Assistant Director - Learning Design Enablement

Job Summary

Northeastern's Experiential Digital Global Education (EDGE) team seeks an experienced, student-centered instructional design leader to serve as Assistant Director, Learning Design Enablement. This position supports the Learning Design Enablement (LDE) team's pursuit of operational excellence and the advancement of high-quality, accessible, and inclusive online learning across EDGE's Learning Design portfolio, helping carry forward Northeastern's priorities for teaching and learning at scale.

Reporting to the Sr. Director of Learning Design Enablement, this role directly manages the Learning Design Manager(s) and Senior Learning Experience Designers and oversees the Learning Experience Designers who report to them. This position requires management excellence: developing managers and senior designers as leaders, holding them accountable for program outcomes, and building consistent practices across their teams. It works in close partnership with faculty, deans, program directors, and department chairs, as well as peer leads across EDGE's Strategy, Delivery, Media, and Data & Tech functions.

This role owns the quality control process for Learning Design Enablement. It sets the standards the team designs against and confirms products meet that standard before handoff to Learning Solutions. It analyzes learner data through course retrospectives to inform design decisions and continuously improve the portfolio. In partnership with the Sr. Director, it leads process improvements that keep the team efficient, productive, and creative.

Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities

Quality Management and Improvement

Leads the quality control process for Learning Design Enablement, across the development lifecycle through handoff to Learning Solutions. Sets the standards the team designs against, analyzes learner and portfolio data to inform design decisions, and drives continuous improvement across the portfolio.

• Leads the LDE QA framework and keeps it current as tools, feedback, and institutional priorities evolve, in partnership with the Sr. Director and cross-functional leads.
• Sets release criteria and confirms products meet the standard before handoff to Learning Solutions.
• Distributes QA checks across LDE Leads, their teams, and AI-assisted monitoring, and evaluates AI-assisted QA so it stays responsible and scalable.
• Partners with the Lead Multimedia Specialist on media-specific standards and QA checkpoints.
• Analyzes learning analytics, course retrospectives, QA findings, and learner, faculty, and partner feedback to identify improvement priorities.
• Tracks the enablement team's KPIs and reports QA findings and trends to the Sr. Director and cross-functional leads.
• Develops processes, and resources that help designers, faculty, and content experts maintain program fidelity and effective pedagogy.
• Partners with other EDGE teams to keep LDE policy, process, and tools consistent and to resolve internal process pain points promptly.

Project and Relationship Management

Manages multiple, concurrent projects and workflows across the LDE portfolio, keeping delivery on schedule. Maintains the stakeholder relationships that make that possible, with clear communication across internal teams and partners.

• Oversees scoping, design, and development of learning design projects within the enablement portfolio.
• Keeps the Sr. Director informed of project status, team capacity, and emerging risks across LDE to inform schedule and roadmap decisions.
• Ensures LDE Leads and their teams know current timelines and schedule changes, connecting LDE work to Media and other teams' dependencies.
• Identifies risks to production timelines early, resolves them within the team, and escalates to the Sr. Director when they affect scope, resourcing, or other teams.
• Manages dependencies and handoffs with Media, Learning Solutions, and Program Management so work moves between teams without delay.
• Builds relationships with faculty, Academic Directors, academic leadership, and external partners, setting expectations and surfacing tradeoffs before they affect timelines or other teams.

Team Management

Directly manages LDE Lead roles (Learning Design Manager and Sr LxDs) and oversees the Learning Experience Designers who report to them. Develops these leaders to make sound decisions and manage their own teams effectively.

• Sets goals, conducts performance reviews, and holds direct reports accountable for program outcomes and quality standards.
• Leads and mentors design leaders, building judgment in strategy and program-level decisions to support growth.
• Delegates program-level decisions to LDE Leads within clear guardrails, bringing cross-pillar and resourcing issues to the Sr. Director.
• Holds regular portfolio reviews with LDE Leads to turn successful design ideas and new methods into standard practice.
• Coaches managers on leading their own teams, including feedback, workload, and designer development.
• Gathers feedback from team members and partners to improve team processes and build a positive, collaborative culture.

Minimum Qualifications

Knowledge and skills required are typically acquired through a master's degree in Instructional Design, Educational Psychology, Learning Experience Design, or a related field, and/or demonstrated equivalent work experience, plus at least 6 years of experience as a leader in the design and development of high-quality online learning experiences.

Experience should include

• Owning a quality review process end to end, including setting standards and release criteria.
• Developing or maintaining quality assurance standards, style guides, or QA frameworks for online learning.
• Using learning analytics data to inform design and revision decisions.
• Managing a portfolio or program set at scale
• Managing instructional design leads and/or managers of instructional designers.
• Leading multiple complex, cross-functional projects with competing priorities while balancing quality with on-time delivery.
• Building relationships with faculty, academic leadership, and cross-functional teams in a matrixed organization.
• Shaping how a design team adopts and governs AI tools in learning design, with fluency in current and emerging applications.
• Working alongside media and technical teams, with working knowledge of LMS architecture sufficient to diagnose issues and guide design quality.
• Working in innovative online learning environments, preferably in higher education or enterprise online learning.

Skills and abilities

• Ability to set long-range goals while managing execution and detail across multiple projects.
• Ability to manage change and deliver results with minimal direction in fast-paced, ambiguous environments.
• Ability to work strategically with many constituencies, including faculty, college partners, peers, campus administrators, and leadership.
• Innovative, intrapreneurial problem-solver and collaborator with strong interpersonal and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated record of creative, accomplished leadership and a strong commitment to advancing the University's priorities.
• Position Type
• Academic Administration
• Additional Information

Additional information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.

Pay and benefits

Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as well as commuting & transportation.

Compensation Grade/Pay Type: 111S

Expected Hiring Range: $87,785.00 - $123,998.75

With the pay range(s) shown above, the starting salary will depend on several factors, which may include your education, experience, location, knowledge and expertise, and skills as well as a pay comparison to similarly-situated employees already in the role. Salary ranges are reviewed regularly and are subject to change.