Akademie Lead

Position Overview

The Leica Akademie Lead – North America will lead the development, execution, and evolution of Leica’s educational, experiential, and community engagement platform across the North American market.

Primary responsibilities include:

• Leadership and Strategy
  Lead the strategy, planning, and execution of Leica Akademie programming.
  Partner with the Vice President of Retail, Leica HQ, Marketing, Product, Gallery, and Retail teams to localize global priorities into a North American Akademie roadmap.
  Develop a programming calendar aligned with product launches, retail priorities, seasonal campaigns, cultural moments, and community engagement goals.
  Help establish Leica Akademie as a meaningful contributor to the broader retail ecosystem, supporting awareness, consideration, conversion, retention, and long-term client development.

• Team and Instructor Management
  Build, lead, and support a scalable network of Leica Akademie instructors and educational partners across North America.
  Provide direction, coaching, scheduling support, and performance expectations for field instructor resources.
  Ensure clear alignment between Akademie programming, store needs, multibrand priorities, and commercial objectives.
  Support the long-term development of a regional instructor model.
  Foster a culture of accountability, creativity, collaboration, and premium execution.

• Programming and Experience Development
  Develop and oversee high-quality Leica Akademie programming, including workshops, masterclasses, destination programs, artist-led activations, bespoke sessions, and virtual education.
  Serve as an active contributor to programming when appropriate, including teaching, hosting, presenting, and representing Leica in market.
  Ensure all programs deliver a premium Leica experience and reflect the brand’s standards for education, storytelling, technical excellence, and client engagement.
  Partner with retail leadership to create localized programming that supports store traffic, clienteling, community development, and commercial conversion.
  Evaluate program effectiveness and continuously refine the offering based on client feedback, participation, business impact, and brand relevance.

• Retail, Multibrand and Training Support
  Integrate Akademie programming into the client experience.
  Support bespoke client sessions, product launches, VIP events, gallery activations, and local community engagement.
  Develop and coordinate product training for across channels.
  Collaborate with stores and partner accounts to identify educational opportunities that enhance the Leica experience and strengthen product confidence.

• Financial and Operational Oversight
  Support budget planning, program pricing, participation goals, and profitability analysis for Leica Akademie initiatives.
  Track and report on key performance indicators, including attendance, revenue, client engagement, conversion influence, training impact, and program quality.
  Manage planning, logistics, travel, gear needs, instructor allocation, and post-program reporting.
  Ensure consistent operating standards across Akademie programming, events, workshops, and training initiatives.

Required qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in photography, communications, education, marketing, or equivalent professional experience.
• 8+ years of experience in photographic education, experiential programming, luxury retail, training, or related fields.
• Strong understanding of photography, photographic storytelling, and camera systems, with familiarity with Leica products and brand heritage preferred.
• Experience leading programs, teams, or cross-functional initiatives within retail, education, experiential, or cultural environments.
• Proven ability to develop and deliver engaging workshops, activations, educational programming, or community-driven experiences.
• Strong communication, presentation, interpersonal, and public-facing skills.
• Strong organizational and project management capabilities with the ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.
• Experience collaborating across retail, marketing, training, and commercial teams.
• Experience building community partnerships, artist collaborations, or experiential activations is highly valued.
• Financial and operational awareness with the ability to manage budgets, program performance, and reporting.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to operate both strategically and hands-on in a fast-paced environment.
• Willingness to travel extensively throughout North America.