ORCA Learning Designer

University of British Columbia; Vancouver; On-site; CAD 86,000 - 124,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of British Columbia seeks a Learning Designer to lead planning, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative assessment pedagogies in ORCA. You will consult with faculty, IT, and instructional support to support flexible, accessible digital assessments and inclusive learning.

This in-person role advances evidence-based practices across campus. With a Master’s degree and 6+ years in education and assessment, you will guide technology choices and contribute to

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Education and at least six years of related experience.
• Demonstrated competency in modern programming languages and educational technologies.
• Experience designing assessments across multiple modalities and with SoTL.
• Familiarity with open source software projects and learning ecosystems.

Responsibilities

• Leads planning, design, development, implementation and evaluation of innovative assessment pedagogies for ORCA.
• Collaborates with faculty and staff to design and prepare assessments aligned with learning outcomes.
• Provides pedagogical guidance on the use of teaching and learning technologies.
• Advances equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility in assessment design.

Skills

Educational leadership

Assessment design

Learning technology

Open pedagogy

Education

Master’s degree in Education

PhD (strongly preferred)

Tools

PrairieLearn

Canvas

Brightspace

Qualtrics

Job description

Job Title ORCA Learning Designer Job Category M&P - AAPS Job Profile AAPS Salaried - Educational Programming, Level C Job Family Group Staff - Non Union Department Operations and Administration | Learning Technology Innovation Centre Compensation Range $7,727.33 - $11,112.00 CAD Monthly The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job. Job End Date November 8, 2029 Posting End Date November 4, 2026 Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date. This is a three-year term position with the possibility of extension.

Job Summary

Working closely with subject matter experts (faculty members, instructional support, IT and other staff) and alongside other support units across UBC Vancouver campus, the Learning Designer (LD) leads and manages the planning, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative assessment pedagogies in the Open Resource Centre for Assessment (ORCA). Consultation on other course materials including class activities, lecture content, practice material, and other aspects of course delivery as needed to support faculty members transitioning to ORCA. The LD is committed to implementing evidence-based, flexible approaches in the creation of accessible, equitable and inclusive digital assessments that support all learners. This position aligns with various UBC strategic priorities which seek to improve student's educational experiences at UBC, with specific attention to supporting flexibility for learners. This role is an in-person position.

Organizational Status

The Learning Technology Innovation Centre (LTIC) is a central academic service unit mandated to catalyse and elevate learning technology application, innovation, and inquiry at UBC. ORCA is a centralized service provided by the Office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic and sits under LTIC. ORCA operates rooms across campus as a distributed testing centre with network-filtered computer labs dedicated to assessment. ORCA supports instructors in implementing innovative digital assessments at scale, securely and equitably across the Vancouver campus.

