Junior Educational Technologist N000331 needed at North West University

Job description

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION:

• The Junior Educational Technologist provides operational and technical support to ensure effective use of educational technologies by academic staff and students. The incumbent supports teaching staff in adopting digital tools, offers training, resolves basic technical issues, and contributes to the development and delivery of learning resources.
• The incumbent will collaborate in projects to evaluate and implement educational technologies, support academic staff in effective integration of technology into pedagogy, and collaborate with IT and other departments to ensure interoperability and scalability of systems.
• The Junior Educational Technologist will provide advice, collaborate in projects and resolve complex service and technical queries with reference to existing policies, procedures and guidelines.

Essential duties/responsibilities:

• Collaborate in projects to development, implement, and continuously improve digital learning solutions to leverage educational technologies, learning science research, and learning analytics in support of an enabling digital T&L environment at the NWU. 
• Collaborate in large-scale educational technology projects aligned with institutional teaching and learning strategies.
• Collaborate with IT to ensure integration, security, and data interoperability across platforms.
• Conduct research and pilot emerging technologies to evaluate their pedagogical value.
• Design and deliver advanced professional development programmes for academic staff.
• Provide expert-level consultation to faculties, in collaboration with the Educational Developers, on the integration of technology in curriculum design.
• Collaborate in quality reviews of programme/module communities (sites) and recommend improvement actions to academic staff.
• Troubleshoot and resolve issues related to supported educational technologies for NWU staff and students.
• Collaborate in efforts to foster a culture of collaboration with relevant strategic partners.
• To personally develop own skills in terms of learning experience development, educational application of technology and technology trends within a global as well as local context

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Project participation for Innovation:

• Collaborate in the design and implementation of new digital education platforms, tools, and methodologies 
• Work closely with academic departments, administrative offices, and other stakeholders to ensure seamless integration and support of digital learning initiatives.
• Stay current with emerging technologies and best practices in educational technology. Evaluate and recommend new tools and platforms that align with the university’s strategic goals.
• Collaborate in large-scale digital education projects, ensuring timely delivery and alignment with institutional objectives.

 Operational and Technical Support:

• Provide second line support for the university’s learning management system and other supported technologies. 
• Help academic staff develop basic digital learning resources.
• Troubleshoot issues and escalate technical problems to appropriate teams.
• Collaborate with instructional designers and technicians to ensure integrated support services.

Staff & Student Development & training:

• Provide training and ongoing support to faculty and staff on the use of educational technologies, including learning management systems (LMS), assessment systems and online collaboration platforms.

Personal Development:

• As per personal development plan. It is the responsibility of each staff member to take charge of his/her personal development journey in order to perform all their duties effectively. Make use of every opportunity to develop their own skill sets.

Minimum requirements

• A Bachelor’s degree (NQF level 7) in Design and Technology (Educational Technology), Information Systems or related fields.
• A minimum of 2 years’ experience working as an Educational Technologist.
• Project management experience.

RECOMMENDATION / ADDED ADVANTAGE:

• An honours degree (NQF level 8) in Design and Technology (Educational Technology), Information Systems or related fields.

KEY FUNCTIONAL/ TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES:

• Demonstrable experience in managing or administering Learning Management Systems and associated teaching and learning technologies in large and/or complex institutional deployments. 
• Demonstrable experience with industry standards and professional practices of planning and operations with reference to T&L Technologies service delivery. 
• Ability to develop and implement practical and sustainable solutions and approaches in response to different strategic and tactical needs of the NWU to create an enabling T&L environment.

BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES:

• Excellent interpersonal, intercultural, organisational and communicative skills. 
• A commitment to teamwork and ability to work on own.
• Proactive, organised and priority driven.
• Proven ability and enthusiasm for working with a diverse range of stakeholders (internal and external).
• Ability to work constructively with peers and colleagues elsewhere at NWU and within the Higher Education environment.

Apply by: 3 December 2025