How will this role impact First Command?
First Command is evolving its Field Force capability to support scalable growth, improved client outcomes, and greater consistency across advisor performance. The Vice President, Field Force Training, will have a critical role in this transformation by leading the field force training team as it modernizes, innovates, and matures its ability to enable advisors and field leaders to perform at even higher levels in service to our clients and business.
Although focused principally on Field Force Training capability, their leadership and expertise will contribute meaningfully toward the establishment of future-state enterprise-level training readiness. This currently includes addressing training needs associated with projects across the enterprise portfolio, as required.
This role is not limited to training design and delivery, but is responsible for defining and executing a forward-looking, data-driven training strategy that directly links capability development to business outcomes, including advisor productivity, client acquisition, client experience, and long-term growth. Such a strategy will include relevant and well-communicated success measures that create a training culture focused on being accountable to our clients, field force, and business.
The Vice President will bring external industry perspectives and best practices to elevate First Command’s approach to advisor onboarding, sales effectiveness, portfolio-related training, development, field execution, and foundational practice management concepts, while helping shape a more consistent and coordinated training approach across related field functions, aligned to enterprise and business objectives.
A key priority is aligning training strategy with the Advisor and Client Lifecycles, ensuring that capability development is targeted, measurable, and tied to the specific behaviors and outcomes required at each stage.
The result will be a fully integrated field training capability within an ecosystem that drives performance, accelerates advisor success, strengthens the client experience, and contributes to First Command’s evolving enterprise training capability.
How will this senior leader contribute to First Command’s success?
Field Force Training Strategy
- Lead the Field Force Training team as it modernizes, innovates, and matures its ability to equip advisors and field leaders to perform at higher levels in service to clients and the business.
- Define and execute a multi-year Field Force Training strategy that informs and supports enterprise growth objectives and Advisor Operations priorities.
- Establish the vision, standards, and operating model for Field Force Training, creating a scalable and consistent enterprise-wide training ecosystem that evolves with business needs.
- Evolve training into a field force performance enablement function that integrates onboarding, coaching, digital tools, in-field application, sales effectiveness, portfolio expertise, and foundational practice management disciplines that contribute to advisor success.
Data-Driven Performance Enablement
- Establish and implement a data-driven training and performance framework that links training investments to measurable business outcomes.
- Partner with Advisor Operations, Analytics, and Field Leadership to define and track key performance indicators such as advisor ramp velocity, productivity, retention, and client outcomes.
- Use insights and analytics to continuously refine content, delivery models, and interventions, while building a model that is repeatable and scalable across the organization.
Advisor and Client Lifecycle Alignment
- Partner with Advisor Operations to ensure training is fully aligned to Advisor and Client Lifecycle stages, reinforcing the behaviors that drive growth and client engagement.
- Develop structured training pathways for the field force that serve immediate needs while potentially influencing a framework that could expand to support broader organizational use over time.
Scalable Training Architecture
- Build a scalable, modern field training ecosystem leveraging digital platforms, blended delivery models, and field-based reinforcement.
- Ensure consistency of delivery while enabling flexibility to meet the needs of a growing field force.
- Create standards, tools, and delivery approaches that enable alignment and consistency across the enterprise.
Behavioral Change and Adoption
- Design training experiences that go beyond knowledge transfer to drive sustained behavior change and performance improvement.
- Partner closely with field leaders to embed training into daily practice through coaching, reinforcement, and accountability mechanisms. This includes close partnership with Enterprise Adoption and Enablement teams.
- Reinforce consistent ways of working that support both field effectiveness and broader organizational alignment.
Cross-Functional and Enterprise Influence
- Serve as a strategic advisor to senior leadership on field force capability, performance gaps, and training priorities.
- Partner across Product, Planning, Technology, Enterprise Adoption, Human Resources, and Talent Development and Coaching teams to align field force training with business priorities and organizational success.
- Create a highly successful field force training strategy with training principles, practices, methods, and measures that inform and influence a larger future-state enterprise-level training strategy.
- Help shape the long-term direction of training across the company by identifying opportunities to standardize, scale, and connect capability development efforts.
People Leadership & Cultural Contribution
- Foster a mission-driven, client-focused, collaborative, high-performing, and inclusive team culture that enables employees to do their best work while advancing First Command's mission and values.
- Serve as a coach, mentor, and developer of talent by providing clear expectations, meaningful feedback, development opportunities, and ongoing support that help employees grow personally and professionally.
- Build an environment of trust and psychological safety where team members feel respected, valued, heard, and empowered to contribute ideas, challenge assumptions, learn from mistakes, and raise concerns.
- Model First Command's Core Values of Courage, Love, and Effectiveness through daily leadership behaviors, decision-making, communication, recognition, and interactions with employees, colleagues, and business partners.
Skills & Qualifications
Education and Work Experience
- At least 7+ years of experience leading training or performance enablement functions, with significant exposure to industry best principles and practices.
- External industry experience is strongly preferred, particularly within large-scale advisor networks or distribution organizations where training supports consistent execution at scale.
Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Demonstrated ability to translate business strategy into scalable capability-building solutions, aligning training investments to measurable outcomes such as advisor productivity, growth, and client experience.
- Advanced analytical and data interpretation skills, with experience leveraging performance data, KPIs, and insights to continuously refine training strategies and drive improved business outcomes at scale.
- Strong executive communication and influence skills, with the ability to engage and advise senior leadership on performance gaps, capability priorities, and strategic trade-offs.
- Proven ability to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives in a matrixed organization, driving alignment and accountability across field and home office partners.
- Expert mastery at building and leading high-performing teams, including developing leaders and creating a culture of accountability and responsibility, innovation, continuous improvement, and a culture that enables others to do their best work in service to First Command’s clients, colleagues, and business.
- Expert mastery at designing and implementing scalable operating models, including governance, prioritization, and resource allocation frameworks that enable consistent field execution and results that contribute to organizational success.
- Working knowledge of advisor practice management, client acquisition, and lifecycle dynamics, with the ability to connect training interventions to real-world advisor behaviors and client outcomes.
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple strategic priorities simultaneously, balancing long-term transformation efforts with near-term execution.
- Comfort operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment, with the ability to navigate ambiguity while driving disciplined execution.
- Collaborative leadership approach, with a strong track record of partnering across functions to advance shared enterprise priorities and deliver integrated solutions, and a clear commitment to creating a field force training team culture that helps others find purpose and meaning in their work and feel safe and successful as they do their work.
- A demonstrable commitment to engage directly with the field, using real-time insights to inform strategy while ensuring solutions are practical, scalable, and applicable across the organization.
- Exceptional relationship-building skills within a culture that honors each person’s unique capabilities, contributions, and career goals.
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