The Open University UK Hiring for Practice Tuition Training & Development Manager at Milton Keynes Full Time

Change your career, change lives

The Open University is the UK’s largest university, a world leader in flexible part-time education combining a mission to widen access to higher education with research excellence, transforming lives through education.

About the Role

Associate Lecturer Support and Professional Development (ALSPD) works collaboratively with Faculties and other Open University units to design, deliver, and manage core development for our Associate Lecturers; this includes induction, training, and ongoing professional development.

We are looking for a Practice Tuition Training and Development Manager to produce user-friendly and intuitive new online training and development resources, re-work existing content and maintain the content as per an established quality assurance cycle, for our 400+ and growing community of new and experienced Practice Tutors (PTs) as directed by the Senior Manager Practice Tuition Training and Development. The role will also support the management of wider training and development projects, events and other management outputs of the ALSPD Practice Tuition Training and Development Team.

As an ideal candidate you will have experience of user needs analysis, requirements gathering, writing and editing online training or guidance content, user experience design, testing and implementation, in addition to extensive management and project management skills and experience. Given the pan-University nature of the role, you will have the ability to build positive relationships with stakeholders at all levels and manage their expectations where required.

You will work within a team responsible for the overall cross faculty practice tuition training and development resources. This is a small team, in start-up phase and as such the ideal candidate must be a self-starter who can bring new ideas, creativity and innovation to the role, working on their own initiative to design, deliver, project manage and embed new concepts.

This is a permanent, full-time post, working closely with the outputs of the Apprenticeships Change Programme, which was set up to help the OU scale up to deliver apprenticeships.

It is anticipated that the role will be remote with the requirement to attend OU sites as required on occasion.

Knoweldge, Skills and Experience

Essential

A first degree/undergraduate or equivalent education, or work experience at a comparable level.

Experience of working in a training and development team or function

Experience of designing online training, guidance or customer support provision.

Project management experience in a comparable area/role.

Experience of designing and creating web sites/pages and of writing, editing and organising user-centred web content using a range of online techniques and media and familiarity with working to style and brand guidelines.

Demonstrates an understanding of UX design principles (e.g. meeting user needs, hierarchy, consistency, context, confirmation, user control, feedback).

Excellent research, analysis and project planning skills with the ability to assimilate information from multiple sources and stakeholders and producing content and resources based on these.

Experience of conducting user testing using a range of techniques.

Experience of conducting rigorous evaluation of training and development outputs.

Experience of updating or re-versioning existing content in response to technical, guidance, organisational change or policy changes and developments.

Experience of working independently, as well as being able to work collaboratively and as an effective member of a team.

Experience of working in a project environment and leading on activities

Experience of working with learning or content management systems, such as Moodle (TutorHome platform) and well-developed ICT skills and experience of using Microsoft 365 Office, Teams, Sharepoint, Online meeting platforms and tools.

Demonstrates knowledge of accessibility and usability requirements for the design and delivery of online content.

Experience of effectively line managing and supervising staff

Desirable

Knowledge of contemporary open and distance learning, educational technology and media production.

Knowledge of UK degree apprenticeships.

Personal abilities and qualities

Essential

Analytical and problem-solving skills and the ability to work on own initiative.

Proven Excellent oral written and online communication skills including the ability to lead/contribute to formal and informal discussions using online meeting tools (Skype, Microsoft Teams, other) and engage OU stakeholders from a wide range of experience, backgrounds and levels; including the ability to conduct stakeholder consultation and managing expectations.

Excellent writing skills and attention to detail to ensure content is engaging, accurate and error-free.

Ability to work flexibly and well under pressure and respond to changing priorities in a positive manner.

Ability to work with colleagues from other teams to produce creative solutions and demonstrates a willingness to develop positive working relationships with colleagues across the OU.

Clear commitment to OU values and mission, particularly embracing the implementation and integration of equality & diversity and other inclusive policies, demonstrating a strong commitment to the principles and practice of equality and diversity.

If you would like to discuss the application or recruitment process before making an application, please contact Jen Reid at Resourcing Hub on 01908 655544 or [email protected] quoting the reference VRF 20203.

full details can be found in the job description.

What you get in return

We have a strong commitment to providing training and development in and beyond your current role. This includes thorough induction into the organisation and regular reviews of your training and development needs.

We also offer a great range of benefits that support our employees and their families for the long term. Staff Benefits include an attractive pension proposition and 33 days holiday per annum pro rata, plus Bank Holidays and Christmas closure days.

How to apply

Unless otherwise stated in the advert, all applications are completed online via the OU Job’s page and following the instructions below and clicking the “APPLY NOW” link below. Applications submitted via 3rd party websites will not be considered.

Access details for disabled applicants are available from the Resourcing Hub, telephone: 01908 655544, quoting the vacancy reference above.

To apply for this role please submit the following;

CV

Personal statement, up to 1,000 words, you should set out in your statement why you’re interested in this role and provide examples of where your skills and experience meet the required competencies for this role as detailed in the job and person specification.

The above documents will need to be submitted as one attachment during the application process, please include the personal statement followed by the CV in this document.

To ensure your file is uploaded to our system correctly, please make sure your document is saved with the following file name as appropriate to the vacancy you are applying for: reference, surname, first initial.

You will need to have your documents ready ahead of submitting the electronic application.

APPLY NOW

You will receive updates regarding your application from [email protected]. Please ensure this email address is added to your list of trusted senders. Please also keep an eye on your junk folder to ensure you do not miss any important updates regarding this role.

You can view your application communications on the Candidate portal.

Please note: If you have not heard from us within 2 weeks of the application closing date, please assume that on this occasion you have not been selected for interview, however we thank you for your interest in The Open University and encourage you to apply for future positions.

Find out more about us and our mission by watching this short video (you will be taken to YouTube by clicking this link).

Closing date: 22nd September 2022 12pm (midday)

The Open University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, which is reflected in our mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. We aim to foster a diverse and inclusive environment so that all our staff can reach their potential and attract diverse candidates. We recognise that different people bring different perspectives, ideas, knowledge, and culture, and that this difference brings great strength.

We offer a range of inclusive employment policies which include family and carer friendly flexible working arrangements and have many supportive staff networks and wellbeing services. We also endorse the principles of Athena SWAN, with commitment from all levels of the organisation in promoting gender equity. Our Staff Benefits page under Employment provides further links and information.