Senior Academic Technologist

Suffolk University is a private, urban university located in the heart of downtown Boston. Our college green is the Boston Common and we are steps from dozens of historic sites including the Old State House, Faneuil Hall, City Hall and the Massachusetts State House. We have no real boundaries to our campus—Boston and Suffolk blend together.

Suffolk has been committed to creating an exceptional learning experience since 1906. Our vision is to be recognized as a dynamic institution that fosters engaged learning, rigorous scholarship, innovative thinking, and community collaboration across disciplines. We will ensure that Suffolk graduates are versatile and prepared for modern society and the new world market. We will provide rich curricula, experiential learning opportunities and professional mentoring through increased collaboration with alumni and community partners. We will recruit, mentor, and support a diverse faculty of teacher-scholars who are passionately committed to preparing our students to be leaders in the global community. We will inspire investment in a Suffolk community that is built on ethical, forward-thinking leadership, teamwork, and cooperation.

We compete for the best talent. We are an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse community. We are actively seeking applicants from groups that might be under-represented because of race/color, gender, religion, real or perceived disability, national origin or LGBTQ status. As part of our commitment we encourage you to complete the demographic portion of the application in addition to submitting your cover letter and resume/CV as it will assist us in targeting our recruitment efforts.

Please note that Suffolk University conducts background checks as a condition of employment.

We are also committed to the well-being of our employees. Our terrific benefits package for benefits-eligible positions include, but are not limited to:

• Generous paid time-off programs and commitment to work-life balance
• Tuition free course benefits in the College of Arts and Sciences and in the Sawyer Business School for employees with additional tuition benefits for spouses, domestic partners, and children
• Top-notch well-being care available through Harvard Pilgrim Medical/Delta Dental and a Flexible Spending Account
• Pre-tax commuter benefit
• Employee Assistance Program that provides employees and their family members with initial assessment, referrals and short-term counseling for personal and work challenges
• Discounted home and auto insurance

Description

The Senior Academic Technologist is an integral member of the Center for Teaching & Scholarly Excellence (CTSE) team. Reporting to the Assistant Director of Learning Innovation with Technology (LIT), the senior academic technologist supports faculty use of University-wide teaching and learning applications, researches academic technology issues, partners with instructional designers to promote inclusive, student-centered, research-based instructional practices in a variety of learning environments continually build expertise, enjoys problem-solving, and engages in professional growth directly related to innovative and emerging technologies designed to foster student learning. Primary responsibilities include:

Academic Technology Support (40%) - Actively assist faculty, staff, and student use of Blackboard, Panopto, Poll Everywhere, Bb Ally, Zoom, VoiceThread, Spatial/Oculus Quest, and Wacom tablets, including navigation, basic functionality, and how-to questions, research, test and find workarounds for issues, error messages and bugs, responsible for tracking and resolving requests assigned to CTSE via ServiceNow, setup and configure approved supplemental learning technologies in Blackboard via LTIs, direct users to appropriate self-help resources located on CTSE website, LinkedIn Learning, integrate approved supplemental learning technologies with LMS, and use product help/online forums.

In-depth technological support (20%) - Meet with individual faculty one-on-one to diagnose technology concerns, provide resources, analyze technology use, develop educational materials, and facilitate workshops and webinars. Research and test issues or bugs, develop and communicate workarounds for bugs or unavailable functionality.

Innovative and emerging technology support and collaboration (20%) - Support faculty with innovative and engaging social learning objects and tools. Stay up to date with emerging academic technologies.

General Involvement in CTSE Activities (10%) - Participate in CTSE team meetings and activities such as LIT workshops, webinars, and symposiums.

Course, Organization, User Management, and Instructional Documentation (10%) - Create, edit, add, enroll, & delete users, create, edit, and delete non-credit, sandbox, and template course shells, parent/child courses, and organizations. Create and maintain instructional materials, user documentation, and instructional tutorials.

Requirements/Qualifications:

* Bachelor’s degree
* 5-10 years of experience working in higher education
* Demonstrated knowledge of multiple computers operating system environments, platforms, and application systems
* Experience with project management and process/change management
* Experience providing consultation and training for faculty
* Strong knowledge and experience administering Learning management systems (Blackboard/Canvas/Moodle) and using office productivity software (MS Office365, Camtasia, Qualtrics, Word Press, HTML)
* Ability to learn new technologies quickly
* Demonstrated success in collaborative environments
* Experience with researching, evaluating, installing, and piloting software
* Excellent problem solving and analytical skills
* Ability to work well independently, willingness to multitask and assist on a variety of academic technology issues, detail-oriented
* Open-minded, curious, and enthusiastic about learning technologies.
* Enthusiasm and empathy for those who struggle to learn technological skills
* Solid written, verbal, and communication skills

Skills Desired

* Advanced degree in Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, Educational Development, Instructional Design/Technology or equivalent in relevant experience
* Experience working closely with or on a help desk
* Experience with third-party publisher LMS plug-ins, video and multimedia production platforms, student response systems (web-based), course capture systems, web conferencing software, simulation environments, adaptive learning environments, Adobe Suite, and other academic software applications.

Suffolk University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer. The University is dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive faculty and staff that reflect the broad range of human experience who contribute to the robust exchange of ideas on campus and who are committed to teaching and working in a diverse environment. We strongly encourage applications from historically marginalized or underrepresented groups because of race/color, gender, religious creed, disability, national origin, veteran status, or LGBTQ status. Suffolk University is especially interested in candidates who will contribute to the diversity and excellence of the University community through their training, service, and experience.