SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR ADVANCED ONLINE LEARNING SOLUTIONS TEAM
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
Full-time
Information Services / Technology (IT)
Posted on August 29, 2019
| Req #: | 165059 |
| Department: | UW CONTINUUM COLLEGE (UWC²) |
| Job Location: | Other Location |
| Job Location Detail: | UW TOWER |
| Posting Date: | 03/01/2019 |
| Closing Info: | Open Until Filled |
| Salary: | Salary is commensurate with experience and education |
| Shift: | First Shift |
UW Continuum College (UWC²) expands the reach of the University of Washington with programs like UW Professional & Continuing Education, International & English Language Programs, Summer Youth and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the UW that meet the needs of various learners at all phases of their lives. We’re focused on removing obstacles to relevant educational opportunities by addressing geographic, financial, length of commitment and time constraints, increasing access to knowledge for more people. As a diverse community that values inclusivity and collaboration, we foster a respectful, supportive workplace where innovation comes to life. By looking ahead and experimenting with new approaches, we’re creating new educational opportunities to help people thrive in a world of change.
UWC² has an outstanding opportunity for a Senior Director for our Advanced Online Learning Solutions team.
UWC² is seeking the right leader for the new Advanced Online Learning Solutions Team. The team will be formed from some existing staff and new resources with a goal of providing top-quality instructional, interaction, and media design for e-learning programs. UWC² has very strong instructional design and video production capabilities today and the new senior director will maximize those resources by working with that team’s leadership and hire staff that can develop increasingly interactive media (e.g., interactive video, games, micro-simulations, motion graphics, and branded graphical course elements, etc.) and scaled programs.
WORKING WITH FACULTY
The Senior Director for Advanced Learning Solutions will have experience delighting faculty with what is developed AND how it is developed. This means that the director will have demonstrated skills working directly with busy, highly-productive faculty and, more importantly, coaching other creatives and technical talent to work effectively in a research university environment.
LEADERSHIP
The Advanced Learning Solutions director will have 7-10 direct reports and an eventual total team size of between 10-15, depending on the number of programs in production. All UWC² leaders are expected to maintain and instill our values: diversity and respect for all, a never-ending pursuit of excellence, integrity, and trust & openness. The senior director will have an ability to attract top creative, learning technology, and design talent to the UW who are also driven by mission and share the belief that, “everyone deserves education to thrive in an ever-changing world.” The senior director and the team will understand and support that we are here to serve the learners who need access to a world-class education and the faculty who provide that education.
The senior director will be expected to develop strategic plans that fit within the UWC² mission and offer realistic but challenging goals to continuously improve and stretch our capabilities. The employees of this team will reflect the positive attitude of the leader, even in challenging or difficult situations.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
•As a member of the senior leadership team, participate in strategic leadership meetings to identify priorities and set goals for the organization
•Participate in addressing organization-wide goals and areas for improvement
•Represent UWC² and foster positive working relationships across our schools and colleges through proactive communication, collaboration, and idea generation
•Link organizational strategy back to the Advanced Online Learning Solutions team goals in support of the overall strategic direction of UWC²
•Embrace and encourage a service-oriented culture across teams within Advanced Online Learning Solutions
•Responsible for ensuring accuracy of job descriptions, hiring and onboarding new staff, mentoring staff, providing opportunities for continued learning and skill development, completing performance appraisals, and recommending staff separations
•Establish priorities, provide staff with clear goals, assist teams in scoping project timelines and resources, and remove obstacles to ensure projects are completed on-time
•Achieve results through others by demonstrating formal and influence-based leadership
•Train and delegate work; encourage cross training and documentation; and prevent single points of failure within the team
•Create positive and open-minded inter-group communications
•Foster a ubiquitous, joyous work environment, which boosts team motivation and confidence
•Build and lead a team of videographers, graphic designers, instructional designers, software developers, and UX experts to support faculty ideation and collaboration
•Work with faculty to develop state-of-the art, high quality online learning courses that reflect the academic requirements of a leading research-intensive university
•Serve as a creative nexus that provides opportunities for colleagues and faculty across the institution to solve complex online learning challenges
•Leverage modern protocols, such as agile design and development, to rapidly prototype interactive web-based learning technologies and media
•Develop tools, templates, and reusable frameworks that allow for the most customizable design experience possible within limited budgets
•Develop plans and strategies for ongoing course/program/asset maintenance that fit within the overall budget available for a program
•Keep the unit within its annual operating budget (~10m annually) and provide input to the annual planning process to maintain resources to meet current and future demands
REQUIREMENTS:
Bachelor’s Degree in instructional design, learning science, or relevant field AND 5 or more years of experience leading an instructional design or creative media team with 6 or more direct reports serving multiple schools/colleges/clients in a complex higher education institution or corporation. Equivalent experience may substitute for degree requirement.
•Demonstrated ability to lead an interdisciplinary creative team: showcase a portfolio of work by a team that shows high-quality video production, motion graphics, learning games, simulations, scaled learning solutions, and experimental platform development
•Previous experience developing tools, processes, and approaches to managing a creative team and effectively managing up by showing resource capacity and constraints
•Strong analytic skills and a demonstrated passion for using data to make decisions
•Focus on the end user experience
•Demonstrated ability to excite a team about innovation and change while accomplishing daily work
•Ability to drive the development of a highly diverse group of talented individuals
•Experience managing and meeting project requirements with budgets of $1m or more
•Experience working within limited budgets and timelines to achieve what others believe is impossible
Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.
DESIRED EXPERIENCE
•Master’s degree, PhD or other specialized credentials in a relevant field (Instructional Design, learning science, UE/UX, interaction design, etc.)
•Demonstrated experience or knowledge of user experience (UE/UX) design
•Experience leading leaders (at least one managerial direct report)
•Experience leading or working in an innovative environment such as a learning technology laboratory, think tank, cutting-edge start-up, or other advanced research and development setting in educational technology
As a UW employee, you will enjoy generous benefits and work/life programs. For detailed information on Benefits for this position, click here.
Application Process:
The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Workforce Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.
Committed to attracting and retaining a diverse staff, the University of Washington will honor your experiences, perspectives and unique identity. Together, our community strives to create and maintain working and learning environments that are inclusive, equitable and welcoming.
The University of Washington is a leader in environmental stewardship & sustainability, and committed to becoming climate neutral.
The University of Washington is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 / 206-543-6452 (tty) or dso@uw.edu.
