Assurance Senior Manager (Learning & Development Liaison)

CohnReznick • , IL

16h • Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Manager – Assurance Learning & Development serves as the Assurance practice’s embedded leader responsible for executing and advancing Assurance learning strategy in partnership with the Center for Learning & Development (CLD). Positioned within the Assurance business unit, this role combines deep Assurance subject matter expertise with responsibility for translating technical, regulatory, and operational priorities into scalable learning solutions that strengthen audit quality, accelerate professional development, and support consistent capability growth across the practice. This role acts as the bridge between Assurance leadership and CLD by defining what capabilities must be developed and why they matter operationally, while partnering with CLD to design and deliver effective learning experiences aligned to enterprise instructional standards. The Senior Manager plays a critical execution role in operationalizing the Assurance multi-year learning strategy through technical learning asset development, SME engagement, and sustained program delivery.

Requirements

• Deep Assurance Expertise: Extensive experience in the Assurance field — for example, a background in audit or Assurance services — combined with experience in developing or leading professional learning programs. Prior roles in Assurance learning or professional services learning leadership are highly beneficial.
• Regulatory Knowledge: Strong understanding of AICPA, PCAOB, and SEC training and proficiency expectations, as well as familiarity with how these regulatory requirements influence Assurance practice training needs.
• Leadership & Execution: Demonstrated success in leading complex, cross-functional initiatives, ideally in a matrixed environment. Proven ability to translate high-level strategy into practical, operational execution steps and deliver results.
• Stakeholder Management: Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, with experience working closely with senior leaders and SMEs. Able to build trust and consensus across both the Assurance practice leadership and corporate learning teams.
• Firm-First Mindset: A strong “firm-first” mentality with a commitment to audit quality, continuous improvement, and talent development in alignment with CohnReznick’s strategic priorities.
• CPA license or an equivalent professional credential in accounting/auditing is strongly preferred (though not strictly required), given the technical nature of Assurance content and credibility needed in working with practice leaders.

Responsibilities

• Practice Learning Modernization & Enablement: In partnership with the CLD, the Senior Manager supports the continued evolution of Assurance learning by defining practice-driven development needs and operational realities that inform learning solutions. Drawing upon deep Assurance experience, the role provides technical and workflow context that enables CLD to apply appropriate instructional approaches while maintaining regulatory defensibility and audit-quality standards . This responsibility ensures modernization efforts reflect how Assurance professionals apply knowledge in practice.
• Content Quality & Technical Ownership: The Senior Manager provides practice-side technical ownership for Assurance learning content by ensuring materials accurately reflect current assurance methodology, regulatory expectations, and real-world engagement requirements. Working collaboratively with other Assurance subject matter experts (SME) and CLD managers, the role clarifies technical expectations, consolidates practitioner input, and prepares technically validated source materials that support efficient development of learning assets. This responsibility strengthens consistency and quality across Assurance programs while addressing the technical ownership gap created by increasing curriculum scale and complexity.
• Curriculum, Competency & Regulatory Alignment: Works with National Assurance Director and CLD to maintain alignment between Assurance curricula, competency expectations, and evolving professional standards. The role interprets changes arising from AICPA, PCAOB, SEC , and internal quality monitoring activities and translates those developments into clearly defined technical updates for learning programs. By helping prioritize and prepare regulatory-driven updates, the Senior Manager improves refresh speed and supports consistent application of standards across the Assurance practice, reducing audit-quality risk associated with outdated or fragmented learning content.
• Learning Operations & Practice Execution Alignment: Co-own the Assurance learning calendar, delivery readiness, and execution tracking in partnership with CLD. Supports execution readiness of Assurance learning initiatives by aligning practice priorities, staffing realities, and regulatory timelines with planned learning activities. Acting as the Assurance practice representative in coordination with CLD, the role helps ensure learning initiatives are operationally feasible and appropriately sequenced within the business environment. Provide National Assurance leadership with transparent reports on learning progress, identified skill gaps or risks, and the outcomes of learning initiatives, enabling data-driven decisions and continuous improvement.
• Stakeholder Partnership & Change Enablement: Serving as a trusted Assurance representative, the Senior Manager strengthens alignment between National Assurance leadership, local office Learning Leaders, SMEs, and CLD. The role supports adoption of firmwide learning initiatives by helping stakeholders understand practice implications and preparing Assurance professionals for evolving learning approaches. Through ongoing engagement and feedback integration, the Senior Manager helps embed sustainable learning practices across the Assurance organization without establishing parallel learning governance structures. Champion change management for new learning approaches, preparing stakeholders and end-users in the Assurance practice for shifts toward modern learning methods.
• Technical Content Contribution & SME Capacity Enablement: Contributes embedded technical capacity to Assurance learning initiatives by preparing practice-authored technical inputs that accelerate development and refresh learning materials. This includes drafting technical source content, outlining practical application scenarios, and organizing SME contributions into structured inputs ready for development by CLD instructional design partners. By reducing reliance on limited SME availability and preparing technically complete starting-point materials, the role enables faster curriculum updates while allowing CLD to focus on instructional architecture and learner experience design.

Benefits

• Salary is one component of the CohnReznick total rewards package, which includes a discretionary performance bonus, generous paid time off, expanded, and inclusive parental benefits, and access to best-in-class learning and development platforms, to name a few.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed