This role is fully remote, we set a location because some job boards require it.

The Role

Kasa's hospitality operations rely on tech-driven tools & systems to deliver a flawless experience for guests, local property partners and neighbors to help travelers feel at home in a new area. As the Sr. Manager of Learning & Development, your goal will be to design and implement operations training programs that create a positive, lasting impression of Kasa so that guests come back to stay with us again and again, property partners want to grow with us, and neighbors love having us in their communities. Moreover, you will be responsible for supporting career path development at every level of the operations organization to support growth and mobility.

To reach these goals, you will need to balance quality and efficiency of execution to keep up with Kasa's rapidly growing portfolio of properties. You will be tasked with building out an onboarding and training program for Kasa's on-site and central teams to ensure we are delivering consistently high standards of quality through scalable systems. This will include developing new hire and ongoing learning & development programs to increase retention and adoption of our standards across a distributed workforce.

You will primarily work virtually and remotely, with occasional visits to Kasas to provide live trainings, and gain hands-on experience with our on-site roles. Though the work is remote, Kasa's culture is collaborative, dedicated, and passionate. This role requires regular (8-10 business days per month) visits to our on-site training & testing center for innovation, currently scoped for Chicago. We are open to both local and remote candidates willing to travel regularly.

About the Team

This role is in our Hospitality Programs department, working cross functionally with teams across Kasa. While the Hospitality Programs team has a broad set of backgrounds in hospitality, real estate, technology, and beyond, everyone joined Kasa because they are passionate about ensuring our guests, property partners, and neighbors receive reliable and consistent high-quality service during each interaction.

A Day in the Life of a Senior Manager, Training and Development

As the Sr. Learning & Development Manager, you will design, launch, and manage foundational training and development programs, including building out our LMS for virtual and on-site learning, standing up a team of trainers, and working across subject matter experts to develop and implement a robust set of best practices.

Combining data, conversations, and intuition, you will update and prioritize the Training roadmap and strategy to maintain a set of high-impact projects to accomplish each quarter. This role requires deep understanding of our day-to-day operations, cross-functional collaboration and creative problem solving.

• Strategic Planning - Think ahead and keep the team on track. Use historical data and gather anecdotal information from on-site team members to develop initiatives that support short-term and long-term objectives and design the projects that drive them.
• Analyze - Quantify everything you do. Utilize data-driven, decision-making to understand operational trends and craft your recommendations for growth. You will turn data into programs and then process, to maintain sustainable feedback loops.
• Test & Iterate - Try, try, try again. Be committed to finding the best solutions through iteration and learning from testing. Identify operational weaknesses in our processes and build scalable solutions. Outline, develop, and test high-impact programs and playbooks for our cities reaching scale.
• Build Standards of Excellence (Kasa non-negotiables) - Define our operations-wide governance and hold teams accountable to fostering "The Kasa Way". You will be one of the primary owners in deciding where Kasa negotiates, and doesn't for Operational processes.
• Onboarding - Own the employee onboarding process and its design end-to-end. Set new employees up for success from day one through a robust onboarding program.
• Train (enable best practices & change management) - Provide replicable, scalable and consistent training and coaching on quality standards to maximize adoption across teams.
• Communicate & Report - Establish and maintain regular communication to ensure functional partners and Kasa's leaders are aligned on key objectives for the programs you oversee. Ensure Kasa operations team members are clear on the company's Objectives and Standards and how they contribute to them.
• Collaborate - Work cross-functionally and collectively to identify process inefficiencies, build solutions (process, system or tech), and drive broad operational efficiency.
• Ideate - Bring and nurture bold ideas to the table, including eliciting ideas from front line operations teams who see opportunities every day. These could range from building new maintenance checklists to testing new products to improve our guest experience.
• Be a coach first - Mentor mentality. Prioritize development across operations at Kasa. Coach your team and Kasa managers by regularly providing constructive feedback, clearly outlining career growth paths, celebrating the wins, and elevating the team.
• Project Management - Invest in planning. Identify, plan, and execute projects and root cause analyses to improve our existing processes. Own the timelines and budgets and take pride in doing what you say you'll do.

Experience

• 6+ years of learning & development experience in operations (inclusive of onboarding new employees) and experience as a people manager overseeing complex real-world initiatives. It's a plus if you have experience leading a team within Hospitality Operations with a combined centralized and decentralized workforce
• You are data-driven, with the ability to interpret and analyze financial and non-financial data
• You're a self-starter and clear communicator who is able to identify problems, brainstorm solutions, scope and prioritize projects
• You like managing and executing complex initiatives from start to finish that align business goals with technology and operations solutions
• You have been in stakeholder shoes, you understand the realities that Ops team members may face rolling our central programs, and know where to flex, and where to hold the line
• You are a team player, eager to roll up your sleeves, and aren't afraid of technical details. You've worked with task management platforms before and are excited about the opportunities to improve a business system and troubleshoot
• You are an expert in your field, have a strong EQ, and are able to generate deep empathy with operating team members which enables you to truly listen, collaborate, and affect improvements needed, small and large
• You have deep knowledge of hiring, supporting and building culture amongst a distributed team
• You have the ability and willingness to travel as needed (minimum of 1 trip per month, likely two, 2-3 day trips per month visiting our portfolios)

Plus if...

• 2-3 years of experience in a startup environment (and liked it!)
• Experience hiring, supporting and building culture amongst a remote team
• Knowledge of housekeeping, maintenance, property, and/or short-term rental management
• Masters in Business Administration, Operations Management, Training, Hospitality or something similar

In one year, you will succeed at Kasa by having:

• Developed a robust set of operating standards within training that are delivering measurable results and help Kasa meet our company-level objectives
• Shipped multiple high-impact workflow improvements or playbooks that lead to lasting efficiency gains, improved quality and ability to reach our financial goals across operating teams
• Identified and tested a large number of (potentially crazy) innovative ideas, piloting them and rolling out the most successful ones across our full portfolio
• Increased adoption and accountability of team members' use of our platforms, including effective change management communications as standards change
• Become a respected leader and thought partner to your team, the Portfolio Operations teams, and the Kasa leadership team
• Built a program and stood up a team of trainers that enables rapid Portfolio launches or expansion, with a clear understanding of the various stages of growth (walk/crawl/run) as well as our labor and operating model

Benefits

• 🧳 Travel on your schedule: This roles requires 4-6 days per month of travel to gain context, insights and build rapport with the markets you own. It is remote, but we prefer someone in a hub city, or in the center of the country, the job will be easier if you can get to our city's quickly
• 🌏 Remote Work: With flexibility as a core value, and over three-quarters of the team working remotely, Kasa employees are able to work from anywhere!
• ✈ Kasa Travel Credit: We love to travel! Kasa employees get an allowance of free stays with us in any of our locations, plus a 50% discount on any nights for friends and family
• 📈 Generous Stock Option Plan: We believe the success of our business should be shared with our team. As you grow with us, we increase the opportunities for you to become part-owners of our company.
• 🙌 Flexible PTO: Full-time exempt Kasa employees are encouraged to take time off as they need and see fit, ensuring that it's not disruptive to their work
• 📈 401(k) plan: As you invest in yourself and your future, Kasa invests in you too: we match 50% of the first 4% of deferred salary
• 💰 Competitive Salary: We offer base salaries at market rates plus additional earning opportunities based on the position
• 🩺 Health Coverage: We've invested in comprehensive health insurance options to help when you need it most