Specialist petitions because the degree-to-role connection isn't always obvious to adjudicators. Assemble course syllabi you've designed, credentialing artifacts, and any instructional systems design certifications to support the specialty occupation argument in your I-129 package.
Start the LCA process well before your intended start date
Your employer must post the LCA at your physical worksite for ten business days and then wait for DOL certification before filing your I-129. Build at least six to eight weeks into your timeline before the date you need to start.
H-1B Visa Professional Learning Specialist: Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Professional Learning Specialist role qualify as a specialty occupation for H-1B purposes?
Yes, if the position requires at least a bachelor's degree in a directly related field such as instructional design, curriculum and instruction, or educational technology. The employer must document in the I-129 petition why a specific degree is the minimum normal requirement for the role. Generic education or training coordinator titles with loosely defined duties are more likely to face a Request for Evidence from USCIS.
Which types of employers sponsor H-1B visas for Professional Learning Specialist positions?
Corporate learning and development teams, edtech product companies, nonprofit education organizations, and higher education institutions are the most active sponsors. Public K-12 school districts are cap-exempt government entities, which means petitions filed through them skip the annual H-1B lottery entirely. Use Migrate Mate to browse Professional Learning Specialist openings filtered by employers with verified H-1B filing history.
What happens to my H-1B status if I move from a corporate employer to a public school district?
You can transfer your H-1B to the district through an H-1B portability filing, but the cap-exempt status of the new employer means you don't need to re-enter the lottery. Your employer files a new I-129 petition with USCIS, and you can start work once that petition is received, not just approved, provided you've maintained valid H-1B status throughout the transition.
Can I work remotely as a Professional Learning Specialist on an H-1B visa?
Remote work is permitted, but your employer must file an amended LCA listing every worksite where you spend a meaningful portion of your time, including your home address if you work from home regularly. Each new worksite must meet DOL prevailing-wage requirements for that location, which may differ from the original certified wage. Failing to update the LCA for remote locations is a common compliance violation.
How does the H-1B prevailing wage apply to Professional Learning Specialist roles?
The DOL assigns this occupation a Standard Occupational Classification code, and your employer must certify through the LCA that your offered wage meets or exceeds the prevailing wage for that code in your work location. You can verify the applicable wage level using the OFLC Wage Search before you receive a formal offer. Wages in higher cost-of-living markets are typically certified at higher thresholds than rural or lower-cost regions.