Orca Learning Designer in Vancouver

Job Category: M&P - AAPS

Job Profile: AAPS Salaried - Educational Programming, Level C

Job Family Group: Staff - Non Union

Department: Operations and Administration | Learning Technology Innovation Centre

Compensation Range: $7,727.33 - $11,112.00 CAD Monthly

Job End Date: Ongoing

Posting End Date: November 4, 2026

To apply for this position, please include a cover letter that summarizes your fit for the position, including your qualifications and past experience, and how your work aligns with ORCA’s mission and mandate.

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary:

Working closely with subject matter experts (faculty members, instructional support, IT and other staff) and alongside other support units across UBC Vancouver campus, the Learning Designer (LD) leads and manages the planning, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative assessment pedagogies in the Open Resource Centre for Assessment (ORCA). The LD is committed to implementing evidence-based, flexible approaches in the creation of accessible, equitable and inclusive digital assessments that support all learners. This position aligns with various UBC strategic priorities which seek to improve students' educational experiences at UBC, with specific attention to supporting flexibility for learners. This role is an in-person position.

Organizational Status:

The Learning Technology Innovation Centre (LTIC) is a central academic service unit mandated to catalyse and elevate learning technology application, innovation, and inquiry at UBC. ORCA operates rooms across campus as a distributed testing centre with network-filtered computer labs dedicated to assessment. ORCA supports instructors in implementing innovative digital assessments at scale, securely and equitably across the Vancouver campus.

Work Performed:

• Provides leadership and technical expertise in learning and inclusive assessment design.
• Provides faculty members support within ORCA supported learning management systems including PrairieLearn, Canvas, Brightspace, MTA, Qualtrics, Webwork, Gradescope, and others.
• Works closely with subject matter experts and others to analyze assessment needs and recommends effective pedagogical approaches and strategies to better meet desired assessment outcomes.
• Develops and tests ORCA-supported learning technology and software, and identifies deficiencies to the ORCA Manager and ORCA Academic Director.
• Develops and maintains education technology-related workflows and guides for faculty members, ORCA invigilators, and other staff on use of instructional tools.
• Provides leadership in advocating for software features that ORCA needs to sustain and grow its user base.
• Assesses pedagogical needs of faculty members and collaborates with the ORCA Manager and ORCA Academic Director to establish priorities and areas of focus.
• Works with instructors to design and prepare assessments for ORCA.
• Evaluates assessment effectiveness and educational outcomes of courses in collaboration with faculty members.
• Assists the ORCA Manager in evaluating ORCA service performance, usage, and capacity by providing data, analysis, and expertise.
• Applies instructional design principles and frameworks to support a variety of assessment modalities supported by ORCA.
• With training, provides technical expertise to faculty members working on innovative assessments and developing sophisticated auto-graders using modern web technologies and programming languages.
• Develops and maintains scripts, apps, and web-based automations to improve ORCA operations.
• Recommends, guides, and facilitates the design and development of assessments in alignment with learning outcomes.
• Reviews and provides advice on assessment materials.
• Advises on strategies that enhance justice, equity, diversity, Indigeneity, and inclusion (JEDII) work and the accessibility of assessment environments for all learners.
• Collaborates with the ORCA Manager to triage and handle responses to assessment-design related incidents.
• Evaluates whether assessment design recommendations achieve intended teaching and learning outcomes.
• Provides advice on the integration of new and existing technologies to enhance assessments in ORCA.
• Provides tours and holds weekly office hours for members of the UBC community to learn about ORCA.
• Onboards faculty and staff members to the ORCA service.
• Conducts research on innovative uses of emerging technologies and their potential impacts on assessment.
• Consults with subject-matter experts and provides pedagogical expertise in the development of teaching and learning grant proposals using the ORCA model of assessment.
• Consults and builds relationships with staff members from various support units to ensure quality instructor support.
• Disseminates work at local, national and international conferences and collaborates with faculty and colleagues on publications.
• Assists with general coordination of ORCA in peak periods, or when staffing is inadequate.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Consequence of Error/Judgement:

Errors in judgment may have negative effects on the quality of education and both faculty and student experience; could negatively impact future ORCA partnerships; and may consequently damage the image and reputation of the University, LTIC and ORCA.

Supervision Received:

Formal supervision by the ORCA Academic Director and establishing operational priorities in collaboration with the ORCA Manager.

Supervision Given:

Provides leadership, education and mentoring on demonstrated areas of expertise to faculty and others. May occasionally oversee the work of invigilators.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Education.
• Minimum of six years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own.
• Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Preferred Qualifications:

• A PhD in Education, Pedagogy, discipline-based education research (DBER) or a related discipline is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated competency in modern programming languages and their utility in randomizing assessments.
• Demonstrated competency in digital learning design theories and practices, assessment design theory and pedagogical approaches utilized in higher education.
• Demonstrated proficiency and knowledge of educational technologies with the ability to assess and integrate emerging technologies to support assessment priorities.
• Strong oral and written communication/presentation skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills, using tact, diplomacy, and sound judgment to work effectively with faculty, staff, students, senior leadership, and external partners.
• Proven project management skills with ability to prioritize and coordinate a number of projects concurrently.
• Highly effective problem solving, troubleshooting, planning, and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated ability to apply universal design for learning (UDL) and accessibility strategies to develop equitable and accessible learning experiences.
• Foundational knowledge of justice, equity, decolonization, indigenization and inclusion (JEDII) in Higher Education.