Assistant Director - Learning Design Enablement

Northeastern University•Boston, MA

2d•$87,785 - $123,999

About The Position

Northeastern University's Experiential Digital Global Education (EDGE) team seeks an experienced, student-centered instructional design leader to serve as Assistant Director, Learning Design Enablement. The role supports the Learning Design Enablement team's operational excellence and the advancement of high-quality, accessible, and inclusive online learning across EDGE's Learning Design portfolio. Reporting to the Senior Director of Learning Design Enablement, the Assistant Director directly manages Learning Design Manager(s) and Senior Learning Experience Designers, and oversees the Learning Experience Designers who report to them. The role develops these leaders, holds them accountable for program outcomes, and establishes consistent practices across teams. It partners with faculty, deans, program directors, department chairs, and peer leads across EDGE's Strategy, Delivery, Media, and Data & Tech functions. The Assistant Director owns the Learning Design Enablement quality control process, sets design standards, and confirms products meet those standards before handoff to Learning Solutions. The role analyzes learner and portfolio data, including course retrospectives, to inform design decisions and improve the portfolio. In partnership with the Senior Director, it leads process improvements that support team efficiency, productivity, and creativity.

Requirements

A master's degree in Instructional Design, Educational Psychology, Learning Experience Design, or a related field, and/or demonstrated equivalent work experience.
At least 6 years of experience as a leader in the design and development of high-quality online learning experiences.
Experience owning an end-to-end quality review process, including setting standards and release criteria.
Experience developing or maintaining quality assurance standards, style guides, or QA frameworks for online learning.
Experience using learning analytics data to inform design and revision decisions.
Experience managing a portfolio or program set at scale.
Experience managing instructional design leads and/or managers of instructional designers.
Experience leading multiple complex, cross-functional projects with competing priorities while balancing quality and on-time delivery.
Experience building relationships with faculty, academic leadership, and cross-functional teams in a matrixed organization.
Experience shaping how a design team adopts and governs AI tools in learning design, with fluency in current and emerging applications.
Experience working alongside media and technical teams, with working knowledge of LMS architecture sufficient to diagnose issues and guide design quality.
Ability to set long-range goals while managing execution and detail across multiple projects.
Ability to manage change and deliver results with minimal direction in fast-paced, ambiguous environments.
Ability to work strategically with faculty, college partners, peers, campus administrators, and leadership.
Innovative, intrapreneurial problem-solving and collaboration, with strong interpersonal and organizational skills.
Demonstrated record of creative, accomplished leadership and a strong commitment to advancing the University's priorities.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in innovative online learning environments, preferably in higher education or enterprise online learning.

Responsibilities

Lead the Learning Design Enablement quality control process across the development lifecycle through handoff to Learning Solutions; set design standards, analyze learner and portfolio data, and drive continuous improvement.
Maintain and evolve the LDE quality assurance framework in partnership with the Senior Director and cross-functional leads.
Set release criteria and confirm products meet standards before handoff to Learning Solutions.
Distribute QA checks across LDE Leads, their teams, and AI-assisted monitoring, and evaluate AI-assisted QA for responsible and scalable use.
Partner with the Lead Multimedia Specialist on media-specific standards and QA checkpoints.
Analyze learning analytics, course retrospectives, QA findings, and learner, faculty, and partner feedback to identify improvement priorities.
Track enablement team KPIs and report QA findings and trends to the Senior Director and cross-functional leads.
Develop processes and resources that help designers, faculty, and content experts maintain program fidelity and effective pedagogy.
Partner with other EDGE teams to maintain consistent LDE policies, processes, and tools and promptly resolve internal process pain points.
Manage multiple concurrent projects and workflows across the LDE portfolio, maintaining schedules and stakeholder relationships through clear communication.
Oversee scoping, design, and development of learning design projects within the enablement portfolio.
Keep the Senior Director informed of project status, team capacity, and emerging risks to support schedule and roadmap decisions.
Ensure LDE Leads and their teams understand current timelines and schedule changes, and connect LDE work with Media and other team dependencies.
Identify production timeline risks early, resolve them within the team, and escalate issues affecting scope, resourcing, or other teams to the Senior Director.
Manage dependencies and handoffs with Media, Learning Solutions, and Program Management.
Build relationships with faculty, Academic Directors, academic leadership, and external partners; set expectations and surface tradeoffs before they affect timelines or other teams.
Directly manage Learning Design Manager and Senior Learning Experience Designer roles and oversee the Learning Experience Designers reporting to them.
Set goals, conduct performance reviews, and hold direct reports accountable for program outcomes and quality standards.
Lead and mentor design leaders, building their judgment in strategy and program-level decisions.
Delegate program-level decisions to LDE Leads within clear guardrails and bring cross-pillar and resourcing issues to the Senior Director.
Hold regular portfolio reviews with LDE Leads to turn successful design ideas and new methods into standard practice.
Coach managers on leading their teams, including feedback, workload, and designer development.
Gather team member and partner feedback to improve team processes and build a positive, collaborative culture.