Senior Academic Designer, Literacy/Grades 3-6

Mheducation; United States; Remote; USD 62,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking company as a Senior Academic Designer, where your expertise in literacy curriculum development will shape the future of education for Grades 3-5. This role offers a unique chance to impact student success through innovative content creation and collaboration with a dedicated team. You will lead the development of high-quality educational resources, mentor junior designers, and stay ahead of emerging trends in literacy and educational technology. If you are passionate about making a difference in education and possess strong organizational and communication skills, this opportunity is perfect for you.

Qualifications

• 4+ years in literacy curriculum development focusing on Grades 3-5.
• Strong understanding of Reading/Language Arts pedagogy.

Responsibilities

• Develop content for teacher and student materials across formats.
• Mentor junior designers and ensure quality of educational products.

Skills

Literacy Curriculum Development

Project Management

Mentorship

Problem Solving

Communication Skills

Attention to Detail

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education

Master’s Degree in Literacy or Linguistics

Tools

MS Office Suite

Adobe Acrobat

Smartsheet

K4/InCopy

Job description

Overview

Impact the Moment Are you interested in making a difference in the lives of others? The McGraw Hill Senior Academic Designer, Literacy Grades 3-5 team thrives on building meaningful relationships with educators to maximize the potential of every learner. This is a unique opportunity to have a far-reaching impact on student success as well as impact the educational technology industry.

What is this role about? McGraw Hill, the leading provider of digital and print educational resources, is looking for a Senior Academic Designer, Literacy Grades 3-5 for our K-12 division.

This position is fully remote but can also be based in one of our McGraw Hill offices. This is a Project Status Worker (PSW) position. Candidates must be authorized to work for any employer in the United States.

Senior Academic Designers are content and curriculum experts. They assemble high-quality content based on specific product requirements for programs and understanding the solution design. They collaborate with the Academic Design Directors, Academic Design Managers, and Product Managers to help develop the solution design (both conceptualization and implementation). Depending on project needs, Senior Academic Designers are asked to take on specific project assignments, working with a small team of Academic Designers throughout the various stages of product development.

What you will be doing:

• Plan and develop content (including learning objectives, scope/sequence, tables of contents, lessons, videos, and teacher resources) for teacher and student materials–including print, digital, and media projects
• Develop and finalize prototypes, scope and sequence, project proposals, and project scope documentation, as needed
• Train, mentor, and provide feedback to more junior Academic Designers on guidelines and expectations around content development, documentation, and planning
• Act as the point of contact between a vendor, internal engineering teams, contractors, and Academic Design teams with some decision-making authority, including ensuring timeliness and quality of work
• Coordinate with Project Managers, Product Design, Production and other cross-functional groups to establish workflows and maintain communication about project schedules/status
• Demonstrate strong understanding of elementary (Grades 3-5) Reading/Language Arts and English Language Development pedagogical issues
• Produce and guide more junior team members to produce accurate, error-free, high-quality products that meet curriculum standards (including CCSS and other state standards), project scope, and market requirements and that display appropriate content, reading level, grammar, and style
• Stay up to date on emerging educational/curriculum trends, educational technology, and research within field and adjacent to field

We’re looking for someone with:

• Bachelor’s degree in elementary education, literacy, linguistics, or related field
• A minimum of 4 years of experience in literacy curriculum development and educational publishing with a focus on Grades 3-5
• Teaching experience an advantage
• Ability to create and visualize content for various delivery formats and classroom settings
• Highly organized, goal-oriented, and collaborative with ability to mentor others and provide guidance, direction, and leadership
• Ability to understand concerns, needs, and issues raised by junior team members and create novel solutions, including cross-functional problem solving
• Proactively identifies risks and develops contingency plans
• Understanding of how research, pedagogy, and best practice applies to product design and apply broad views of perspectives in the discipline
• Subject matter expertise in foundational literacy skills, including decodability of texts, an advantage
• Attention to detail and commitment to accuracy, quality, and on-time delivery
• Knowledge of appropriate industry and subject-area content development practices, content standards (such as CCSS, B.E.S.T., and TEKS), and academic and pedagogical trends, with the ability to drive innovation in teams and products
• Displays and acts with initiative, integrity, and professionalism
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, which include a thorough command of the English language, spelling, writing, and grammar and a strong attention to detail
• Effective organizational and time management skills; productive, efficient work habits and the ability to prioritize, multitask, and exhibit flexibility
• Diverse computer skills, expert-level in MS Office suite, proficiency with Adobe Acrobat, Smartsheet, and K4/InCopy markup
• Experience building accessible content in digital authoring systems is a plus

Here’s what we offer: At McGraw Hill, you will be empowered to make a real impact on a global scale. Every day your individual efforts can contribute to the lives of millions.

The pay range for this position is between $62,000 – $85,000 annually, however, base pay offered may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and location. Click here to learn more about our benefit offerings.