About VCU Continuing and Professional Education and
LEDstudio–
VCU LEDstudio is a leader in providing quality higher education and
lifelong learning opportunities using a number of delivery methods,
including fully online and hybrid. The unit broadly supports
faculty, academic units, and community partners in their efforts to
leverage technology to optimize student learning. Additionally,
LEDstudio provides strategic leadership in developing, expanding,
and enhancing VCU’s learning opportunities, programs, and
supporting the assessment and continuous quality improvement of
current and new technology-mediated courses, programs, and
projects. LEDstudio operates in a fast-paced environment requiring
flexibility, innovation, and an openness to change. Instructional
designers within LEDstudio must be comfortable navigating new
directives, emerging technologies, and evolving institutional
needs.
VCU Continuing and Professional Education (VCU CPE), in partnership
with the colleges and schools at Virginia Commonwealth University,
provides and supports quality continuing and professional education
and skills training for individual, local, regional and national
impact. VCU Continuing and Professional Education harnesses the
power of VCU — including more than 3,300 instructional faculty and
adjunct instructors, an academic medical center and long-standing
community relationships — to create the best learning opportunities
available to nontraditional adult learners.
The position is an
Instructional Design Lead for VCU
LEDstudio . Instructional Designers collaborate with faculty
and colleagues to develop high-quality online and hybrid courses
based on pedagogical best practices. These collaborations may be
individual consultations relating to instructional design, larger
programmatic efforts working with groups, and/or faculty
development opportunities to enhance course design, facilitation,
evaluation, and administration. The Instructional Design Lead
manages a team of instructional designers including overseeing the
assignment, progress and completion of instructional designers’
projects, providing professional development guidance and support,
assisting in the development and revision of instructional design
team procedures and processes, and reporting information to the
Instructional Design Manager. Instructional designer projects may
be but are not limited to credit and noncredit course developments,
creation and facilitation of teaching and learning resources,
research and dissemination of information regarding current and
emerging learning technologies, accessibility, Universal Design for
Learning (UDL) principles, and trends in teaching and
learning.
Instructional Design Leads provide advanced instructional design
consultation and leadership to faculty, academic units, and
university partners throughout the course development lifecycle.
These engagements support the design, development, and continuous
improvement of high-quality online and hybrid learning experiences
through:
- Leading the development and organization of online course
environments that align with institutional standards and
instructional design best practices
Designing and advising on engaging learning activities,
instructional content, and digital learning objects that promote
student success
Guiding the development of authentic formative and summative
assessments that align with course and program learning
outcomes
Recommending, evaluating, and integrating appropriate
educational technologies to enhance teaching, learning,
accessibility, and student engagement
Consulting on effective instructional strategies that support
learner interaction, content delivery, and active learning in
online and hybrid environments
Ensuring course designs incorporate Universal Design for
Learning (UDL) principles, accessibility best practices, and
compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other
applicable accessibility standards
Instructional Design Leads exercise a high degree of independent
professional judgment in carrying out their responsibilities,
including:
- Serving as the primary instructional design consultant for
faculty, department leadership, and academic units while
maintaining confidentiality throughout the consultation and
development process
- Providing leadership, mentorship, and technical guidance to
instructional designers to ensure the timely completion of projects
and the consistent application of instructional design standards
and best practices
- Reviewing and providing quality assurance for course materials,
learning activities, assessments, and instructional content to
ensure alignment with LEDstudio processes, institutional quality
standards, and accessibility requirements
- Managing competing priorities, resolving complex instructional
design challenges, and making recommendations regarding project
scope, timelines, and instructional approaches
- Maintaining confidentiality regarding personnel matters and
sensitive project information while exercising sound professional
judgment in day-to-day operations
- Communicating project status, risks, resource needs, and
recommendations to the Instructional Design Manager and LEDstudio
leadership to support informed decision-making
- Performing additional responsibilities and providing leadership
on strategic initiatives as assigned to support the evolving needs
of LEDstudio and Academic Affairs
Other duties as assigned in response to the unit’s needs.
This position is eligible for flexible work arrangements, but does
require periodic on-campus presence for meetings and events, and
when indicated by leadership, and is subject to change based on the
business need and strategic direction.
AI should not be used for any part of the application submission or
process.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in instructional design, education,
curriculum and instruction, or a related field
- Minimum four (4) years of progressively responsible experience
designing, developing, and implementing high-quality courses in a
higher education environment
- Demonstrated experience with Canvas learning management system
(LMS), including the effective integration of educational
technologies to support teaching and learning
- Demonstrated knowledge and application of Universal Design for
Learning (UDL), digital accessibility practices, and relevant
accessibility standards, including ADA and WCAG requirements,
within online learning environments
- Demonstrated experience leading instructional design projects
or initiatives, including coordinating project activities, managing
timelines and deliverables, communicating expectations, and
collaborating with multiple stakeholders
- Demonstrated leadership experience through mentoring, coaching,
team coordination, project leadership, supervision, or other
responsibilities that support the development and success of
colleagues
- Demonstrated ability to review and evaluate instructional
design work, provide clear and constructive feedback, maintain
established quality standards, and support continuous
improvement
- Demonstrated ability to independently manage multiple projects
and competing priorities while exercising sound judgment,
maintaining attention to detail, and consistently meeting
deadlines
- Strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving
skills, including the ability to identify instructional or
operational challenges, evaluate possible solutions, and make
informed recommendations
- Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, consultation, and
relationship-building skills with demonstrated ability to establish
productive partnerships with faculty, academic leaders,
instructional designers, and cross-functional teams
- Experience using emerging instructional technologies, including
AI-enabled educational tools to support instructional design,
course development, faculty support, or team productivity
- Demonstrated experience working in and fostering an environment
of respect, professionalism, and civility with a population of
faculty, staff, and students from various backgrounds and
experiences, or a commitment to do so as a member of the VCU
community
Preferred Qualifications
- Advanced degree in a discipline such as Instructional Design,
Learning Technologies, Curriculum and Instruction, Adult Learning,
or a related field
- Experience mentoring, coaching, or providing day-to-day
guidance to instructional designers or other learning
professionals
- Experience supporting campus initiatives, implementing new
instructional design practices, or helping teams adapt to evolving
technologies, accessibility expectations, policies, or
institutional priorities
- Experience collaborating with academic leadership, project
managers, and/or other cross-functional partners on complex
educational initiatives
- Experience conducting quality reviews of online courses using
established quality frameworks
- Experience facilitating faculty development workshops,
consultations, communities of practice, or other professional
learning opportunities related to instructional design, teaching,
accessibility, or educational technology
- Experience using project management tools, systems, or
methodologies to coordinate course development work and provide
visibility into project status, workload, risks, and
deliverables
Salary Range: $80,000-85,000
Benefits : All full-time university staff are eligible for
VCU’s robust
benefits
package that includes comprehensive health benefits, paid annual
and holiday leave, generous tuition benefits, retirement planning
and savings options, tax-deferred annuity and cash match programs,
employee discounts, well-being resources, abundant opportunities
for career development and advancement, and more.
FLSA Exemption Status: Exempt
Restricted Position: No
ORP Eligible: Yes
Flexible Work Arrangement: Yes
University Job Title: Senior Instructional Design Specialist
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