Work Performed

Provides leadership and technical expertise in learning and inclusive assessment design. Provides faculty members support within ORCA supported learning management systems including PrairieLearn, Canvas, Brightspace, MTA, Qualtrics, Webwork, Gradescope, and others. Works closely with subject matter experts and others to analyze assessment needs and recommends effective pedagogical approaches and strategies to better meet desired assessment outcomes. Develops and tests ORCA-supported learning technology and software, and identifies deficiencies to the ORCA Manager and ORCA Academic Director. Develops and maintains education technology-related workflows and guides for faculty members, ORCA invigilators, and other staff on use of instructional tools Provides leadership in advocating for software features that ORCA needs to sustain and grow its’ user base (including advocacy to vendors whose software tools ORCA relies on). Assess pedagogical needs of faculty members and collaborate with the ORCA Manager and ORCA Academic Director to establish priorities and areas of focus. Work with instructors (or their designates, including student and non-student staff) to design and prepare assessments for ORCA. Evaluates assessment effectiveness and educational outcomes of courses (in collaboration with faculty members). Assists the ORCA Manager in evaluating ORCA service performance, usage, and capacity by providing data, analysis, and expertise. Applies instructional design principles and frameworks to support a variety of assessment modalities supported by ORCA. With training, provides technical expertise to faculty members working on innovative assessments and developing sophisticated auto-graders using modern web technologies (HTML, CSS, Typescript, WASM) and programming languages (Python, R, Rust, Docker). Develops and maintains scripts, apps, and web-based automations to improve ORCA operations. Recommends, guides, and facilitates the design and development of assessments in alignment with learning outcomes. Reviews and provides advice on assessment materials. Advises on strategies that enhance justice, equity, diversity, Indigeneity, and inclusion (JEDII) work and the accessibility of assessment environments for all learners. Is attentive to the potential impact assessment design has on both student and faculty wellbeing and makes recommendations based on this knowledge. Collaborates with the ORCA Manager to triage and handle responses to assessment-design related incidents; the ORCA Manager coordinates overall assessment delivery, operational incidents, and escalation with the appropriate campus partners. Evaluates whether assessment design recommendations achieve intended teaching and learning outcomes. Provides advice on the integration of new and existing technologies to enhance assessments in ORCA by leveraging an excellent understanding of the Learning Technology ecosystem at UBC. Provides tours and holds weekly office hours for members of the UBC community to learn about ORCA. Onboards faculty and staff members to the ORCA service. Conducts research on innovative uses of emerging technologies and their potential impacts on assessment. Integrates this research into their practice and uses it to develop professional development activities (workshops, drop-in sessions, etc.) for faculty on assessment learning design related to the ORCA model. Works with the ORCA Academic Director to undertake original educational and pedagogical research in ORCA on new approaches to assessment design drawing on practical experience designing and conducting SoTL research projects. Consults with subject-matter experts and provides pedagogical expertise in the development of teaching and learning grant proposals using the ORCA model of assessment. Consults and builds relationships with staff members from various support units (Centre for Accessibility, UBC Studios, LT Hub, etc.) to ensure quality instructor support. Disseminate work at local, national and international conferences and collaborate with faculty and colleagues on publications. Represents ORCA interests by serving on UBC committees or provincial, national and international organizations. Assists with general coordination of ORCA in peak periods, or when staffing is inadequate. Performs other related duties as required.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

Errors in judgement may have negative effects on the quality of education and both faculty and student experience; could negatively impact future ORCA partnerships; and may consequently damage the image and reputation of the University, LTIC and ORCA.

Supervision Received

Formal supervision by the ORCA Academic Director and establishing operational priorities in collaboration with the ORCA Manager.

Supervision Given

Provides leadership, education and mentoring on demonstrated areas of expertise to faculty and others. May occasionally oversee the work of invigilators as they work with learning technology (software and hardware), students, or others on project teams.

Minimum Qualifications

Master’s degree in Education. Minimum of six years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
• Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion
• Demonstrated competency in modern programming languages like Python, R, Rust (or similar) and their utility in randomizing assessments.
• Demonstrated competency in digital learning design theories and practices, assessment design theory and pedagogical approaches utilized in higher education across various modalities (in-person, online, hybrid, and multi-access) and within diverse academic disciplines.
• Demonstrated proficiency and knowledge of educational technologies with the ability to assess and integrate emerging technologies to support assessment priorities (i.e. learning management platforms, learning technologies, multimedia and web-based tools, technology-assisted instructional design, accessibility tools, learning analytics, and artificial intelligence).
• Knowledge of relevant programming languages and generative AI tools, and the ability to inform assessment design through learning analytics.
• Strong oral and written communication/presentation skills.
• Ability to communicate technical issues to non-technical audiences is essential.
• Strong interpersonal skills, using tact, diplomacy, and sound judgment to work effectively with faculty, staff, students, senior leadership, and external partners.
• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own.
• Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
• Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own technical expertise and development, a strong curiosity for learning and commitment to ongoing professional development.
• Foundational knowledge of intersections between alternative grading, decolonization, Indigenization, and Higher Education and/or willingness to pursue on‑going learning in these areas.
• Min 2 years of experience teaching in a post-secondary institution, designing courses, assessments, and curriculum, in a variety of modalities (online, in person etc.) Experience designing and undertaking original educational research, drawing on contemporary practices within the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) as well as an applied knowledge of statistical analysis
• Familiarity engaging with, or working on open source software projects (including familiarity with GitHub/GitLab, issues, discussions, merge and pull requests) Thorough knowledge of current educational technologies, specifically the UBC learning ecosystem, and the ability to learn new and emerging tools with ease.
• Knowledge of relevant contemporary programming languages and generative AI tools, and the ability to inform assessment design through learning analytics
• Comfort working with modern AI tools to work efficiently including auditing output from GenAI tools.
• Proven project management skills with ability to prioritize and coordinate a number of projects concurrently.
• Ability to take initiative and work with limited direction, both independently and in a team environment.
• Highly effective problem solving, troubleshooting, planning, and organizational skills.
• High degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Demonstrated ability to apply universal design for learning (UDL) and accessibility strategies to develop equitable and accessible learning experiences.
• Foundational knowledge of justice, equity, decolonization, indigenization and inclusion (JEDII) in Higher Education and willingness to pursue on‑going learning in this area.
• Understanding of intellectual property and copyright.
• Knowledge of UBC’s strategic plans, policies, and procedures will be considered an asset.

