Manager, LMS Optimization

Southern New Hampshire University

1d•$85,563 - $136,928•Remote

About The Position

Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) is seeking an innovative and purpose-driven individual to join their team as a Manager of LMS Optimization. This role reports to the Director of Academic Technology and will lead a team of Academic Technology Solution Owners responsible for the short- and long-term optimization of the learning management system (LMS). The position requires a deep understanding of the D2L Brightspace LMS roadmap and its alignment with SNHU Global Campus's business and teaching practices. The Manager will be instrumental in evaluating, testing, recommending, and implementing features from D2L's monthly releases and integrated vendor components. This role involves maintaining strong relationships with Global Campus operational staff, including the New Learning Solutions and Learning Design and Delivery teams, as well as departments within LSA, Faculty Training and Development, and Academic Effectiveness & Instructor Experience. The goal is to ensure effective collaboration between Solution Owners, LMS Operations, Instructional Support Services, Global Campus partners, UX professionals, and vendors to drive continuous improvements focused on user experience. This is a 100% remote position, open to candidates residing in specific approved states.

Requirements

5+ years of experience working within an LMS.
3+ years leading LMS operation programs.
High School Diploma or equivalent (e.g. GED).
Experience with D2L Brightspace or comparable learning management systems.
Experience with Product Management (analysis, change management, roadmap delivery, and partner needs).
Experience with Agile fundamentals, including backlog management, and conversion of our needs into measurable outcomes.

Responsibilities

Be an engaged manager for the LMS Optimizations team by expressing deep technical knowledge of the Learning Management System, modern technology fundamentals, and systems thinking.
Lead a high-performing distributed team to maintain operations and lead solution delivery through meticulous planning and communication.
Partner with the Director of Academic Technology to cultivate a relationship with D2L, maintaining understanding of continuous delivery plans and long-term roadmap for the D2L Brightspace Learning Management System.
Lead LMS technical team to deliver monthly updates and longer-term features that meet current and future needs.
Coordinate and refine use cases for product improvements.
Ensure timely creation and maintenance of SNHU Brightspace Knowledge to maintain understanding between SNHU business practices and configuration of the LMS.
Guide team in the coordination and documentation of technical and our needs with partners.
Ensure clear understanding and prioritization of needs with the broader Academic Technology portfolio to D2L.
Lead by example to ensure identification and evaluation of technologies that support the mastery of university program competencies and improved user experience.
Work with internal UX Research to lead focus on the user experience within Brightspace, with projects that enhance the user interface (UI) for learners and faculty in all experiences (desktop to mobile).
Coordinate across Global Campus and ITS to ensure the successful implementation of technologies into the learning ecosystem, with focus on solutions that integrate with the LMS, e.g., LTI, Bongo, Google Analytics.
Collaborate with Global Campus operational teams to coordinate Brightspace updates and integrated tool features as applicable to new/redeveloped course designs and recurring term starts.
Partner with other technical teams to design, test and deploy optimizations in the LMS that will be consumed by the scaled Global Campus audience.
Lead requirements definition, scaled delivery testing, the Academic Remap/NLS prototyping and other testing/innovation initiatives that may emerge.
Coordinate with multiple technology projects, mostly new feature rollouts, including planning, execution, tracking, and implementation.
Develop collaborative relationships across the university to promote a positive student and faculty experience with Brightspace.
Help resolve issues related to learning technologies and platforms, escalating and coordinating with LMS Operations regarding solutions and vendor communication.
Partner with Academic Technology Solution Delivery leaders to maintain relationships with third-party technology vendor partners that integrate with the LMS.
Lead team through the successful deployment, support, and cost-effective use of LMS updates; oversee problem management activities and support incident management activities and reporting.
Monitor developments in academic technology, including AI; identify opportunities to enhance the LMS experience.
Demonstrate and ensure customer-centric decision-making across the LMS Optimization team.
Ensure that all team members are aligned with our needs, anticipate, and resolve customer problems, and operate in a professional and efficient manner while following established processes, policies, and procedures.
Ensure clarity of our goals and expectations for the team.
Set attainable goals, monitor progress, take remedial actions to successfully achieve goals.
Lead by example demonstrating the highest professional standards to foster a collaborative and cohesive team.
Remove obstacles, ensure accountability, anticipate, and resolve problems to allow the team to exceed deliverables and commitments.
Encourage employees' professional development, provide coaching, listen to feedback, sponsor professional training opportunities, and empower employees to meet their potential.
Apply SNHU HR guidelines, processes, and best practices in all personnel related responsibilities.
Attendance, punctuality, and reliability are essential functions of this role.
Other responsibilities as assigned.