Instructional Designer

$70,000 - $80,000/Yr

Columbia University - New York, NY

Full-time - Entry Level

New York, NY

Educational Services

About the position

The Instructional Designer at Columbia+ will play a vital role in supporting the development of engaging and effective instructional materials for learning environments in multiple modalities. This position involves close collaboration with instructional designer team members, faculty, and other stakeholders to create innovative courses, including online and in-person training, aimed at enhancing the overall educational experience. The Instructional Designer will report to the Senior Instructional Designer and will be a key contributor to developing instructional media, course content, and support materials that align with the educational goals of the institution. In the role of Instructional Designer, the individual will engage in various responsibilities, including learning experience design and content creation, quality assurance, project management, continuous improvement, and research and usability testing. The designer will work with instructors and stakeholders to ensure high-quality course materials are created, fulfilling course objectives while providing a quality learning experience. This includes serving as a consultant to faculty and internal partners to analyze learning needs and applying various instructional design models and delivery systems to meet those needs. The Instructional Designer will also conduct thorough reviews of course materials to ensure accuracy and adherence to established instructional design standards. They will monitor project progress through project management software and participate in strategic initiatives to drive innovation and operationalize quality at scale. Additionally, the designer will ensure the accessibility and usability of multimedia and course content for diverse learner needs, conduct market research, and perform usability testing to refine and update content as necessary. This position requires a proactive approach to problem-solving and a commitment to continuous improvement in instructional design practices.

Responsibilities

• Work with instructors and stakeholders to design and develop online courses ensuring high-quality course materials are created and courses fulfill their objectives while providing a quality learning experience
• Serve as a consultant to faculty and internal partners to analyze learning needs, application of various instructional design models and delivery systems to meet those needs, and tools to achieve and measure student learning outcomes
• Partner with subject matter experts (SMEs), including faculty, project managers, and graduate students, to curate existing learning components, design new content, and contextualize existing content to meet learning goals
• Identify and integrate relevant media resources in collaboration with instructional design team members
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders, such as executive education, media production, marketing, and engagement teams, to build out a library of product components, examples, and documentation
• Conduct thorough reviews of course materials, ensuring accuracy, coherence, and adherence to established instructional design standards
• Monitor and record projects through project management and tracking software to inform stakeholders of progress in content, features, and functionality
• Update and maintain style guides and course templates
• Think critically about workflow and practice and propose creative solutions for process improvements
• Participate in strategic initiatives to drive innovation and operationalize quality at scale
• Research and disseminate best practices that contribute to innovations in teaching and learning with technology
• Provide supervision of student workers
• Ensure the accessibility and usability of multimedia and course content for diverse learner needs
• Conduct research to investigate market trends for a targeted topic and perform competitive analysis
• Conduct usability testing by designing assessment tools (i.e surveys); collect, synthesize, and analyze data for continuous improvement, refinement, and content updates
• Perform other duties and projects as assigned or requested.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree and/or equivalent related experience required
• 2-4 years of related experience
• A resume and cover letter.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with Learning Management Systems (Canvas, D2L others)
• Proficiency in multimedia development tools, prototyping software and e-learning authoring tools such as Articulate 360 or Adobe Captivate
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel) and video conferencing tools (Zoom)
• Familiarity with instructional design theories, principles, and best practices
• Strong organizational and project management skills
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with attention to detail.