Fast Facts

The Director of Educational Technology and IT User Services will enhance teaching, learning, and research within the university by leading the Educational Technology department and managing User Services to support academic technology and university staff/students.

Responsibilities: The role involves overseeing technology deployment across educational systems, managing service desks, collaborating with faculty, and developing user tutorials while maintaining a focus on customer service and IT innovation.

Skills: Candidates should have experience with educational technology, project management, customer service in IT, and proficiency in managing learning management systems and conferencing platforms.

Qualifications: A Bachelor’s degree is required, with a preference for a Master's or PhD in a relevant field and additional certifications in IT or project management being advantageous. A minimum of 10 years' experience in technical support is also necessary.

Location: Position is based in Ashland, Ohio, USA; some travel may be required to remote campus locations.

Compensation: $90000 - $90000 / Annually

Position Summary

The Director of Educational Technology and User Services supports teaching, learning, and research across the institution. They coordinate the efforts of the Educational Technology department to support the evaluation, design, development, and deployment of academic technology as well as managing the User Services department to provide support to university employees and students, classrooms, and labs. This position works under the direction of and provides leadership assistance to the Chief Information Technology Officer while collaborating with AU personnel and other IT departments to provide oversight and management. The Director of Educational Technology and User Services also directly partners with and supports faculty AU academic departments.

Essential Position Duties And Responsibilities

• Works collaboratively with faculty, staff, and technology partners to design, develop, and deploy technology across the University's educational system.
• Supervise and mentor IT Educational Technology and User Services staff and students.
• Manages the research, implementation, integration, and administration of Educational Technologies including LMS & applications, video hosting and conferencing, accessibility as well as academic integrity tools.
• Directs and supervises employee and student service desks, including technical and client support personnel acting as the focal point for Information Technology customer service both in person and on the phone.
• Upholds a culture of customer-centric solutions and excellent customer experiences.
• Maintains and expands knowledge of technology and eLearning trends, innovations, research, and best practices.
• Develops instructor and student tutorials, as needed to facilitate Educational Technology adoption.
• Collaborates with faculty to increase their capacities for effective technology-based teaching and learning.
• Participates in the development and administration of applicable University policies, strategic plans, goals and programmatic activities pertaining to classroom, online, and hybrid technology.
• Work with Vendor's to get installs, firmware updates, and ongoing issues resolved.
• Managing inventory, purchasing, and budgeting for computing devices and software including monitoring and updates
• Participate in IT security planning and remediation efforts including disaster recovery and contingency planning. Participate in IT Change Management.
• Develop and maintain KPIs for supervised areas and platforms.
• Develop and distribute regular communication to the University on IT news and changes.
• Occasional non-standard hours and performs other related duties as assigned.

Position Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant fields required. Master's or PhD in Educational/Instructional Technology or relevant fields preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge of higher education technology, as a provider of technology support services in a college or university setting.
• Fluency with higher education computing technologies.
• Supervisory and project management experience in development and administration learning management software, video streaming software and instructional technologies.
• Proficiency in administering LMS, Video Management and Conferencing Platforms.
• Prior experience leading multiple complex project initiatives and mentoring junior members.
• Ability to work in and provide support on Mac and Windows Platforms.
• Demonstrated attention to detail and ability to communicate effectively, verbal and written.
• Ability to work independently and within a team.
• Able to work on multiple projects concurrently and meet hard deadlines.

Certificates, Licenses, Registration

• A+, Microsoft, Project Management, Academic Technologies, ITIL, and/or Agile certifications are a strong preference.

Experience:

Minimum:

• 10 years' + Tier 1, 2, 3 customer service and/or technical product support experience.
• Prior experience working in multiple complex technology initiatives and teamwork.
• Proven leadership in a successful, customer-centric IT environment.
• Proven experience with Microsoft 365 Suite including Teams and Power Automate.
• Proven experience with LMS Administration.
• Experience managing Apple devices and connectivity.

Preferred:

• Leadership experience in a University related to IT customer service and faculty support.
• Experience working with Jira and Trello platforms.
• Experience with Blackboard LMS and Kaltura.
• Experience with MS Intune, Jamf, Azure Active Directory, and basic network support.

Working Conditions And Physical Requirements

• Office environment with some lifting and hauling of equipment up to 50 lbs.
• Valid Driver's License and ability to drive to remote campus locations and attend training as assigned.