Assistant Director, Learning Technology Infrastructure

Duke University:

Duke University was created in 1924 through an indenture of trust by James Buchanan Duke. Today, Duke is regarded as one of America’s leading research universities. Located in Durham, North Carolina, Duke is positioned in the heart of the Research Triangle, which is ranked annually as one of the best places in the country to work and live. Duke has more than 15,000 students who study and conduct research in its 10 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools. With about 40,000 employees, Duke is the third largest private employer in North Carolina, and it now has international programs in more than 150 countries.

Postion Summary

Technology Infrastructure team of Learning Innovation and Lifetime Education at Duke University (lile.duke.edu). In this role, you will manage a team of learning technology analysts, oversee a portfolio of IT projects and services, and advise Duke schools and academic units on their learning technology strategy from an infrastructure and operations perspective. Your portfolio of projects and services will advance the university’s mission to deliver excellent undergraduate, graduate, and professional education through innovative pedagogies and curricula, taking advantage of new technological opportunities, and building a robust and responsive learning community that includes everyone.

Responsibilities

Program and Resource Planning (15%)

• Work with the LILE Staff and Leadership and Duke schools and academic units to define and set goals for learning technology services and projects. This includes aligning service and project goals with the school or unit's curricular and strategic goals. Serves as a technology expert and upholds Duke's values for engaging, equitable, and inclusive learning.
• Collaboratively create resource plans for technology projects, estimating staff time and other resources needed to plan, pilot, and assess new technologies; revise resource plans as needed based on changes in the scope of work, workflows, timeline, or availability, create mechanisms for capacity planning and advocate for resources to meet growth needs and requirements.
• Manage team budget for software, equipment, professional development, and other resource needs.
• Manages collaboration and oversight of third-party contractors to extend auxiliary services as needed.
• Assist LILE leadership in setting and executing educational technology and IT strategy in support of broader university strategic plans including greater alignment of IT functions across LILE teams and units – harmonizing systems supporting Duke’s matriculated students and Duke’s lifetime learning audiences.

Technology Management (65%)

• Guide and support team members on projects to actively manage a project’s timeline, monthly productivity goals, and team assignments, in order to keep the project on time, productive, and with an appropriate distribution of work across team members.
• Coach and collaborate with project teams to resolve barriers and bottlenecks, as well as creatively solve problems encountered in the project.
• Regularly report completed deliverables and upcoming monthly productivity goals to project stakeholders and LILE leadership.
• Ensures that all DLI units comply with the University’s policies related to data center management, end user device security, and cybersecurity while facilitating unique research and teaching activities that require exemptions.
• Oversees the storage and integrity of learning technology data and collaborates in the associated analysis, feedback, and reporting.
• Provides leadership for the planning, design, implementation, budgeting, and management of educational and information technology resources to support Duke’s teaching and learning goals. Manages contracts and partnerships with academic technology partners and services as needed.
• Leads Tiers 3-4 technology support for LILE. Troubleshoots, coordinates, and solves problems that arise within or between systems, including software behaviors, data integrity issues, or communication between systems (e.g. between LMS and third-party tools).
• Responsible for LILE-managed platforms, their integrations, and data, including Canvas LMS and DestinyOne, Zendesk, Slack, Monday.com.

Team Management and Collaboration (20%)

• Fosters a service-oriented culture and mindset driven by continual service improvement techniques that supports best practices in LILE and educational technology integration, end-user, and systems support.
• Direct, coach, and support direct reports toward their individual success and productivity within projects and in their professional goals and growth; recruit and hire staff, provide performance evaluations; lead the team's collaborative work with other teams.
• Lead team reflection and growth to integrate technical, pedagogical, and digital learning design best practices, including: educational and learning sciences research; applied principles for inclusive and equitable learning; and standards for accessibility in digital content and learning.
• Elevates the reputation of Duke’s instructional excellence among peer institutions through active engagement in national professional organizations and research/practice presentations.

Perform other related duties incidental to the work described herein; undertake special projects as needed and assigned.

Supervisory responsibilities

Supervise LILE staff and staff augmentation.

Qualifications

Education

Required: Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, Business Administration, learning technologies, information or computer science, or education, curriculum & instruction or a related field. 5 years of experience in a related field.

Preferred: Advanced degree in a relevant field.

Experience

Required: Required work experience and demonstrable skills for this position includes:

• Relevant work experience. At least five years of experience in learning technology support, and at least three years of personnel and/or IT service management.
• Technical skills. Knowledge of widely used and emerging hardware, software, applications, resources, and techniques within an academic environment. Experience using, supporting, and managing learning management systems, educational technology, web authoring tools, web-based collaboration environments, multimedia tools, presentation software, or streaming video. Technical expertise sufficient to consult on and manage the development of applications.
• Leadership and management. Exemplifies a management style that defines success as a manager as supporting, coaching, and directing direct reports toward success in their goals and project objectives. Demonstrates an ability to lead with empathy while also holding direct reports accountable for their work responsibilities. Demonstrates the ability to work across the organization, lead cross-functional teams, and influence without direct authority. Advocates for direct reports’ and team’s needs to succeed and grow professionally.
• Collaboration and communication. Experience working in a highly collaborative environment, with the ability to work both independently and as part of a team. Demonstrates an ability to build relationships, navigate and resolve conflict, and facilitate collaboration within and across teams. Has excellent and transparent interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills, including communicating through listening.
• Creating an inclusive work culture. Experience working to create an equitable and accessible work environment that supports all workers. Considers equity in the recruitment, training, evaluation, and support of direct reports and team members. Implements inclusive processes in day-to-day workflow of the team. Centers diversity, equity, inclusivity, and accessibility (DEIA) principles in decision-making.
• Project and portfolio management. Highly detail-oriented with strong project management skills. Has a track record of setting and following through on priorities and projects. Recognizes, credits, and rewards team members’ contributions and accomplishments. Understands resource constraints and financial implications of project management for the organization’s financial health. Demonstrates an ability to seek recommendations and insights from direct reports and team members and utilize these perspectives and information in decision-making. Has skills in evaluating project and service performance, summarizing findings, communicating results, and forming an action plan.
• Service Management. Experience establishing policies, standard operating procedures, and best practices related to managing technology services for large user audiences.
• Adaptability. Comfortable working in an extremely fast-paced environment that constantly changes. Able to support and encourage team members or direct reports through periods of transition and growth.

Preferred: Optional but preferred work experience and skills for this position include the following.

• People management. Has previous experience managing direct reports and supporting those direct reports to succeed and grow.
• Project portfolio management. Has managed portfolios of technology projects, including overseeing multiple project teams, timelines, and making decisions regarding scope of work and priority tradeoffs between multiple projects.
• Higher or professional education work experience. Has teaching, course design, or IT professional experience in the field of higher education.
• Specialized skills. Has training or work experience in product or service management, user experience-driven design, implementing and managing enterprise systems, or related skills. Demonstrated experience managing large-scale technology implementations.
• Innovation. Demonstrated commitment to promoting innovation in teaching and learning. Ability to evaluate overarching business needs and goals in order to formulate strategies in support of those needs and goals and ensure continuous improvement.

Working conditions

• Hybrid work schedule (i.e., primarily working from home, with both the option to have in-office work days as well as the need to attend certain meetings on campus) with up to 80% work-from-home options available.
• Occasional weekend/evening shifts required
• Some work-related travel required

These statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the employee in this position. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of a person in this position.

Job Code: 00002418 SENIOR MANAGER, IT
Job Level: D

Duke is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Essential Physical Job Functions: Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.