About Us - Values Overview

Department Summary

The UNT Health Division of Academic Innovation is the university’s leader in learning design, educational technology, educational media, professional development in teaching and learning, and continuing education. In collaboration with our colleges and faculty, we design and develop all new academic courses and programs, as well as leading all community-facing educational experiences for the university, reaching an audience of approximately 5100 unique learners across approximately 40,000 enrollments annually with our accredited continuing education, microcredentials, and other lifelong learning programs. The division is comprised of three teams with more than 30 personnel total: Educational Development, Educational Media, and Continuing Education & Assessment.

The Department of Educational Development is the team that designs & develops innovative learning experiences as part of the Division of Academic Innovation at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. This department works closely with faculty, staff, and community partners to ensure that learning at UNT Health – whether for academic credit courses, microcredentials, or other lifelong learning opportunities – is designed using evidence-based principles that will lead to superior learning outcomes for all learners. At UNT Health, the Department of Educational Development is the campus leader for innovative and effective learning, designing credit and non-credit courses, faculty/staff development in teaching and learning, educational technology administration and support, and digital accessibility for learning. The Department of Educational Development has recently been recognized by the Texas Digital Learning Association (TxDLA) for “Outstanding Commitment to Quality and Innovation in Digital Learning by an Organization,” and contributed to the design and implementation of the “2026 UPCEA Credential Innovation Award” winning microcredential “iTEACH.”

Position Overview

The Director of Educational Development for the Division of Academic Innovation provides leadership in a wide range of instructional solutions, from the traditional to the cutting edge, including online, blended and face-to-face learning tools and environments, instructional design, the development of courses and curriculum and more. The Director will be the Chair of the Non-Credit Credentials Committee and responsible for learning design of microcredentials, short courses, and other lifelong learning programs, as well as growing and managing a portfolio of programs for the institution. The Director leads and oversees the design, development, and implementation of new academic credit courses and degree programs in collaboration with our faculty and other key stakeholders. Leading a large team of instructional designers, faculty development professionals, learning technologists, and digital accessibility specialists, this role has an outsized impact on the university, our community partners, and the health of those our learners go on to serve.

The successful candidate will have advanced proficiency and experience with leading highly effective teams, expertise in the changing landscape of online, hybrid, and non-credit education, comfort with establishing, navigating, and maintaining cross-functional relationships across departments and organizations, a project management mindset toward managing a portfolio of ongoing projects, and an intrinsic motivation to drive the creation of learning solutions for a healthier community.

Minimum Qualifications

Master's degree and four (4) years of related experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Have a growth mindset and a passion for helping people continuously improve.
• Be a strong relationship builder, collaborator, and communicator, developing an enterprise-wide strategy for program excellence, and engaging community.
• Have the ability to research, analyze and present data for both informational and training purposes to internal and external audiences.
• Able to produce high quality work and exercise good judgment.
• Exceptional ability to train, develop, manage, and lead professional and support staff.
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Demonstrates creativity and innovation in developing solutions; suggests creative options to handle situations; takes appropriate risks; embraces innovative ideas and changes.
• Takes prompt action to accomplish objectives; takes action to achieve goals beyond what is required; is proactive and self motivated; demonstrates high personal standards of performance; demonstrates energy and enthusiasm for completing job tasks; takes ownership for own career growth; demonstrates ability to work independently.
• Consistently leads staff by example; effectively coaches and counsels employees in a positive manner; motivates staff to want to come to work every day and to deliver excellent levels of service; interacts with others in a way that gives them confidence in their intentions.
• Develops a whole learning and development operation that fits together as a system bound by interrelated actions. Delivers value though a unified whole of the parts including the vision, staff, development, organization, use of technology, funding strategy, measurement, and communications. Develops educational programs based on a strategic learning plan integrated with the business goals of the organization.

Preferred Qualifications

• Terminal degree (e.g., Ed.D or Ph.D.)
• At least 7 years of experience with innovative teaching and learning methods inclusive of distance education, non-credit higher education learning experiences, and/or educational technology.
• Experience with leadership of a high performing team in a comparable teaching and learning environment.
• Experience contributing to and/or leading non-credit and microcredential initiatives for higher education.
• Experience developing or supporting academic programs in the health sciences.
• University level teaching experience.
• Experience performing QM reviews of higher education courses.
• QM Peer Reviewer or QM Master Reviewer certification.
• Familiarity with common standards for digital accessibility.

Job Duties

• Builds and maintains effective relationships through purposeful communication and values-driven engagement with cross-functional departments and community partners to drive success in all areas of responsibility.
• Identifies and respond to key educational needs of the broader UNT Health community through development and support of an in-demand and growing catalog of UNT Health non-credit, microcredential, and lifelong learning experiences.
• Conducts faculty/staff development that addresses faculty needs in teaching & learning and leads to enhanced learner outcomes.
• Lead instructional support for using innovative learning technologies for teaching for online, hybrid, and face-to-face courses and programs.
• Oversees use of Quality Matters in the development of online courses to assure high standards for course design at UNT Health are maintained.
• Leads the design, development, and approval process of microcredentials, short courses, and lifelong learning experiences.
• Provides support for developing online and blended degree programs including addressing compliance requirements (i.e. regional and specialized accreditation standards, ADA, Rehabilitation Act of 1973, sections 504 & 508).
• Leads the course planning, design, and development process of new academic credit courses and online degrees/certificates.
• Contribute to the educational research agenda for UNT Health by providing leadership and expertise in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Supports educational research that will advance the scholarship of teaching learning.
• Drive team and employee success by providing leadership, supervision, coaching, and evaluation of team members.

Physical Requirements

• Communicating with others to exchange information.
• Sedentary work that primarily involves sitting/standing.
• Moving about to accomplish tasks or moving from one worksite to another.
• Repeating motions that may include the wrists, hands and/or fingers.

Environmental Hazards

• No adverse environmental conditions expected.
• Noisy environments.

Work Schedule

Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., on campus, with a flexible work arrangement and the possibility of hybrid work.

Driving University Vehicle

No

Security Sensitive

This is a Security Sensitive Position.

Special Instructions

Applicants must submit a minimum of two professional references as part of their application. If needed, additional references can be added after the application has been submitted. 

Benefits

For information regarding our Benefits, click here.

EEO Statement

The University of North Texas System is firmly committed to equal opportunity and does not permit –and takes actions to prevent – discrimination, harassment (including sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking), and retaliation on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, genetic information, or veteran status in its application, employment practices, and facilities; nor permits race, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, veteran status, or sex discrimination and harassment in its admissions processes, and educational programs and activities. UNT System Administration promptly investigates complaints of discrimination, harassment, and related retaliation and takes remedial action when appropriate. System Administration also takes actions to prevent retaliation against individuals who oppose any form of harassment or discriminatory practice, file a charge or report, or testify, assist, or participate in a related investigation or proceeding.