Senior Instructional Designer

This position is a part of the Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA).

This position offers a comprehensive benefits package which can be viewed at: Faculty & Staff Benefits .

Working for the University of Alberta 

The University of Alberta acknowledges that we are located on Treaty 6 territory, and respects the histories, languages and cultures of First Nations, Métis, Inuit and all First Peoples of Canada, whose presence continues to enrich our vibrant community.

The University of Alberta is teeming with change makers, community builders, and world shapers who lead with purpose each and every day. We are home to more than 40,000 students in 200+ undergraduate and 500+ graduate programs, over 13,000 faculty and staff, 260,000 alumni worldwide and have been recognized as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for over a decade.

Your work will have a meaningful influence on a fascinating cross section of people—from our students and stakeholders, to our renowned researchers and innovators who are quite literally curing diseases, making discoveries and generating solutions that make the world healthier, safer, stronger, and more just.

Department/Position Summary

The University of Alberta is currently seeking a leader in the design and development of innovative, purpose-built online learning for a Senior Instructional Designer position. As part of the Online and Continuing Education HUB, the Senior Instructional Designer provides creative leadership and direction to produce enriched, engaging online learning experiences across both credit and non-credit programming, as well as serving client initiatives that generate new revenue for the university.

The Senior Instructional Designer is the HUB’s lead consultant for all new digital learning projects. Working with deans, academics, instructors, external SMEs, and clients, the incumbent will assess new opportunities and provide design, curriculum, and scope recommendations to move each approved project forward. The incumbent is an expert in instructional strategies and online learning, and will consider each project holistically within UAlberta’s broad portfolio of programming with particular consideration toward stacking and laddering opportunities for credit, non-credit, and micro-credentials.

The incumbent oversees and engages in content strategy and generation for online courses. This includes frameworking, writing, and scripting for digital learning and multimedia. The Senior Instructional Designer leads a team of instructional designers and learning experience developers within the HUB, and will also provide project oversight for any work completed by the HUB’s pre-qualified vendor pool and network of contractors.

Responsibilities Include:

• In collaboration with the Director of Online Education, consult with Deans, faculty, SMEs, and instructors on new online course and program opportunities
• Provide consultation services to external clients and organizations seeking a digital learning strategy and/or online course creation services
• Engage in opportunity analysis and planning, and provide recommendations that align with the HUB’s unit goals and the broader strategic goals of UAlberta
• Develop a scope of work for each new online project with the Senior Project Manager
• Assess existing source content and course materials to inform project scope and hourly estimates of work
• Collaborate with the business development team on RFP responses and client proposals related to online course development and digital learning services, including estimates of effort to inform pricing
• Participate in conversations with faculties and the Provost’s Office to develop pathways between credit and non-credit for new online offerings and micro-credentials
• Provide leadership expertise on evidence-based best practices for digital learning and online pedagogy/andragogy
• Collaborate with stakeholder groups to ensure Indigenous Initiatives and EDI are at the forefront of and represented across the digital learning experience
• Engage in instructional design activities, such as persona development, content frameworking and storyboarding, interactive and enrichment design
• Develop content strategy recommendations for new online projects, including credit, non-credit, and client initiatives
• Engage with SMEs and Academic Content Creators in scripting, adapting, and transforming content for digital deployment
• Generate/draft net new content for a variety of digital learning and multimedia requirements
• Provide accessibility leadership for the HUB with a deep understanding of accessibility guidelines, legislation, principles, and best practices
• Engage with the Center for Teaching and Learning for research, knowledge sharing, and collaboration
• Contribute to the development of replicable, scalable, consistent course design and development processes including templates, standards, and best practices
•  Collaborate on the creation and utilization of a repository of instructional tools, templates, interactives, and assessments to create efficiencies and scale; ensure team members utilize the repository on a consistent, ongoing basis
• Coordinate with the project manager to assign projects (credit, non-credit, and client projects) to the internal design and development team and/or pre-qualified vendor pool
• Onboard new team members (instructional designers and LX developers) and provide ongoing training as required
• Build a positive, high-performing team culture with a strong emphasis on innovation, collaboration, creativity, and quality

To be successful in this position, the incumbent will possess the following skills and experience:

• Master’s degree in Education, Instructional Design, Adult Education, Educational Technology, or a related discipline
• 5 or more years of experience in instructional design; leadership in the creation of enriched, engaging, online learning; training and curriculum development for both credit and non-credit learning; and consulting on digital learning projects
• Experience in the planning, design, and development of micro-credentials is considered an asset
• Experience consulting, supporting, and including Indigenous Initiatives and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (II and EDI) across the digital learning experience
• Demonstrated visual design expertise, with an ability to provide creative leadership and direction on digital learning projects
• Demonstrated practical skills and awareness of adult learning principles and online pedagogies; knowledge of a wide range of teaching and learning strategies
• Knowledge of new and emerging digital learning tools and technologies, and how to integrate them into the digital learning environment
• Knowledge and understanding of the capabilities, functionality, and limitations of various Learning Management Systems
• Demonstrated experience with Articulate 360 (Rise and Storyline)
• Some experience in and knowledge of web, graphic design, and multimedia development (i.e HTML, CSS, Adobe, Camtasia, Dreamweaver, etc.) would be considered an asset to the role

Note: Online applications are accepted until midnight Mountain Standard Time of the closing date.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those individuals selected for an interview will be contacted.