• Employment Type: Full-time, continuing position
• Remuneration: Level 9 – from $148,012 + 17% superannuation and leave loading
• Location: Kensington, NSW (Hybrid working model – based on-site primarily in Sydney. Remote working not available for this role)

About UNSW

At UNSW, we pride ourselves on being a workplace where the best people come to do their best work.  We aspire to be Australia’s global university, improving and transforming lives through excellence in research, outstanding education and a commitment to advancing a just society. 

UNSW’s Lifelong Learning Unit (LLL) is a newly created business unit designed to help working professionals, alumni, and organisations upskill and reskill throughout their careers. LLL offers flexible and practical programs aligned with rapidly evolving workforce needs. Led by the inaugural Dean of Lifelong Learning, Professor Nick Wailes, the unit is central to UNSW’s strategy of enabling lifelong employability, driving inclusive access, and strengthening long‑term engagement with graduates and industry partners.

Why your role matters

The Senior Manager, Learning Design leads a high-performing team dedicated to developing high-quality, scalable online programs for UNSW’s Lifelong Learning portfolio. This role demands a highly structured, outcomes-focused leader who can drive strict adherence to deadlines and process while fostering quality, creativity and innovation in learning design.

The successful candidate will have a deep understanding of adult learning and instructional design principles with a portfolio that showcases their experience firsthand. They will have proven experience managing teams to deliver exceptional results with demonstrated examples of effective collaboration across diverse stakeholders.

Reporting to the Director, Learning Experience, this role is critical in aligning UNSW’s lifelong learning offerings with strategic goals and ensuring a best-in-class learner experience.

About the Role

Accountabilities for this role include:

• Lead a high performing team, fostering a culture of creativity, innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement within the learning design and development function.
• Act as the Senior Learning Designer on allocated courses
• Manage resource allocation and outcomes of learning development squads, including learning designers, contractors, and subject matter experts, to design and deliver high-quality lifelong learning (LLL) programs.
• Identify opportunities for innovation in LLL’s approach to learning design and implement effective strategies to ensure that these innovations can be adopted across programs.
• Develop strong and productive relationships across the institution and with partners, to ensure close alignment between LLL’s approach to educational development and the UNSW strategy.
• Collaborate with Project Managers and Product Team to ensure that acceptance criteria are met in quality, cost and timelines and that the necessary technology is developed and/or acquired to meet this criteria.
• Support the Director, Learning Experience, to apply strategic vision and leadership to drive the evolution of the team’s learning design practices, horizon scanning to inform and shape pedagogic strategy.
• Manage the end-to-end design and development of program and course processes and documentation including discovery, course maps, architectures, and learner journeys ensuring alignment with documented standards, client requirements, and learner outcomes.
• Provide expert advice on program design, governance proposals, structure, content, and pedagogy to optimise learner experience and learning impact.
• Collaborate with the Quality Coordinator, Online Courses to ensure a consistent and rigorous approach to continuous improvement and quality assurance of online courses.
• Apply deep pedagogical expertise to develop innovative LLL curriculum, with a focus on adult learning and assessment in a rapidly evolving landscape.

About You

• Relevant tertiary qualification with subsequent relevant experience or equivalent competence gained through any combination of education, training and experience.
• Extensive experience in educational development in a higher education context with proven ability to build productive relationships across diverse networks to effectively support innovative educational courses and programs.
• Extensive experience in online learning design, with a strong portfolio of successful online learning programs in higher education.
• Familiarity with education quality assurance processes, such as those required by the Higher Education Standards Framework and evidence of having effectively implemented processes to assure quality standards.
• Knowledge of international trends in online learning, and deep experience with LMS capabilities, assessment and adult education and an understanding of the implications of these trends as they inform educational development strategy and how this is best operationalised.
• Demonstrated track record of effectively managing a high performing team in educational development or a related area
• Evidence of strong people management skills with an emphasis on developing and enhancing the capabilities of the team.
• Proven ability to exercise independent judgement and problem solving with the ability to resolve and address issues as they arise in a highly uncertain environment.
• Strong consultation, influencing and negotiation skills, and proven ability to network and leverage resources.
• Demonstrated project management skills and experience using a project management methodology including planning, analysis, implementation and reporting with good understanding of the project life cycle, project documentation, project standards and methodologies.
• Advanced written and verbal communication skills, including proven ability to produce reports and relevant documentation and ability to present complex material effectively to a wide range of audiences.
• Demonstrated self-motivation, initiative and judgement with proven ability to work both independently and collaboratively and to contribute positively and proactively to the team’s work.

For further information on the role & responsibilities, please refer to the Position Description

How to Apply: Applicants are asked to provide a CV and cover letter addressing the pertinent points of the Position Description. The application process will close on Sunday 27 July at 11:55pm.

Please note: Sponsorship is not available for this role, valid Australian working rights are required on application.

UNSW Benefits and Culture: People are at the core of everything we do. We recognise it is the contributions of our staff who make UNSW one of the best universities in Australia and the world. Our benefits include: 

• Flexible Working Options (work from home, flexible hours etc) 
• Additional 3 days leave during December festive period.
• Career development opportunities 
• Up to 50% discount on UNSW courses
• Flexible 17% Superannuation contributions, additional leave-loading payments and salary sacrifice.
• Discounts and entitlements (retail, education, fitness passport)

Job queries contact: Tai James, Talent Acquisition Consultant

E: tai.james@unsw.edu.au  (applications to the address cannot be accepted, please apply online)

UNSW is committed to equity diversity and inclusion. Applications from women, people of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, those living with disabilities, members of the LGBTIQ+ community; and people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, are encouraged. UNSW provides workplace adjustments for people with disability, and access to flexible work options for eligible staff.