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Posting Reason:
Temporary replacement of a regular position
Job Type:
Employee
Anticipated Duration in Months (for contracts and temporary assignments):
16
Job Family:
Business Strategy and Planning
# of Open Positions:
1
Faculty/Service - Department:
Professional Development Institute
Campus:
Main Campus
Union Affiliation:
N/A
Date Posted (YYYY/MM/DD):
2026/09/03
Applications must be received BEFORE (YYYY/MM/DD):
2026/09/21
Hours per week:
35
Salary Grade:
Non-Union Grade NM2
Salary Range:
$118,675.00 - $148,344.00
About the Professional Development Institute:
The Professional Development Institute (PDI) of the University of Ottawa has been in the business of providing recognized career learning for over 40 years. Tens of thousands of decision makers and professionals at all levels in the public service and the private sector benefit from courses, programs and events to advance their knowledge and expertise. PDI’s experienced instructors are content and industry experts in their field and are trained to meet the specific needs of adult learners.
Position Purpose
The Senior Manager holds a strategic mandate in advancing the quality, consistency, and scalability of uOttawa-PDI's professional development portfolio. The role focuses on leading the design, development, implementation, and continuous improvement of high-quality learning solutions delivered using various learning modalities. Key responsibilities include utilizing learning needs analyses, labour market and workforce trends, learner insights, and advanced instructional design methodologies to develop professional development programs that address organizational challenges and enhance workforce performance.
The Senior Manager collaborates with subject-matter experts (e.g., faculty), instructional designers, multimedia specialists, and external partners to oversee the creation, implementation, and continuous improvement of learning solutions. The role ensures the consistent application of instructional design standards, curriculum development processes, and quality assurance frameworks across the Institute's portfolio.
In this role, your responsibilities will include:
Organizational Transformation and Strategic Planning
Lead the development and implementation of PDI's learning development and quality assurance strategy, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities, client needs, and organizational objectives.
Establish and implement governance frameworks, standards, processes, and performance measures that support the consistent design, development, delivery, evaluation, and continuous improvement of PDI's professional development portfolio.
Monitor emerging trends, technologies, methodologies, and best practices in adult learning, instructional design, curriculum development, learning analytics, and professional education, and recommend strategic enhancements to PDI's learning portfolio.
Analyze program performance data, quality assurance findings, learner feedback, and operational metrics, and workforce development trends to identify opportunities for improvement and provide strategic recommendations to senior leadership regarding program investments, priorities, and portfolio development.
Learning Product Development and Project Management
Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with faculties, academic units, subject-matter experts, professional associations, and industry partners in support of professional development initiatives.
Lead the identification, engagement, and management of external contributors, including instructional designers, multimedia developers, learning consultants, and subject-matter experts required to support PDI's learning portfolio.
Lead the negotiation, development, and management of partnership agreements, service agreements, project charters, and collaborative arrangements with internal and external partners in support of curriculum development, learning innovation, and program quality objectives.
Foster collaboration among academic experts, learning professionals, and operational teams to ensure learning products are aligned with quality standards, learner needs, and organizational objectives.
Lead the identification and development of proposals, funding applications, and business cases to support innovation, quality enhancement, and the development of new learning products, programs, and strategic learning initiatives.
S trategic Partnerships and External Collaborations
Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with faculties, academic units, subject-matter experts, professional associations, and industry partners in support of professional development initiatives.
Lead the identification, engagement, and management of external contributors, including instructional designers, multimedia developers, learning consultants, and subject-matter experts required to support PDI's learning portfolio.
Lead the negotiation, development, and management of partnership agreements, service agreements, project charters, and collaborative arrangements with internal and external partners in support of curriculum development, learning innovation, and program quality objectives.
Foster collaboration among academic experts, learning professionals, and operational teams to ensure learning products are aligned with quality standards, learner needs, and organizational objectives.
Lead the identification and development of proposals, funding applications, and business cases to support innovation, quality enhancement, and the development of new learning products, programs, and strategic learning initiatives.
Learning Solutions and Curriculum Development
Conduct learning needs assessments and collaborate with stakeholders to identify competency gaps, performance requirements, and learning objectives.
Lead the design and development of customised professional development programs aligned with client, learner, and organizational needs.
