Position Details External Relations Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK Full time starting salary is normally in the range £34,980 to £44,263 with potential progression once in post to £46,974 Grade: 7 Full Time, Permanent Closing date: 8th September 2024 Background The University of Birmingham is one of the UK’s largest providers of distance learning and, as part of our Birmingham 2030 strategy, we are making a significant investment in the development of our online programme portfolio. UoB Online is an ambitious team within the University, comprised of both academic and professional services staff. The team supports the development and delivery of a portfolio of online programmes that make our world-leading teaching and research accessible to lifelong learners across the globe. We are looking to recruit an ambitious, collaborative and innovative individual who can significantly contribute to realising the University’s strategic goals. Role Summary This post is an exciting opportunity for an experienced learning designer to play a key role in the design and development of an innovative portfolio of online degrees and CPD programmes. Working within a multidisciplinary digital learning design and development team, you will work closely with academic and professional services colleagues to deliver innovative learning experiences that draw upon the latest tools, technology and techniques. With a proven track record of leading the development and delivery of high-quality learning resources you will use your initiative and experience to create engaging course content across a range of digital learning initiatives. With your finger on the pulse, you will build strong networks to proactively identify and evaluate emerging best practice, taking every opportunity to share insight and knowledge with colleagues across the university and help maintain our reputation as a market leader. Main Duties Lead a small team of junior learning designers, planning and prioritising work, managing resourcing and ensuring targets are met. Create a motivating environment where staff are challenged, developed, encouraged and supported to achieve outstanding results. Work in partnership with academic and professional services colleagues to design and develop a range of innovative digital learning resources. Storyboard and/or wireframe courses as part of the shaping process. Create digital learning materials (including video, graphics and interactive experiences) as required, maximising the value from all resources available. Build courses on appropriate digital learning platforms and ensure ongoing support. Contribute to and implement project plans to achieve the desired outcomes. Plan, prioritise and allocate resources against agreed/negotiated targets. Maximise the learning opportunities that can be derived from the virtual and physical learning environments available. Explore opportunities to develop content using emerging tools and technologies. Proactively record changes in project scope and identify risks and mitigations. Implement and contribute to learning design and programme development frameworks. Identify and embrace opportunities for collaboration with other projects and initiatives across the University. Contribute to the development and implement of style guides, quality standards and templates for consistent production across the university. Design and deliver workshops and training courses as required. Analyse usage patterns to inform future development and delivery. Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture. Actively manage equality, diversity and inclusion through monitoring and evaluation and actively challenge unacceptable behaviour. Assist with project management and facilitation for the advancement of digital education across the University. Cultivate a network of relevant external contacts and resources to enable observation of trends in learning, teaching and wider digital innovations to contribute to horizon scanning, helping to inform the wider University strategy. Work in an agile and flexible manner, supporting with resourcing needs across the unit as required. Undertake such other duties as may be required from time to time to further the work of the university. Person Specification The ability to lead and manage a small team. Values driven, aligning behaviour with the core University of Birmingham values; ambitious, innovative, open, collaborative, and responsible. Demonstrable experience of working within a learning design capacity in a higher and/or professional education environment. Ability to create and maintain digital resources for learning – including, graphics and video. A good understanding and experience of web technologies such as HTML5, CSS and JavaScript. An excellent understanding of and confidence with complex IT systems and multimedia content creation. A passion for developing great user experiences. Critical understanding of pedagogic and academic issues and processes as applied to higher education. Detailed knowledge of how virtual learning environments (such as Canvas) and other associated systems that can be used to support teaching and learning. Experience of collaborating with educators in the use of learning technologies. Significant experience of working with virtual learning environments, ideally with some Canvas experience or similar. Ability to evaluate and quickly learn new software tools. Experience of working as part of a team. Strong inter-personal and communication skills. Experience of estimating priorities to fulfil defined targets. The ability to work independently, accurately and to deadlines within a team environment. The ability to interpret, analyse and present information and formulate clear proposals on the basis of the analysis. Proven ability to work on multiple projects and/or work streams concurrently, managing workload appropriately to achieve specified deliverables within required timeframes and to required quality standards. Experience of delivering face-to-face and remote training in the use of learning technologies. Experience of working between different departments, teams or organisations. Experience of fostering partnerships with stakeholders and colleagues to enable collaborative working in the area of technology enhanced learning. Excellent documentation and report writing skills, with experience of authoring documents to the high standard demanded of University committees. The ability to prioritise, negotiate and use one’s own judgement when responding to enquiries from staff (often senior staff) and students. Previous experience of a customer driven environment. Dimensions Roles at this level will require a broad understanding and practical experience of an administrative or professional field which will be used to plan the running and development of services and/or lead shorter term projects or contribute to larger projects. You will work with information which needs interpretation and analysis; you will use your judgement to identify the best solution to differing problems and issues, offering recommendations for managing more complex situations. You are likely to be responsible for managing a team of staff, being accountable for recruiting and developing them and for managing performance. You may also need to liaise and/or co-ordinate activities across a number of different sections within the department or possibly with wider department or external bodies as appropriate. Planning and Organising plan the running and development of service(s), overseeing resources and inputting into resource planning as appropriate; develop, agree and implement standards for delivery for own area; manage a team of staff and review, develop and motivate them; plan relevant training and development; provide professional advice, guidance and support to others within and outside their immediate work area; oversee resources and make recommendations about future resource requirements. Problem Solving and decision making review, develop and propose solutions for problems with (for example) staff, budgets, services and/or systems; deal effectively with unexpected issues, such as changing priorities; deal with sensitive people matters/issues; provide specialist advice and recommendations to support decision–making of others. Internal and External relationships understand their own and closely-related working areas and how they contribute to the success of the University; has an understanding of how the University operates; actively seeks to share this knowledge with others; developing empathy with the academic endeavour; influence decision makers and win support for proposals; develop excellent working relationships within and outside of own area and potentially with external stakeholders;co-ordinate activities across a number of areas. Informal enquiries can be made to uobonline.ops@contacts.bham.ac.uk , we kindly ask that the role title is included in the subject of any emails. View our staff values and behaviours here We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy . You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website .
