Senior Instructional Designer II, Online Learning

Description

Position Summary

The Senior Instructional Designer for APA’s Division of Education’s Online Learning Department will work in conjunction with departmental leadership to design and implement innovative instructional design and delivery efforts. This individual will conduct needs assessments to align learning initiatives to expand APA’s online learning portfolio. The position requires experience designing and implementing virtual learning collaboratives, eLearning modules (SCORMs), webinars, instructional videos, virtual events, managing external stakeholders, and measuring business impact and effectiveness of deployed learning solutions.

The Senior Instructional Designer must possess a unique balance of technical depth, business knowledge, project management, and strong interpersonal skills.  The candidate will build online education materials in coordination with subject matter experts (SMEs) and project leaders, following the ADDIE model. The Senior Instructional Designer will use research, technical skills, creativity, and experience to develop new and engaging interactive learning experiences. The APA has  federal and contractual grants’ portfolios, and this individual will be responsible for ensuring deliverables and timelines assigned are met. 

The ideal candidate is an innovative, practical, solution-oriented individual with experience working across multiple instructional delivery modalities. The Senior Instructional Designer will curate and design learning solutions that align with the APA’s users’ needs. The position reports to the Director of Online Learning and will collaborate with other internal APA teams.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Manage the end-to-end design, development, and implementation of APA catalog offerings for multiple projects 
  • Partner with psychiatrists, allied organizations, grant funders, subject matter experts and staff to develop content
  • Conduct research on content topics and existing educational offerings to create unique products that will resonate with identified audiences
  • Develop and execute workflows for launching CME activities in APA’s Learning Center
  • Produce online courses in a variety of formats such as presentation capture, multi-part courses, self-assessments, performance in practice, pulsed learning exams, communities/learning collaboratives, question banks, and/or discussion boards for multiple projects simultaneously 
  • Use established methodologies in all instructional design stages, including needs assessment and ADDIE and/or SAM methodologies
  • Leverage creative methodologies to enhance the learning experience (e.g., avatars, custom animations, skills simulations, storyboarding and narration) 
  • Create consistent yet creative aesthetics within interactive elements
  • Develop project plans and trackers under the review of departmental leadership which ensure projects meet established milestones and remain within budget
  • Apply quality control standards to the design, execution, and maintenance of online courses
  • Ensure adherence to JA criteria for online education in conjunction with the CME Team
  • Collaborate with Marketing to promote activities and create interest in offerings 
• Build and maintain internal and external vendor relationships, and existing vendor relationships to ensure external solutions are designed as intended
• Research and recruit psychiatrists and mental health care professionals to serve as subject matter experts for course development 
• Produce regular reports of Learning Center activity and transmit relevant user data to external groups per grant, contract, and accreditation requirements (e.g., SAMSHA, AACME, ABPN, AAAP)
• Distribute a monthly snapshot of completed online initiatives to key APA stakeholders
• Troubleshoot technical issues related to the content creation platforms and LMS 
• Interact with outside technology vendors related to special projects to ensure adherence to timeline, budget, and project deliverables
• Collaborate with others to create prototypes, iterate, and seek feedback from product owners, team members, and other stakeholders throughout the design process
• Develop Standard Operating Procedures to ensure consistency for cross functional projects 
• Educate and support APA staff utilizing the LMS for report functionality or customer account access
• Resolve customer inquiries related to online programs/products, course fees, transcripts, etc. 
• Communicate effectively with clarity, credibility, and timeliness
• Coach Junior Designers on best practices, design modalities and system procedures 
• Stay abreast of technology trends and evolving expectations of learners 
• Support virtual events to ensure a positive user experience 
• Performs other duties as assigned

Competencies

The Senior Instructional Designer’s performance on these duties and responsibilities will be measured using the following competencies: 

Scope & Impact

• Leads instructional design aspects from end-to-end for internal and external stakeholder initiatives to develop resources that include, but are not limited to: webinars, enduring activities, hybrid events, virtual meetings, virtual learning collaboratives and SCORMs. 
• Collaborate with subject matter experts and constituents to develop content and resources  
• Identifies and assess learning metrics to facilitate needs assessments and measure success 
• Develops innovative and engaging resources to diversify the APA catalog of resources

Complexity, Problem Solving & Decision-Making

• Uses technical skillset to use systems/platforms to develop activities and courses in the LMS
• Leads design aspects for activity materials based on content and stakeholder recommendations 
• Investigates and resolves user challenges submitted via the Help Desk and email
• Exercises judgement to coordinate scheduling logistics to for various initiatives to prevent competing events and conflicts
• Recognizes out-of-scope problems and escalates them to the appropriate level

Relationship Management & Authority

• Works directly with subject matter experts and constituents to collect and execute deliverables 
• Collaborates with internal and external stakeholders, including grant funders, to collectively adhere to initiative goals 
• Develop regular reports for stakeholders to demonstrate activity performances 
• Develop standard operating procedures for tasks related to content development and reporting 
• Informs Marketing and Communications teams of activity releases and available content in order to promote resources 
• Liaises with APA committees to support educational initiatives being developed through the APA learning center 
• Enforces accreditation and compliance standard operating procedures to ensure requirements for accreditation are met by stakeholders

Organizational Knowledge

• Showcases and implements an understanding of accreditation and compliance regulations for content development 
• Demonstrates an understanding of external and internal stakeholder agreements and deliverables
• Demonstrates knowledge of the impact of projects being developed through official APA committees and councils

Qualifications

Required Skills, Experience, And Qualifications  

• 4-6 year’s experience in online learning management and/or instructional design 
• Experience with managing complex projects simultaneously with demonstrated success in meeting deadlines, managing vendors, and managing related budgets.
• Strong decision-making and problem-solving skills; proven research skills to gather data, best practices, and points of view to ensure sound judgment. 
• Bachelor’s degree required
• Experience working in and/or with associations industry is preferred
• Experience working on grant funded initiatives is preferred
• Experience with adult educational and/or healthcare programs is preferred 
• Excellent communicator capable of providing leadership to individuals and groups 
• Self-motivated, able to work independently, and shows attention to detail 
• Knowledge of how websites operate (i.e., databases, APIs, and content management systems)
• Demonstrated experience with computer-based and/or software-as-a-service (SaaS) tools such as Salesforce, HTML, Captivate, Articulate Storyline 2, Articulate Replay, Microsoft 365, Adobe Premier, Vimeo, Zoom, GoToWebinar, and/or other graphic and media design/production tools

EOE, including disability/vets

Salary-$81,700-$90,500

About Organization

The American Psychiatric Association is a national medical specialty society whose more than 38,900 physician members specialize in diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses including substance use disorders.

Visit the APA at www.psychiatry.org.