Learning Designer

Job Title: Learning Designer

Location: London, Hybrid (2 days per week in the office)

Contract: Full time, Permanent 

Closing Date: 3rd June 2024

Springer Nature’s Research Solutions division is driven to help researchers and research organisations advance discovery through its growing range of solutions that support researchers through every step of the research process. We are a small but dynamic and fast-growing division, proud of the wide range of talented people we have within our existing team. Within Research Solutions, the Researcher Training Solutions team deliver a range of training options for researchers including live training (delivered both in-person and virtually) and on-demand eLearning courses.

The role:

The Learning Designer is a new role in the team that develops and delivers the Nature Masterclasses professional development training (live workshops and e-learning courses) for early career researchers.

Reporting into the Learning Design Manager, you will work on crafting, building and uploading our engaging e-learning courses. Through this work you will become highly proficient in working with e-learning authoring tools such as Articulate Rise and some video editing software and a super user of our LMS (currently Moodle-based).

This role is a great combination of creativity (required to work closely with the publishing team to ensure that our courses are engaging and effective) and technicality (specifically requiring someone who is quick to master our platforms, with a strong project management ability). Your responsibilities will extend to working with the Nature Masterclasses product manager to provide support to active users on our platform, participating in the course development process using tools like Articulate Rise, and conducting thorough bug testing and quality assurance.

Key to the success of this role is upholding the Nature quality standards, particularly for accessibility. We are a mission-driven, global team and this role is essential in maintaining the seamless operation and continual improvement of our eLearning platforms, directly impacting the learning experience of users worldwide.

Responsibilities:

• Working with the Learning Design Manager and the wider Publishing Team to create pedagogically sound storyboards for our online courses.
• Using project management capabilities to ensure that our courses publish on schedule to a high quality.
• Playing a key role in the course development process both through hands-on building of our courses and in briefing our external e-learning vendors on how to build our courses, acting as a key liaison between freelancers and the publishing team.
• Providing administrative support for our Global LMS (currently Moodle) and our China-market LMS (no Chinese language skills required).
• You’ll need good attention to detail and organisational skills so that you can undertake bug testing and QA work for our course portfolio.
• Collaborating with our Accessibility team on relevant course improvement projects, overseeing accessibility improvements within our individual courses.

Experience, Skills & Qualifications:

Essential:

• Demonstrable experience of working on multiple online courses as they are developed through build, QA and publishing stages
• Strong understanding of Learning Management Systems (LMSs), preferably Moodle, with skills in administration, troubleshooting, and updating content
• Experience in using Articulate Rise or similar e-learning authoring tools
• Experience in supporting the development of pedagogically sound instructional materials and course storyboards that align with learning objectives and outcomes
• Capability in conducting detailed quality assurance (QA) and bug testing to ensure courses function smoothly across various platforms
• Excellent project management skills to ensure timely launch and high-quality delivery of online courses
• Good working knowledge of accessibility standards and best practices to ensure all eLearning content is accessible to a diverse audience
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, to clearly convey instructions, provide feedback, and collaborate with team members
• Excellent grasp of spelling, punctuation and grammar with good attention to detail and the ability to proofread and check course builds.
• Track record of mastering new tools and systems with enthusiasm

Desirable:

• Understanding of scientists' and researchers' needs
• Familiarity with the needs of scientists and researchers in the context of learning design
• Higher education experience: Experience working within higher education settings
• Digital publishing knowledge: Experience working in digital publishing at an educational or academic publisher