Restoration Training Specialist
About the role
As the Restoration Training Specialist for Merit Restorations, you develop restoration professionals who can perform their roles independently, consistently, and to the Merit standard. This is a hands-on coaching and development position—not simply a classroom training role. You report directly to the Director of Training & Compliance, in a full-time role that travels regularly across Merit branches, working alongside employees, Branch Managers, and Operations to translate Merit processes, systems, technical standards, customer expectations, and culture into repeatable field performance. The role supports new-hire onboarding, existing employee development, branch performance improvement, new-market launches, and acquisition integration.
Success Principle: Training completion is activity. Operational readiness is the outcome.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities
Core duties and responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
- Employee Development & Onboarding: Deliver role-based onboarding, Merit Foundation, and position-specific development pathways; support employees through 30-, 60-, and 90-day development milestones and competency gates; identify technical, operational, system, and knowledge gaps and provide targeted coaching; help employees progress from foundational knowledge to confident, independent job performance.
- Field & Operational Training: Provide hands-on coaching across mitigation, claims/reconstruction, project management, estimating, documentation, customer communication, and project lifecycle expectations; train and reinforce proper use of Merit systems, including Albi, Xactimate/XactAnalysis, Mitigate, and other operational platforms; conduct branch visits, ride-alongs, file reviews, workshops, demonstrations, and group training sessions; translate SOPs and program requirements into practical field execution.
- Competency Validation & Performance Support: Evaluate whether employees can apply training in live working conditions and partner with Branch Managers and Operations to determine readiness; document development outcomes, remaining gaps, and recommended next steps; support progressive increases in employee workload and responsibility as competency develops; partner with branch and operational leadership when performance trends indicate a possible training or capability gap; deliver targeted coaching and follow up on results.
- Growth, Acquisition & Culture: Deploy into acquisitions, new branches, and new markets to deliver large-group and role-based training cohorts; help acquired employees understand Merit systems, operating expectations, culture, and what winning looks like in their roles; support acquisition teams through structured 30/60/90 development and identify strong SMEs, emerging leaders, and best practices worth scaling; model Merit values, communication standards, accountability, and customer experience; develop local SMEs and Culture Drivers who can reinforce approved standards.
What Success Looks Like
- Employees reach role competency faster and with greater consistency
- 30/60/90 milestones reflect demonstrated capability, not attendance
- Branch Managers have greater confidence in employee readiness
- Training interventions produce measurable operational improvement
- Existing Merit employees continue developing during acquisitions and growth
- Merit standards are executed consistently across branches
- Strong local SMEs and Culture Drivers extend Training & Compliance reach
- Recurring operational knowledge and execution gaps decline over time
Requirements
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.
- Restoration-industry experience in mitigation, reconstruction/project management, estimating, or related operations strongly preferred
- Demonstrated ability to coach and develop employees in a field environment
- Working knowledge of restoration documentation, estimating, project lifecycle, and customer communication
- Experience with Xactimate/XactAnalysis and restoration-management platforms preferred; IICRC certifications strongly preferred
- Strong presentation, coaching, communication, interpersonal, organization, and follow-through skills
- Comfortable working independently across multiple branches and functional teams and traveling regularly to Merit locations, new markets, and acquisitions
Merit Standard: Clear expectations. Repeatable execution. Measurable readiness.
Benefits
- Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
- Retirement Plan (401k, IRA)
- Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
- Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
- Short Term & Long Term Disability
- Company cell phone and laptop