Preferred Qualifications

• A PhD in Education, Pedagogy, discipline-based education research (DBER) or a related discipline is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated competency in modern programming languages like Python, R, Rust (or similar) and their utility in randomizing assessments.
• Demonstrated competency in digital learning design theories and practices, assessment design theory and pedagogical approaches utilized in higher education across various modalities (in-person, online, hybrid, and multi-access) and within diverse academic disciplines.
• Demonstrated proficiency and knowledge of educational technologies with the ability to assess and integrate emerging technologies to support assessment priorities (i.e. learning management platforms, learning technologies, multimedia and web-based tools, technology-assisted instructional design, accessibility tools, learning analytics, and artificial intelligence).
• Knowledge of relevant programming languages and generative AI tools, and the ability to inform assessment design through learning analytics.
• Strong oral and written communication/presentation skills.
• Ability to communicate technical issues to non-technical audiences.
• Strong interpersonal skills, using tact, diplomacy, and sound judgment to work effectively with faculty, staff, students, senior leadership, and external partners.
• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own.
• Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
• Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own technical expertise and development, a strong curiosity for learning and commitment to ongoing professional development.
• Foundational knowledge of intersections between alternative grading, decolonization, Indigenization, and Higher Education and/or willingness to pursue on‑going learning in these areas.
• Min 2 years of experience teaching in a post-secondary institution, designing courses, assessments, and curriculum, in a variety of modalities (online, in person etc.) Experience designing and undertaking original educational research, drawing on contemporary practices within the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) as well as an applied knowledge of statistical analysis
• Familiarity engaging with, or working on open source software projects (including familiarity with GitHub/GitLab, issues, discussions, merge and pull requests) Thorough knowledge of current educational technologies, specifically the UBC learning ecosystem, and the ability to learn new and emerging tools with ease.
• Knowledge of relevant contemporary programming languages and generative AI tools, and the ability to inform assessment design through learning analytics
• Comfort working with modern AI tools to work efficiently including auditing output from GenAI tools.
• Proven project management skills with ability to prioritize and coordinate a number of projects concurrently.
• Ability to take initiative and work with limited direction, both independently and in a team environment.
• Highly effective problem solving, troubleshooting, planning, and organizational skills.
• High degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Demonstrated ability to apply universal design for learning (UDL) and accessibility strategies to develop equitable and accessible learning experiences.
• Foundational knowledge of justice, equity, decolonization, indigenization and inclusion (JEDII) in Higher Education and willingness to pursue on‑going learning in this area.
• Understanding of intellectual property and copyright.
• Knowledge of UBC’s strategic plans, policies, and procedures will be considered an asset.

Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, and/or Indigenous person.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

If you have any accommodation or accessibility needs during the job application process, please contact the Centre for Workplace Accessibility at [e-mail].