Educational Technologist

About the Job

Educational Technologist

Salary range: 65-69K depending on qualifications

Please note, we are not offering H-1B or Green Card sponsorship for this position.

The University of Minnesota is committed to fostering local talent through employment opportunities. While this position utilizes a hybrid modality, prospective applicants must be located either in the state of Minnesota or near the Wisconsin border or otherwise open to relocation.

Position Overview:

The Talent Strategy Center of Expertise (TSCOE), within the Office of Human Resources (OHR), works with faculty and staff at all levels to increase leadership skills and help them to meet the challenges ahead. Our programs and courses include a range of tools, training, resources, and tailored approaches in the area of leadership and supervisory development, employee engagement, talent acquisition and talent management. The Supervisory Development team, part of Talent Strategy, focuses on increasing skills of the University of Minnesota faculty and staff supervisors through a variety of flexible, research-based and relevant programs.

The Educational Technologist position within the Supervisory Development team will work with different media to create and deploy training-related content for the university supervisors. They will be responsible for supporting instructional designers to help research, design, develop, and deploy content, support programs and improve the user experience and accessibility.

Job Responsibilities:

• 50% Design, develop, research, support, and deploy learning objects and materials:
  • Collaborate with instructional designers to determine the best technology to execute and enhance the instructional design.
  • Design/maintain e-learning objects, interactions, tutorials, and knowledge checks. Responsibilities will include storyboarding, prototyping, editing, testing, and deploying.
  • Produce instructional videos for supervisory courses. Responsibilities will include story concepting, production set-up, interviewing, audio, editing, and captioning.
  • Work with instructional designers to set up registration for courses and training sessions, and to publish online courses as needed.
  • Keep current of academic technology trends and news within the field, and bring back new ideas to the team. 
•  20% Design, develop, and maintain Drupal educational site:
  • Work with instructional designers and communications experts to maintain the Supervising site for hosting educational materials. This work will include creating new pages, editing existing pages, modifying layouts, updating content, and more.
• 10% Creating and ensuring the accessibility of materials and documents:
  • Create and design documents for use in program and communication activities.
  • Ensure accessibility of documents.
  • Maintain editing standards and ensure that the Talent Strategy brand is reflected on the materials produced.
  • Work with OHR communications as needed.
  • Stay current on digital accessibility best practices and ensure our materials are up to standards.
• 10% Data analysis.
  • Collaborate with instructional designers and other HR partners to regularly analyze data about current program enrollee and potential audiences to make recommendations and gain insights about how to reach our audience. 
  • Regularly analyze multiple data sources such as web traffic, video engagement, program completion rates, program evaluation data, and more to understand audience behaviors and needs. 
• 5% Zoom and event support:
  • Provide technical support for Zoom events, to include set-up, hosting, recording, and post-production editing.
• 5% Other duties as assigned to support the unit objectives.

Qualifications

Please document qualifications on resume.

Required Qualifications

•  A BA/BS degree plus at least two years experience, or a master’s degree.
• Relevant experience using electronic media and design techniques (may include coursework projects) to total at least two years. At least four years of experience if BA/BS degree is in a non-related field.
• Experience with learning technologies and virtual training tools: Adobe Creative Cloud (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Audition, etc.), generative AI tools, rapid authoring tools, Drupal/HTML, Qualtrics, Zoom, and Learning Management Systems.
• Experience interpreting analytics such as website engagement to understand user or learner experience and providing recommendations on how to improve them. 
• Ability, curiosity, and drive to take initiative to explore new and emerging technologies and to make recommendations on how to use them to improve learning outcomes and/or user experience.
• Ability to work independently against tight timelines to meet commitments to others.
• Ability to create, edit, review, and gain client or stakeholder approval.
• Proven interpersonal skills, with the ability to establish and maintain relationships at all organizational levels, and ability to work collaboratively.

Preferred Qualifications

• Degree or experience/coursework in either Learning Technologies, Graphic Design, Web Design, User Experience design, or Information Systems.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud tools including InDesign, Photoshop, & Illustrator.
• Proficiency creating polished videos using tools such as Adobe Premiere or After Effects.
• Experience using Excel, Google Sheets, or similar applications to analyze and process large data-sets. 
• Experience using generative AI technologies and tools to enhance and personalize learner or user experiences. 
• Experience with managing website content.
• Demonstrated experience to conceive, plan and execute visual projects.
• Willingness and interest in learning, ability to accept and learn from constructive feedback.
• Ability to apply instructional design techniques (such as ADDIE) to content.

Benefits

Working at the University

At the University of Minnesota, you’ll find a flexible work environment and supportive colleagues who are interested in lifelong learning.  We prioritize work-life balance, allowing you to invest in the future of your career and in your life outside of work.

The University also offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Competitive wages, paid holidays, and generous time off
• Continuous learning opportunities through professional training and degree-seeking programs supported by the Regents Tuition Benefit Program
• Low-cost medical, dental, and pharmacy plans
• Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts
• University HSA contributions
• Disability and employer-paid life insurance
• Employee wellbeing program
• Excellent retirement plans with employer contribution
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) opportunity
• Financial counseling services 
• Employee Assistance Program with eight sessions of counseling at no cost
• Employee Transit Pass with free or reduced rates in the Twin Cities metro area

Please visit the Office of Human Resources website for more information regarding benefits.

How To Apply

Applications must be submitted online.  To be considered for this position, please click the Apply button and follow the instructions.  You will be given the opportunity to complete an online application for the position and attach a cover letter and resume.

Additional documents may be attached after application by accessing your “My Job Applications” page and uploading documents in the “My Cover Letters and Attachments” section.

To request an accommodation during the application process, please e-mail employ@umn.edu or call (612) 624-8647.

Diversity

The University recognizes and values the importance of diversity and inclusion in enriching the employment experience of its employees and in supporting the academic mission.  The University is committed to attracting and retaining employees with varying identities and backgrounds.

The University of Minnesota provides equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.  To learn more about diversity at the U:  http://diversity.umn.edu

Employment Requirements

Any offer of employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a background check. Our presumption is that prospective employees are eligible to work here. Criminal convictions do not automatically disqualify finalists from employment.

About the U of M

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMTC), is among the largest public research universities in the country, offering undergraduate, graduate, and professional students a multitude of opportunities for study and research. Located at the heart of one of the nation’s most vibrant, diverse metropolitan communities, students on the campuses in Minneapolis and St. Paul benefit from extensive partnerships with world-renowned health centers, international corporations, government agencies, and arts, nonprofit, and public service organizations.

At the University of Minnesota, we are proud to be recognized by the Star Tribune as a Top Workplace for 2021, as well as by Forbes as Best Employers for Women and one of America’s Best Employers (2015, 2018, 2019, 2023), Best Employer for Diversity (2019, 2020), Best Employer for New Grads (2018, 2019), and Best Employer by State (2019, 2022).