Develop competency frameworks, learning pathways, and program architectures that support workforce development and organizational performance objectives.
Oversee curriculum development for online, in-person, hybrid, synchronous, and asynchronous learning experiences.
Recommend new learning solutions, program enhancements, and curriculum renewal initiatives based on stakeholder needs, performance data, learner feedback, and workforce development trends.
Quality Assurance and Program Evaluation
Develop, implement, and maintain quality assurance frameworks, standards, and evaluation methodologies for PDI learning products and programs.
Ensure programs incorporate adult learning principles, instructional design best practices, accessibility requirements, and assessment standards.
Monitor learning effectiveness using evaluation data, learner feedback, learning analytics, and performance metrics.
Recommend and implement continuous improvement initiatives to strengthen program quality, learner outcomes, and operational effectiveness.
What you will bring:
Master’s degree in a relevant field.
At least 10 years of progressive experience in learning and development, instructional design, curriculum development, corporate training, or professional education.
Experience in supervision of instructional designers, multimedia developers, educational consultants, or similar professional staff.
Experience leading multidisciplinary teams and managing complex curriculum development, quality assurance, or learning product initiatives in adult learning, professional education, corporate training, or workforce development settings.
Bilingualism - French and English
Instructional Design Leadership : Expertise in leading the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of adult learning programs.
Curriculum Development: Expertise in developing competency-based learning pathways, curriculum frameworks, and professional development programs.
Educational Technology: Knowledge of educational technologies, digital learning environments, and learning development tools, ideally within a higher education environment.
Quality Assurance : Ability to develop and implement standards, processes, and evaluation frameworks that ensure learning effectiveness and continuous improvement.
Data-Driven Decision-Making : Ability to leverage data analytics, learning analytics, and business intelligence tools to support decision-making, program evaluation, and strategic planning.
Project Management : Proven ability to manage complex, cross-functional projects involving multiple stakeholders, competing priorities, and tight timelines.
Strategic Thinking : Ability to identify emerging workforce, professional education, and adult learning trends and translate them into actionable learning, curriculum, and portfolio development strategies.
Transformational Leadership : Proven ability to inspire and lead change, influence stakeholders, and drive continuous improvement.
Stakeholder Engagement: Strong communication and relationship-management skills with academic, corporate, government, and professional audiences.
Cross-Cultural Communication : Ability to work effectively with diverse stakeholder groups in domestic and international contexts.
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Key Competencies at uOttawa:
Here are the required competencies for all or our employees at uOttawa:
Planning: Organize in time a series of actions or events in order to realize an objective or a project. Plan and organize own work and priorities in regular daily activities.
Initiative: Demonstrate creativity and initiative to suggest improvements and encourage positive results. Is proactive and self-starting. Show availability and willingness to go above and beyond whenever it is possible.
Client Service Orientation: Help or serve others to meet their needs. This implies anticipating and identifying the needs of internal and external clients and finding solutions on how to meet them.
Teamwork and Cooperation: Cooperate and work well with other members of the team to reach common goal(s). Accept and give constructive feedback. Able to adjust own behaviour to reach the goals of the team.
The University of Ottawa embraces diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We are passionate about our people and committed to employment equity. We foster a culture of respect, teamwork and inclusion, where collaboration, innovation, and creativity fuel our quest for research and teaching excellence. While all qualified persons are invited to apply, we welcome applications from qualified Indigenous persons, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women and LGBTQIA2S+ persons. The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible, barrier-free work environment. The University is also committed to working with applicants with disabilities requesting accommodation during the recruitment, assessment and selection processes. Applicants with disabilities may contact [email protected] to communicate the accommodation need. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.
Note: if this is a union position: The hiring process will be governed by the current collective agreement related to the union affiliation noted above; you can click here to find out more.
If this is a front-line position with responsibilities to interact with students, selected candidates must be rated at the Low Advanced proficiency level or higher for both oral comprehension and reading comprehension in their second official language. The rating is determined by a proficiency test designed by the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute.
Prior to May 1, 2022, the University required all students, faculty, staff, and visitors (including contractors) to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as defined in Policy 129 – Covid-19 Vaccination. This policy was suspended effective May 1, 2022 but may be reinstated at any point in the future depending on public health guidelines and the recommendations of experts.
