Director Research Training

Job Description
Director, Research Training

Location: Richmond, VA (Onsite

Overview
CoStar Group (NASDAQ: CSGP) is a leading global provider of commercial and residential real estate information, analytics, and online marketplaces. Included in the S&P 500 Index and the NASDAQ 100, CoStar Group is on a mission to digitize the world's real estate, empowering all people to discover properties, insights and connections that improve their businesses and lives.

We have been living and breathing the world of real estate information and online marketplaces for over 35 years, giving us the perspective to create truly unique and valuable offerings for our customers. We've continually refined, transformed and perfected our approach to our business, creating a language that has become standard in our industry, for our customers, and even our competitors. We continue that effort today and are always working to improve and drive innovation. This is how we deliver for our customers, our employees, and investors. By equipping the brightest minds with the best resources available, we provide an invaluable edge in real estate.

CoStar is the global leader in commercial real estate information, analytics, and news. Commercial Real Estate industry professionals around the globe use CoStar to access the most comprehensive data to make decisions with confidence. CoStar delivers immediate, verified commercial real estate information on over 5.9 million properties across every market.

Learn more about CoStar Group.

Role Overview
At CoStar Group, we uphold our "Best teams anywhere" standard by hiring great people and developing them to deliver world‑class data quality and client experience. The Director, Research Training leads the end‑to‑end learning strategy and execution for the Research organization, ensuring new hires are successfully onboard, managers are equipped to coach, and experienced researchers continue to grow through targeted continuous education.

This leader owns the training roadmap, curriculum, governance, and measurement framework across classroom, nest, and continuing education stages. They partner closely with Corporate Training/L&D, Product, IT, Research Operations, and senior Research leadership to align training content to evolving tools and workflows (e.g., Web Enterprise, Classic Enterprise Stack, PRT, Workday learning modules) and drive measurable improvements in data accuracy, timeliness, and client outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Training Strategy & Governance
• Build and maintain the Research Training Strategy aligned to business objectives, OKRs, and the competencies required at each career stage.
• Establish governance for curriculum standards, instructor guides, learner materials, and train‑the‑trainer readiness.
• Maintain a multi‑month training calendar and capacity plan for Richmond training rooms.
• Partner with Corporate Training to ensure job profiles and learning paths are accurate and to coordinate enterprise compliance assignments (avoid duplication).
• New‑Hire Onboarding (Classroom → Nest)
• Own Week 1 Foundations (CRE basics, product walk‑throughs, assessments) and Weeks 2–3 role‑specific classroom (Market/Tenant), including the 80% assessment threshold before Nest.
• Lead the Nest program: coach assignment, SBS/reverse‑SBS schedule, desk setup, portfolio assignments, audit certification for coaches, daily summaries, and back‑to‑floor readiness.
• Standardize assessment rubrics (accuracy audits, production KPIs, value‑add metrics, call flow), and enforce minimum performance gates to advance.
• Ensuring international adaptations reflect local workflows, language, and product variants.
• Continuous Education & Certifications
• Design and deliver ongoing skill sustainment (3–6 months post‑onboarding) and advanced tracks (e.g., hierarchy curation, construction pipeline, news case writing, lease comps research).
• Issue digital badges for role certifications (SOAR roles, Nest Coaches, Orientation Leads) and maintain transcripts in Workday.
• Support cohort learning (audits, calibrations, case communication reviews) in partnership with Research Ops.
• Change Management & Adoption
• Embed Prosci/ADKAR and CLARC people‑manager responsibilities across training tool and workflow changes; prepare directors/managers to communicate, coach, and mitigate resistance.
• Coordinate release‑aligned content (feature overviews, job aides, UAT coordination with BAs) and train‑the‑trainer sessions ahead of deployments.
• Program Diagnostics & Analytics
• Build dashboards and reporting that quantify training impact (assessment of pass rates, audit outcomes).
• Review diagnostics with Research Ops to identify training gaps (e.g., single‑location hierarchy clean‑up, tenant rep capture, space‑use alignment) and prioritize curricula updates.
• People Leadership & Stakeholder Management
• Recruit, onboard, and develop Training Managers, Implementation Specialists, Nest Trainers, and program leads; conduct regular 1:1s, feedback, and performance coaching.
• Collaborate with Research Directors/Senior Managers to align huddle topics, market meeting expectations, and cross‑team SBS (Market Tenant).
• Partner with Corporate Training/L&D, Product, IT, and HR Services to ensure tools, compliance modules, and learning sites are current and accessible.
• Tools, Content & Platforms
• Curate and maintain learning content in Workday Learning, Confluence/Wiki (Manager Toolkit, Research processes), and Cynergy/Knowledge Center.
• Ensure training coverage for primary platforms (Web Enterprise, PRT, Classic Enterprise Stack) and external resources (LinkedIn Learning prerequisites, power broker/impact awards context).
• Compliance, Risk & Standards
• Coordinate with HR/Legal to incorporate relevant guidance into training (e.g., recruiting/legal training boundaries, data handling).
• Uphold CoStar training standards: in‑person degree requirements, classroom etiquette, documentation integrity, and consistent assessment scoring.

