Digital Education Developer - Higher Education Futures Institute (HEFI)- Academic Services - Grade 6 - 9382

Position details

Higher Education Futures Institute (HEFi), Academic Services

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £29,762 to £32,411, with potential progression once in post to £36,333

Grade 6

Full Time

Closing date: 13th August 2023

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham

Background

The University of Birmingham is a global institution working within a diverse and vibrant City, offering an inspiring education to our students, and undertaking critically important research. We are a place of open, critical thinking, and the creation, sharing and dissemination of knowledge. Professional Services play a crucial role in this by providing outstanding support to our researchers, enable an exceptional educational experience for our students, and help the University to grow its influence regionally, nationally, and globally. They ensure the University’s resources are used wisely, manage and improve the infrastructure which sits at the heart of the institution, and support decision to be made quickly and based on sound evidence. Our Birmingham Professional programme operates across the University, supporting colleagues to network and collaborate, offering opportunities to learn and develop, contributing to the delivery of the University’s objectives, and helping everyone to understand the broader context within which we work.

Role Summary

The Higher Education Futures institute (HEFi) was established in 2018 to support staff involved in teaching and supporting learning in all aspects of their professional education practice. HEFi integrates digital education support and academic professional development within one team. You will be a member of a College HEFi Digital Team as well as the wider HEFi Digital community and will contribute to delivering digital learning strategy across the institution.

You will work as part of a multidisciplinary digital education team in addressing the university’s strategic ambition to expand its portfolio and develop its digital education capability through targeted investment and more effective use of existing resources.

Main duties

Reporting to the college Head of HEFi Digital Business Partner (or their nominee), you will be a member of the college HEFi Digital Team as well as the wider HEFi Digital community represented in the five main colleges within the university. You will contribute to delivering the college’s Digital Learning Strategy and provide expert guidance and collaboration on the design of pedagogically proven blended and online learning within the institution. You will be required to:

• Work independently and alongside other members of the HEFi Digital Team, academics, and administrators within the College to make best use of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Canvas and other relevant tools (including, where appropriate, in the creation of online courses).
• Create learning objects and course content as required (with input from subject staff).
• Liaise with content development specialists (internal or 3rd party), where appropriate, to design high quality, innovative learning objects and activities to be used within College courses.
• Act as point of contact for 2nd line support for VLE users within the College.
• Provide project support and facilitation for digital education within the College.
• Work collaboratively to deliver bespoke training programmes and workshops for digital education.
• Participate in and contribute to activities and projects aligned to the broader goals and vision of the wider HEFi Digital team.
• Promote equality and values diversity, acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
• Support the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working.
• Fulfil any other duties commensurate with the grade.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

(Considered Essential):

• Educated to Degree level (or equivalent qualifications) or relevant technical qualification and relevant experience - where no equivalent qualification is held, extensive proven practical and technical experience in a similar role will be required.
• Extensive proven practical experience in instructional/learning design in the context of higher education and a broad disciplinary area.
• Specialist knowledge of how Virtual Learning Environments (such as Canvas) and other associated systems can be used to support learning and teaching.
• Evidence of literacy and numeracy, with the ability to write clearly, and to analyse information and data.
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.
• Ability to quickly become a product specialist for new digital education systems.
• Ability to prioritise, negotiate and use own judgement, particularly when responding to queries and requests for advice.
• Ability to work independently, accurately and to deadlines within a team environment.
• Experience of delivering face to face and remote training, ideally in the use of learning technologies.
• Understanding of stakeholder requirements to ensure solutions are developed to meet their needs.
• Ability to provide specific support and advice, challenging and reinterpreting requests where it is necessary.
• Ability to analyse problems and summarise key points to others, including non-specialist staff.
• Experience supporting projects through from conception to successful completion.
• Ability to work effectively in cross functional teams.

(Considered Desirable):

• Experience of working with academic staff, ideally in the use of learning technologies in a blended learning environment.
• Media skills (able to film & edit using Premier Pro, Final Cut or similar) for professional finish.
• Content development skills (able to create straightforward content in authoring packages such as Storyline).
  

Informal enquiries can be made to

Grade 6 - 9

View our staff values and behaviours here

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment

We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.