Educational Software Specialist, Taylor Institute

Position Overview

The Department Taylor Institute is currently seeking a Full-time Limited Term Educational Software Specialist for approximately 18 months.

The Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning is dedicated to better understanding and improving student learning, and the teaching approaches and practices that affect student learning. This two-pronged commitment puts both instructors and students at the centre of its work to engage in reflection, conversation, exploration, innovation, and research. The Institute thus promotes the teaching development of instructors, high-impact student experiences such as inquiry-based and experiential learning, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. The Taylor Institute's building was designed according to the values of transparency, collaboration, flexibility, and intention in teaching and learning. Its position at the centre of campus supports its work to facilitate conversations, build communities, link networks, and catalyze a culture of evidence-based teaching and learning across the University.

The Taylor Institute is committed to supporting the implementation of the University of Calgary's Indigenous Strategy, ii' taa' poh' to' p and to build relationships with people from Treaty 7 & and Metis Region III. The candidate will be committed to shifting the University and the Taylor Institute culture to increase indigenous perspective and worldviews in teaching and learning practice. Experience supporting community dialogue and campus engagement, with universities, Indigenous communities and community stakeholders would be an asset.

This position reports to the Associate Director, Learning Technologies & Design in the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, within the Learning Technologies & Design Team.

Position Description

Summary of Key Responsibilities (job functions include but are not limited to):

• Administer and maintain applications developed within the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning for initiatives related to curriculum mapping, microcredentials, custom tools integrated with the Brightspace learning management system, and others.
• In partnership with colleagues in Information Technologies, administer web and database servers to support existing applications. This will involve administration of web- and database servers deployed using a LAMP stack in a managed RedHat environment, and using development frameworks that include PHP (Laraval), Javascript (React), and MySQL.
• Support the migration and transition of Taylor Institute custom applications to campus platforms.
• Manage the full project lifecycle for Taylor Institute custom applications, such as creating timelines, establishing deadlines for project and project launch, maintaining the project, documentation, and supporting it as it is used by the campus community.
• Project deadlines are met and deliverables are achieved.
• Code is well documented and changes to code are tracked in a version control system, such as GitHub.
• Project plans are effective, comprehensive and well written.
• Provide functional and technical support to users of Taylor Institute applications, including Curriculum Links, Badges, UCalgaryBlogs, and others.
• Liaise with Information Technologies and Continuing Education to provide effective operational and technical support for learning technology applications developed at the Taylor Institute.
• Act as a technical consultant and provide expertise to the operations team within the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, in the area of applications and digital content development and support (e.g. TI website).
• Collaborate with colleagues across teams in the TI to advance strategic priorities of the Unit Plan, especially as it relates to learning technologies
• Collaborate with team members to develop and support professional development workshops on integrating technology into teaching and learning.

Qualifications / Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or equivalent.
• 2 years of professional experience with technical design, development, administration, and support of web-based software applications.
• Proven experience with modern web development environments, including Laravel and React, as well as enterprise technologies such as Azure ActiveDirectory and Shibboleth.
• Experience in a postsecondary environment would be preferred.
• Knowledge and understanding of University of Calgary strategic priorities is an asset.
• Highly self-motivated, self-managed and ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a team with little or no coaching and supervision.
• Demonstrated ability to set own priorities and deadlines.
• Strong ability to present ideas in a clear, concise manner to a variety of audiences, including academic leaders, instructors, postdoctoral scholars and students.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a rapidly changing work environment.
• Understanding and functional implementation of a wide range of learning technologies and applications

Application Deadline January 2, 2022

We would like to thank all applicants in advance for submitting their resumes. Please note, only those candidates chosen to continue on through the selection process will be contacted.

Additional Information

This position is part of the AUPE bargaining unit, and falls under the Technical Job Family, Phase II.

To find out more about management and staff opportunities at the University of Calgary and all we have to offer, view our Management and Staff Careers website. 

COVIDSafe Campus Strategy

The University has implemented a new Vaccination Directive that requires all faculty and staff to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by January 1, 2022. You will be required to upload proof of vaccination prior to commencing your duties. Please review the COVIDSafe Campus website for further information and access to additional resources.

About the University of Calgary

The University of Calgary is Canada’s leading next-generation university – a living, growing and youthful institution that embraces change and opportunity with a can-do attitude. Located in the nation’s most enterprising city, the university is making tremendous progress on its Eyes High journey to be recognized as one of Canada’s top five research universities, grounded in innovative learning and teaching and fully integrated with the community it both serves and leads. The University of Calgary inspires and supports discovery, creativity and innovation across all disciplines. For more information, visit ucalgary.ca.

The University of Calgary has launched an institution-wide Indigenous Strategy in line with the foundational goals of Eyes High, committing to creating a rich, vibrant, and culturally competent campus that welcomes and supports Indigenous Peoples, encourages Indigenous community partnerships, is inclusive of Indigenous perspectives in all that we do.

The University of Calgary recognizes that a diverse staff/faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers that have been historically encountered by some people in our society. We strive to recruit individuals who will further enhance our diversity and will support their professional success while they are here. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, however preference will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada.