Academic Technology and Instructional Design Specialist

Summary: The Academic Technology and Instructional Design Specialist will be responsible for the management and analysis of academic data to support academic planning, academic program assessment, and both internal and external reporting.  This position will oversee the day-to-day operations and administration of the academic management system including managing and problem solving the curriculum mapping, the Office of Assessment and Educational Development website, academic technologies, and curriculum evaluation processes.  This position will serve in a customer service/technology resource role for faculty and staff, addressing all academic technology-related issues or problems and providing appropriate technical support including providing appropriate referrals, if needed.  This position will support various academic technologies used for educational purposes (i.e. academic management system, learning management system, competency tracking system, etc.).  This position will develop and distribute training materials in both electronic and face-to-face forms to assist and support faculty, staff, and students with the use of these various academic technology systems.  The position will serve as a key resource in providing recommendations for effective and expanded use of academic technology by faculty and staff in achieving the systematic academic goals of the institution.  In addition, this person will participate in data sharing and fostering professional associations with peers and other departments dealing with academic data.

Specific Job Functions

Academic Technology: Under the direction of the Associate Dean for Assessment and Educational Development, this position is responsible for and manages the academic technology systems for the institution.  This position will serve as the primary technical resource for academic technology systems; collaborate with the Information Technology department on setup and maintenance of academic technology systems; be responsible for designing/maintaining system interfaces including the coordination and loading of data from and between other databases throughout the institution; troubleshoot and interface with vendors as assigned; coordinate and manage specific projects related to academic technology; conduct consultations with faculty and staff on appropriate and effective use of technology to support their desired instructional activities; identify new technology to support the medical education process. 

Instructional Design: Advise faculty and administrators in curriculum development consistent with the school's philosophy, instructional goals and school level objectives.  Support instructional design for faculty teaching on-campus and distance learning courses including development of instructional strategies, course materials, assessment techniques, appropriate integration of instructional technologies and best practices.  Coordinate and implement instructional design projects from inception to completion.  Ensures compliance with instructional design guidelines.  Research and make recommendations on educational best practices, instructional resources, instructional technologies and multimedia hardware/software to support teaching and learning.  Conduct evaluation of instructional development projects, documents findings, and writes reports.  Recommend changes to processes, policies and metrics to facilitate improvement of the academic environment.

Training: Train staff, faculty, and students on the use of the academic technologies utilized by the institution.  Train faculty on appropriate instructional design principles and educational best practices.  Develop, modify, and implement training through structured formal sessions delivered in a classroom, through video networks and production, in one-on-one consultation sessions, or online.  Remain flexible to the changing priorities of a fast-paced environment.  Ensure all training is performance based.  Track trends and constantly create new and innovative training sessions.  Provide marketing of training sessions to all users.

Other: Assist Associate Dean for Assessment and Educational Development with projects as necessary.  Perform other related duties as assigned. 

Qualifications: Master’s degree in Instructional Design, Instructional Technology, Educational Technology, or closely related field required.  Doctorate degree in education, curriculum and instruction, academic technology or other closely related field preferred.  Ideal candidate will possess a minimum of two years of recent and related experience.  Two to five years of recent and related experience preferred.   Higher education experience required and medical education experience preferred.  Prior experience in outcomes assessment in higher education, and familiarity with academic program review and accreditation desired.   A combination of education and recent and related experience may be considered. 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

This position requires advanced knowledge in the following areas:

• Office software, data analysis software, academic management platforms, survey administration software, and web-based enterprise systems
• Database development and management and network systems
• Ability to design and create reports to summarize aggregate data that are visually attractive and easy to understand
• Possess excellent written and oral communication skills
• Training or teaching experience
• Ability to work well in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural environment with students, faculty and staff
• Ability to work a flexible schedule which may include evening and weekend assignments

The candidate in this position must:

• Be detail-oriented, self-motivated, and possess excellent research and communication skills (both oral and written). 
• Possess excellent presentation, interpersonal, customer service, organizational and time management skills. 
• Be able to work both independently and collaboratively, take initiative on and manage concurrent projects, and meet deadlines. 
• Maintain a broad organizational perspective and relationship with other departments to carry out effectively, the internal and external relationships of the Office. 
• Have a willingness/ability to learn new software. 
• Have the ability to maintain confidentiality of sensitive or personal information. 

Position: This is a full-time, non-classified position; it is exempt from FLSA regulations concerning overtime; salary is commensurate with education and experience, plus a full state benefits package.  This position may be eligible for moving expenses. 

Not all activities of this position occur within the confines of an 8:00-4:30 schedule and may require evening and weekend scheduling, as needed.  The weekly schedule for this position will be established between the supervisor and the employee and approved given the needs of the department and the institution. 

This position has been designated as Essential. This means that when WVSOM is faced with an institutional emergency, employees in such positions may be required to remain at their work location or to report to work to protect, recover and continue operations at WVSOM.

The search committee will begin its review of applications upon receipt and the search will remain open until the position is filled.

WVSOM Community

WVSOM is a freestanding medical school nestled in the Allegheny Mountains. WVSOM is located in "America's Coolest Small Town" (Budget Magazine 2011) just minutes from the famed Greenbrier Resort, a Five Diamond hotel and spa and host of the PGA’s annual Greenbrier Classic. WVSOM brings over 40 years of history serving the health and wellness needs of the Greenbrier Valley, the state of West Virginia and beyond. The school’s small-town, rural community cherishes its connection with the college and our students are actively engaged in service outreach and support for over 40 non-profit organizations in this area.  Additionally, WVSOM faculty and staff enjoy a vibrant cultural community, which features one of only four operating Carnegie Halls in the world, as well as the state professional theatre of West Virginia. Throughout the year, employees can enjoy live plays and musicals, a broad representation of visual artists, an annual chocolate festival, a flourishing literary series, and live music events within a historic preservation area featuring 19th century architecture, unique shops and dining, and limitless outdoor recreation. This one-of-a-kind environment brings together farmers and artists, lumbermen and world-renowned musicians, holistic physicians and thrill-seeking whitewater rafters in a diverse melting pot that is truly unique!

The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to enhancing diversity among its faculty and staff.