Learning Consultant - Freelance

SweetRush has an exciting opportunity for a talented professional to join our team!

Who We Are

At SweetRush, we believe that when you put people at the center of business, magic happens. As a global leader in learning and development, we blend high-end storytelling, emerging tech like AI and VR, and deep psychological insights to help organizations—from iconic global brands to essential nonprofits—flourish. We are a remote-first, tight-knit community built on a foundation of radical empathy and creative excellence. Our work isn’t just about the awards we win with incredible partners such as Hilton, Google, Bridgestone, Adidas, SHRM, and numerous others; it’s about balancing profit with a genuine desire to spread good in the world. If you are a caring innovator who believes work should be life-centered and impactful, then this is where you come in…

About the Opportunity  

Our client, a large consulting company, is looking for a partner to design an adaptive assessment so that learners can skip training they don't need. For example, a learner with certain knowledge or skills might spend about 2 hours on a program that would otherwise take 8 hours.

We are looking for a Learning Consultant to guide this high-level engagement. The successful candidate will lead the discovery and design work with our client's senior Learning & Development leaders and line-of-business leaders. You will create a Solution Blueprint that the client will then use to create the learning solution.  

Location: Chicago, IL metropolitan area (United States). Mostly work from home, with some travel to the Chicago-based client.
Engagement type: 1099 Freelance
Duration: 12 weeks, expected to start in November 2026
Hours: Typically 20–30 hours per week, but will vary. Some weeks could be zero hours, with busier weeks when traveling. 

What You'll Do

• Lead and facilitate working sessions, on-site and virtual, with senior L&D leaders and line-of-business professionals.
• Hold the room with senior and C-suite stakeholders: steer toward decisions, push back with credibility, and keep scope from drifting.
• Translate findings into the assessment strategy, personalized learning pathways, and implementation roadmap.
• Own the Solution Blueprint and co-author the build specification with the Psychometrician and the client's build team.
• Work with the Psychometrician to map the assessment and content and to design the learning journeys.
• Collaborate with SweetRush's Solution Architect and, possibly, a Creative Director.
• Deliver a blueprint that will define the assessment strategy, personalized learning pathways, technology requirements, and implementation roadmap, with Psychometrician review to support assessment validity.

What You Bring

• 10+ years in instructional design or learning strategy, with clear ownership of discovery, design thinking, or leading facilitated workshops
• Strong instructional and learning experience design skills
• Strong facilitation skills and executive presence
• Experience designing assessments that measure performance, not just recall, using scenarios, simulations, and judgment-based items
• Excellent writing skills, with the ability to produce blueprints and specs a build team can use
• Credibility with executives: you can hold the room, ask the questions that get the information you need, and push back constructively
• A collaborative approach with learning, assessment, and technical teams

Nice to have:

• Working knowledge of assurance or accounting professional learning, such as CPE rules, NASBA, mandatory training, and competency frameworks
• ​​​Experience with adaptive learning, test-out or competency-based programs, or skills taxonomies
• Experience working with a Psychometrician
• Comfort with AI in learning
• A CPA background, or prior work with large consulting firms

This is not a pure instructional design role. We are looking for learning consultants who can both design curriculum and facilitate. Experience in a consulting environment or at a large consultancy is a plus, but strong learning experience design matters more

SweetRush is a remote organization, and as such, all resources must be technically savvy, have access to a strong internet signal, be comfortable with virtual/instant messaging and conferencing tools, and generally be available during established working hours.

Hourly Rate: Negotiable

SweetRush Is an Equal Opportunity Employer

We are committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, or belief; national, social, or ethnic origin; sex (including pregnancy); age; physical, mental, or sensory disability; HIV status; sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or expression; marital, civil union, or domestic partnership status; past or present military service; family medical history or genetic information; family or parental status; or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. SweetRush will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. We encourage applicants of all ages.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Call to Action: Submit Your Resume!

Team chemistry is everything to us, so our ultimate goal is to find the right fit. If the above describes your interests and experience, and you believe this will be a dream job, please submit your resume. We are excited to hear from you!

SweetRush believes in transparency and fairness. And for that reason, all of our active searches are available on the SweetRush “Join Us” page at https://www.sweetrush.com/join-us/.  You can also find our openings posted on our LinkedIn company page under the “Jobs” tab at https://www.linkedin.com/company/sweetrush/jobs/. 

Unfortunately, cybercriminals take advantage of good people. Please know that SweetRush would never ask for your personal information, such as SSN, banking information, credit cards, etc., during the application or interview process. Always be mindful to protect your personal and financial information, and use careful judgment when providing information to talent acquisition professionals.