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Head of Academic Services
Entertainment & Media Industry Company
Harlow, , United Kingdom
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Description
At Company, we’re committed to a world that’s always learning and to our talented team who makes it all possible. From bringing lectures vividly to life to turning textbooks into laptop lessons, we are always re-examining the way people learn best, whether it’s one child in our own backyard or an education community across the globe. We are bold thinkers and standout innovators who motivate each other to explore new frontiers in an environment that supports and inspires us to always be better. By pushing the boundaries of technology — and each other to surpass these boundaries — we create seeds of learning that become the catalyst for the world’s innovations, personal and global, large and small.
Purpose
The Service Delivery team is a newly formed dynamic, fast moving team supporting all parts of our UK Higher Education business to identify, win and deliver with excellence services and products that support teaching and learning in a blended or online environment. In 2017 the team will be supporting revenue targets in excess of £17m.
The Head of Academic Services is a new cross functional role with a particular focus on designing and developing the academic services needed to support Higher Education Institutions as they move to an online or blended delivery. The services currently include:
• Curriculum & learning design
• Accreditation and validation support for institutions
• Tutor support services such as training to deliver in an online or blended environment and resource planning.
• The successful candidate will have deep expertise and the necessary qualifications in Learning design and academic delivery bringing an effective blend of research and practice to the role. Initially the Head of Academic Services will have one direct line report, our Lead Learning Designer, and responsibility for our freelance learning design community and associates. Over time, the successful candidate will need to grow and shape the team accordingly to respond to market needs.
This is a hands on role for a creative, dynamic and resilient individual to establish and nurture a new team and build the necessary relationships across Company with the relevant teams and wider HE community with the ambition of establishing ourselves as world leading in the design development and delivery of all academic services required for best in class online and blended teaching and learning.
The Head of Academic Services forms a key role on the HE Service Delivery Leadership Team and will need to work collaboratively with all the Heads of functions and wider leadership in the UK HE team to deliver on team goals and key strategies. In particular, this role will work very closely with our University Partnerships team. This role will work closely with other members of the leadership team in shaping the overall strategy for our team, and for ensuring we deliver on the very real and exciting opportunities for our business.
Main Accountabilities
• Support our Head of Partnership Development and Strategic Consultants with business development activity to shape solutions for universities, contribute to relationship development with institutions and negotiation of commercial agreements as they pertain to academic services. Create and deliver excellent presentations to prospective HEI partners on our learning design expertise and approach as well as contributing to written bids and tenders
• Design, build and establish (working with our teams of expert learning designers around the world), the ‘Company Way’ with regards to our learning design principles and approach. Build a library of winning learning designs to address the most pressing needs in course design when moving courses online in the 21st century, addressing topics such as assessment, employability, collaboration and networking, flipped classroom, competency based learning
• Build and maintain Company’s reputation and brand collaboratively with the HE community, attending relevant events, speaking at conferences and publishing research papers
• Recruit and run relevant academic and research boards and Associate Professors to deliver training and thought leadership on specific topics to our HEI partners. Work closely with our Head of Service Development to establish an effective go to research community where we can test our ideas future service development.
• Working closely with our Head of Operations and Lead Learning Designer, refine the development process for designing, building and producing online and blended courses, with a particular responsibility for the scoping, pre contract, proto type and proof of concept stages. Establish and agree clear hand offs and RACI to move to full scale production in our operations department
• Responsible for establishing and maintaining appropriate quality assurance processes for all our learning design work. Responsible for the ultimate sign off on pedagogical models employed and design solutions put forward to clients.
• Supporting, coaching and developing our Learning Designers to remain at the cutting edge of implementing learning design principles into course and content design. Overseeing the establishment of a pool of freelance instructional
Qualifications
This is a senior role and candidates will be required to demonstrate relevant leadership experience and expertise in a similar position.
Specifically the successful candidate will need to demonstrate a proven track record of:
• Educated to Masters level or above in relevant fields of study with a successful portfolio of published research. Proven track record of delivering inspiring presentations to the HE Community in the area of online and blended learning
• Detailed technical understanding of Uk Universities QAA guidelines, validation processes and professional body accreditation requirements for online learning
• Proven track record of working in a Higher Education Institution either as part of a team to support academics to deliver in online or blended environments, or as an academic tutor yourself with strong experience in teaching and learning online.
• Developing educational online learning solutions from idea through to delivery and working in successful partnerships preferably with educational institutions. Demonstrable experience of innovative learning designs and their impact on the course delivery and progress of learners.
• A thorough understanding of VLEs ( Blackboard, Moodle Canvass) and how to design courses and curriculum to deliver most effectively through these environments
• Leading and designing solution workshops externally with clients and internally with matrix teams. Think creatively and strategically while acting operationally.
• Strong demonstrable understanding of learning design and technology in online and blended delivery.
• Strong demonstrable experience of combining research and practice. Adept at working in a corporate environment with commercial goals.
• Developing high performing teams which work to common purposes and achieve goals consistently. Excellent coaching and mentoring skills. Proven experience in agile project management
• Exceptional communication, influencing, negotiation and presentation skills, written, visual and oral
• Confident and able networker with an ability to form trusted relationships plus influence and lead at all levels, often in virtual teams
• Able to work effectively in heavily cross functional teams, thrive in a fast-paced environment
• Strong strategic and commercial judgement and excellent organisational and analytical skills
• High attention to detail and excellent project management and analytical skills
• Resilient, energetic, highly motivated ably to learn quickly.
• Deep understanding of the UK Higher Education sector, and government policy for Higher Education.
• Willingness to travel (30%)