Academic Development Specialist (1 year contract)

James Cook University; Singapore; On-site; SGD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

James Cook University Singapore is seeking an Academic Development Specialist to lead AI-enhanced teaching and learning initiatives for a 1-year contract. You will design and deliver professional development for academic staff, create resources, and support the adoption of AI platforms campus-wide.

You will configure AI agents, onboard AI-enhanced subjects, and work with staff and students to ensure effective use, grounded in learning sciences and instructional design.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in education, instructional design, learning technology or related field or equivalent
• Portfolio showing AI integrated into teaching is highly regarded
• Experience independently designing and delivering professional development for adult learners
• Hands-on experience building and testing conversational AI agents
• Working knowledge of instructional design models and learning sciences
• Understanding of AI trends in education including data privacy and ethics; 1 year contract

Responsibilities

• Design and deliver academic professional development across learning sciences, instructional design, pedagogy, AI in education and digital literacy
• Act as an advocate for pedagogically sound AI use – run awareness sessions and build a community of champions
• Support academic staff through practice change with ongoing consultation and reinforcement
• Configure and test AI agents for subject onboarding and provide first-line staff/student support
• Evaluate effectiveness and refine your design accordingly

Skills

AI in education

Adult learning design

Workshop facilitation

Educational technology

Education

Bachelor's degree in education / instructional design / learning technology

Tools

Conversational AI platforms

Job description

Thank you for your interest in employment at the Singapore campus of James Cook University.

We take exceptional pride in recruiting and developing outstanding individuals who share our vision to be the leading Australian provider of higher education in Asia. At the Singapore campus of James Cook University, we believe in the importance of providing a great place for our employees to grow and develop professionally. We have a culture that values mutual respect, integrity, creativity and teamwork.

Join us as we continue our development as a vibrant, multicultural and excellent organisation in education and research.

Academic Development Specialist (1 year contract)

We are excited to recruit an Academic Development Specialist -AI in Teaching and Learning (1 year contract) to join the Learning Centre.

Artificial intelligence is changing how universities teach. We're looking for an academic developer to help our staff make that change well.

James Cook University Singapore is rolling out AI platforms across the campus - an AI study companion for students, and Microsoft Copilot for staff and students. Technology rollouts succeed or fail on whether educators know how to use them. That's this role.

This is an academic development position at heart. You'll spend most of your time designing and delivering professional development for academic staff, workshops, consultations, resources and follow-up support that build genuine capability in AI-enhanced teaching, grounded in the learning sciences and instructional design. You'll also work hands-on with the platforms-configuring and testing AI agents, onboarding AI enhanced subjects, and supporting staff and students through adoption.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and deliver academic professional development across the learning sciences, instructional design, pedagogy, AI in education and digital literacy.
• Act as an advocate for pedagogically sound AI use - running awareness and demonstration sessions, addressing hesitancy and misconceptions, and building a community of champions across our Schools.
• Support academic staff through the practice change that adopting these technologies requires, with consultation and reinforcement beyond initial training.
• Configure and test AI agents for subject onboarding, and provide first-line support to staff and students.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of what you deliver and refine your design accordingly.

Requirement

• A bachelor's degree in education, instructional design, learning technology or a related field or an SSG-recognized adult education qualification (ACLP, ACTA, DACE or equivalent) with strong practical experience.
• A portfolio or worked examples showing AI integrated into teaching and learning is highly regarded.
• Demonstrated experience independently designing and delivering professional development or training for adult learners - ideally academic staff in higher education, or in a lifelong learning environment.
• Hands-on experience building and testing conversational AI agents grounded in defined content sources: configuring agent instructions, testing response accuracy, troubleshooting.
• Working knowledge of instructional design models and the learning sciences.
• Sound understanding of current trends in AI for education, including ethical considerations and data privacy
• This is a 1 year full time contract position.

Why this role

Academic development roles that put you at the front of institutional AI adoption are rare. You'll own the capability-building programme for a whole campus, work directly with academics across every School, and build hands-on experience with AI rollout at scale - reporting to the Head of AI and Learning Technology, with real room to shape the approach.We welcome applicants from the adult education and CET sector as well as higher education.

Closing Date: 17 October 2026

We thank you for your interest and regret we are only able to notify shortlisted candidates.

The Singapore campus of James Cook University (registered as James Cook University Pte Ltd in Singapore) is a wholly owned company of James Cook University Australia. The University offers Bachelor & Master Programs in Business, Psychology, Information Technology & Education at the Singapore campus of James Cook University.

Advertised: 18 Sep 2026 Singapore Standard Time
Applications close: 17 Oct 2026 Singapore Standard Time