Required Qualifications (Basic)

• Bachelor's degree (in‑person, accredited institution) or equivalent; advanced degree a plus.
• 7+ years of experience in learning & development, or adjacent functional leadership; 4+ years leading training teams or large training programs.
• Demonstrated success building end‑to‑end curricula (onboarding → nest → continuing ed) and improving operational KPIs (accuracy, timeliness, client satisfaction).
• Proven change‑management experience and manager enablement.
• Excellent communication skills: ability to coach at all levels and collaborate across Product, IT, Ops, and HR.
• Internal Applicant: Strong mastery of CoStar Research workflows and tools (Web Enterprise, PRT, Classic Stack) and Workday learning administration.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing role certifications and issuing digital badges; familiarity with UAT and release‑aligned training.
• Background in Commercial Real Estate.
• Track record of international training support (Canada/UK/Spain) and localization.
• Data fluency building training diagnostics and dashboards.

Core Competencies (Director Level)

• Functional/Technical Mastery: Advanced understanding of research tools/workflows and L&D methodologies; integrates emerging technologies to enhance training effectiveness.
• Strategic Thinking: Connects day‑to‑day training operations to business goals; prioritizes training investments against OKRs.
• Operational Excellence: Designs scalable programs, sets measurable gates, and enforces standards (assessments, audits, certifications).
• People Leadership: Develops trainers and coaches; builds a culture of feedback, peer audits, and continuous improvement.
• Change Leadership: Plans for and communicates change, equip managers to coach through transitions, and measures adoption.

Success Metrics (examples)

• New‑Hire Readiness: ≥ 90% pass rate on Week‑2/3 assessments; ≥ 95% completion of Nest audits/certifications.
• Quality Outcomes: ≥ 10–15% improvement in audit accuracy
• Content Currency: 100% of major product changes accompanied by release‑aligned training and updated job aides before deployment.

What's In It For You
Working at CoStar Group means you'll enjoy a culture of collaboration and innovation that attracts the best and brightest across a broad range of disciplines. In addition to generous compensation and performance-based incentives, you'll be supported in both your professional and academic growth with internal training, tuition reimbursement, and an inter-office exchange program.

Our Benefits Package Includes (but Is Not Limited To)

• Comprehensive healthcare coverage: Medical / Vision / Dental / Prescription Drug
• Extensive initial and ongoing training, emphasizing commercial real estate principles, internal software applications, and management skills
• Annual Bonus based on goals and targets
• 401k plan with company match and employee stock purchase plan
• Life, legal, and supplementary insurance
• Registered Retirement Savings Plan
• Paid time off
• Tuition reimbursement
• On-site fitness facility

CoStar Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer; we maintain a drug-free workplace and perform pre-employment substance abuse testing