Content Specialist (Instructional Design)

Western Governors University • Salt Lake City, UT

3d • $73,500 - $110,200 • Onsite

About The Position

The Content Specialist designs, builds, maintains, and evolves WGU’s Orientation experience for Traditional Orientation and Career Accelerator students. This hybrid role brings program strategy to life through learning modules, digital assets, and just-in-time supports, ensuring the experience is coherent, current, on-brand, accessible, and grounded in adult learning principles. The specialist translates program goals and student needs into structured learning experiences, iterates content using data and feedback, and maintains a reusable library of content, templates, and components.

The role works closely with Communications, EdTech, Program Development, Engagement Specialists, and Operations to coordinate messaging, content delivery, platform integrations, and performance-informed design. It also partners with multimedia and design teams and may manage external contributors and vendors. This is an on-site role based at WGU’s Salt Lake City office, during standard business hours with occasional flexibility for production timelines or program needs. Occasional travel of up to 20% is expected.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in instructional design, education, communications, multimedia, or a related field.
• At least 3 years of demonstrated experience in content creation, instructional design, learning experience design, or a closely related role.
• Portfolio demonstrating learning design and digital content creation work.
• Hands-on experience with content creation tools such as Canva, Adobe Suite, or equivalent, and basic multimedia production.
• Experience working with adult learners or in higher education.
• Demonstrated experience designing learning experiences for adult learners.
• Familiarity with instructional design models such as ADDIE or SAM and with adult learning principles.
• Ability to translate complex content into clear, structured, learner-friendly experiences.
• Strong writing skills and ability to adapt voice and tone for different audiences and channels.
• Comfort with multimedia production, including video scripting, basic editing, screen recordings, and narration.
• Project management skills, organization, and ability to balance multiple modules, stakeholders, workstreams, and deadlines.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills for working across creative, technical, program, and student-facing teams.
• Comfort using engagement metrics, completion data, and just-in-time usage patterns to inform content decisions.
• Cultural competence and demonstrated experience designing for diverse student populations.
• Commitment to equity, accessibility, and inclusive design.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in Instructional Design, Educational Technology, Adult Learning, or a related discipline.
• Experience designing just-in-time supports, microlearning, or contextual help systems.
• Experience working across stakeholder groups such as Communications, EdTech, and Program teams.
• Familiarity with learning management systems and digital content delivery platforms.
• Familiarity with WGU’s academic model, programs, or student success systems.

Responsibilities

• Design and maintain the end-to-end orientation experience for Traditional and Career Accelerator students, ensuring it is coherent, well paced, and grounded in adult learning principles.
• Translate program goals and student needs into structured learning experiences with clear outcomes and meaningful checkpoints.
• Iterate on existing modules and create new modules in response to data, student feedback, and program changes.
• Partner with Program Development to incorporate changes into the orientation experience and keep content accurate and aligned with program intent.
• Create and maintain digital assets, including videos, scripts, slides, written copy, graphics, interactive elements, and supporting materials.
• Maintain reusable content, templates, and components to keep the experience consistent and easy to update.
• Ensure assets are on-brand, accessible, and aligned with WGU’s voice and values.
• Partner with multimedia and design teams on complex production and manage external contributors and vendors as required.
• Design, develop, test, and iterate on just-in-time supports based on student behavior, needs, friction points, usage data, feedback, and Engagement Specialist input.
• Maintain and grow the just-in-time support library as student needs and the program evolve.
• Partner with Communications on messaging, brand consistency, and tone across orientation content.
• Partner with EdTech on platform capabilities, content delivery, and learning system integrations.
• Coordinate with Engagement Specialists on content needs surfaced through student conversations and community activity.
• Coordinate with the Operations Specialist on engagement and content-performance data to inform design decisions.
• Represent the orientation experience in cross-departmental working groups as needed.

Benefits

• Eligible for bonuses.
• Medical, dental, vision, telehealth, and mental healthcare.
• Health savings account and flexible spending account.
• Basic and voluntary life insurance and disability coverage.
• Accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages.
• Legal and identity theft coverage.
• Retirement savings plan.
• Wellbeing program.
• Discounted WGU tuition.
• Flexible paid time off without accrual.
• Flexible paid sick time without accrual.
• 11 paid holidays.
• Other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level