Remote, W2 Contract

20-30 hrs/wk, 5-months (w/ opportunity to extend)

$40-50 /hr

Are you skilled in the art of crafting accessible general education learning content? Do you relish the opportunity to shape learning through great written and multimedia content and are skilled in collaborating and guiding others? We are seeking instructional designers to support the design and development of self-paced, competency-based general education courses in the following topic areas:

1. Intro to Programming with Java

2. Intro to Economics

3. Critical Thinking

About Sophia Learning

Our mission is to help students achieve college success with Sophia Pathways, our affordable, flexible, competency-based online courses. These self-paced courses cost a fraction of traditional college courses, and are accessible anytime, from any device. As part of our ongoing commitment to learning, we also provide free college readiness resources for students, including test prep and refresher courses, as well as professional development resources for teachers.

About the Role

The development instructional designer (Dev-ID) is an instructional design position responsible for facilitating and contributing to the design and development of online courses that provide high-quality learning experiences for adult learners. The instructional designer collaborates and coordinates the course team to create courses that are instructionally sound, use instructional media effectively, and adhere to Sophia’s instructional design and editorial standards. The instructional designer works with teams, including project managers, faculty subject matter experts, faculty chairs, curriculum specialists, interactive designers, assessment specialists, and other personnel to develop multiple courses.

Essential Duties  

• Collaborate with lead ID, faculty subject matter experts, and course builders to create high-quality online courses.

• Analyze and apply the provided course design documents including; course structure, competency map, media plan, assessment plan, style guide, and other project management documentation.

• Prioritize and manage course development activities and deliverables to ensure on-time development and delivery.

• Work with faculty to select and obtain subject matter materials for intended learning outcomes, following appropriate legal, ethical, and procedural guidelines and practices.

• Work with faculty to create appropriate content and assessments. This includes guiding and framing creation, editing, filling gaps, smoothing transitions, and ensuring style guide standards are met.

• Design and integrate instructional media into online courses to maximize the effectiveness of the online learning experience by increasing interaction, motivation, instruction, and practice opportunities in an online environment.

• Guide the course content review cycle by monitoring schedule, identifying decision points, providing necessary reviews and approvals, seeking feedback, and updating relevant stakeholders.

• Ensure strong alignment between the course structure, competency map, course content, assessments, and learning activities to increase learner efficiency in mastering competencies.

• Advocate for learners in the design of online learning activities, instructions, and presentation according to learning science-based best practices.

• Provide support in the course build process by ensuring fluid transitions from tasks, reviewing and approving content, resolving any questions, and conducting a final QA.

• Prep materials for course ACE accreditation review according to standard process.

Job Skills  

• Working knowledge of or experience applying instructional design, adult learning, or online learning theories to the design, development, or delivery of instruction.

• Proven ability to communicate effectively and professionally, both verbally and in writing.

• Strong organization and management skills to proactively manage and prioritize the course development activities for multiple courses with firm deadlines.

• Proven ability to work under limited supervision and exercise independent judgment and initiative.

• Strong process orientation with excellent problem-solving skills.

• Demonstrated strong attention to detail, initiative, and follow-through.

• Ability to establish effective, professional relationships in a collaborative, virtual working environment.

• Proficiency with MS Word, Excel, and the Google Suite equivalents.

• Working knowledge of or experience designing or developing interactive instruction is a plus.

Work Experience  

• Minimum of 2+ years experience in instructional design or higher education digital publishing

• Evidence of publish-ready curriculum/content creation is required

Education  

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in new media communications, instructional design, instructional or technical writing, educational psychology, or a related field.

• Master’s degree from an accredited institution preferred