Academic Technology Manager

Lake Forest College•Lake Forest, IL

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Lake Forest College invites applications for the Academic Technology Manager in Academic Affairs. This position is located in Lake Forest, IL. The Academic Technology Manager is responsible for managing academic and instructional technology operations. The manager will facilitate campus-wide collaboration and coordination efforts, partnering with faculty, students, and academic and administrative divisions to align education technology systems, approaches, and resources with faculty and student needs, and institutional direction. The Manager promotes best practices with technology in learning environments, collaborates and provides training in the effective use of instructional technologies. The manager serves as the campus LMS administrator. This role will serve as a champion, advisor, and liaison to the college community for the effective and innovative use of technology to support teaching, learning, and scholarship. The manager will lead efforts related to the assessment, planning, and delivery of academic technologies, primarily focusing on the College’s learning management system (LMS) and specialized pedagogical applications, and grow new programs. The manager will build direct relationships with faculty to develop and navigate new academic technologies.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Educational Technology, Information Technology, Instructional Design, or a related field
3+ years of experience working in higher education academic technology, instructional design, or IT procurement.
Deep expertise in administering Learning Management Systems (Canvas preferred), Student Information Systems, and deploying LTI integrations.
Proven track record in software procurement, contract negotiation, and managing vendor relationships, with a strong ability to secure competitive pricing.
Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical and pedagogical concepts to non-technical faculty and staff.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, specifically regarding inventory management, survey data analysis, and budget tracking.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred

Responsibilities

Manage the day-to-day operations of Academic Technology, including overseeing the learning management system (Canvas).
Provide learning design support.
Manage LTI integrations with software vendors.
Provide tech support for faculty and students for academic technology.
Serve as the VitalSource liaison (online bookstore).
Collaborate with the Office of Faculty Development to develop and implement an extensive program of outreach, engagement, consultation, and support to expand and enhance the use of technology in teaching and learning.
Design and develop documentation, tutorials, workshops, and other training programs to support faculty in the proper use of instructional technologies.
Partner with faculty members, disciplines, and/or divisions to lead new exploratory initiatives and pilot projects for instructional technology.
Provide pedagogical and technical consulting, training, and project management to help instructors and programs find innovative and effective ways to use technology to achieve their teaching goals, for both in-person and online courses.
Provide academic technology support and general technical support in the office of academic affairs as needed.
Conduct a comprehensive annual software inventory survey with faculty to identify current software usage and determine which platforms are required for the upcoming academic year.
Keep the academic software inventory continuously up to date, tracking license counts and deployment locations.
Proactively contact vendors to initiate the renewal process for software that faculty have requested for the next academic year.
Cancel software subscriptions and licenses that faculty no longer wish to renew or that are underutilized.
Negotiate directly with software vendors during every annual renewal cycle to secure lower pricing and optimal value for the College.