University of the People is a member of the Institute of International Education's (IIE) Syria Consortium for Higher Education in Crisis.
Bilingual Arabic/English Project Director
Institution: University of the People
Location: Flexible (work from home)
Employment Level: Administrative/Academic
Website: http://www.uopeople.edu
Employment Status: Full-time
Position Summary:
University of the People invites applications to fill a vacancy in the role of Project Director for a special initiative to develop general education courses to be taught in Arabic. Reporting to the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, the Project Director will oversee the development of five general education courses as part of a pilot project. The Director will work with subject matter experts to develop the courses and Arabic speaking faculty members to teach them. This will include faculty hiring, training, review and support.
The Project Director will collaboratively review the courses to ensure they are instructionally sound, meet the intended learning objectives, and meet the University’s overall quality standards. The Project Director monitors curriculum development status and progress and identifies and removes barriers to keep production on schedule. The incumbent will be responsible for program documentation, approval, and relevant accreditation implications if applicable. This position also helps to define and document processes, procedures, and course development standards.
The Project Director will also assist in recruiting the student cohort from among Arabic-speaking and particularly refugee communities, in coordination with other communications staff.
The Project Director will be part of the Academic Affairs leadership team and assist in the supervision of general education courses and faculty to insure integration of the Arabic language courses and faculty members into the on-going programs of the University.
Other Duties and Responsibilities:
- Recruitment, training and supervision of bilingual instructors
- Assist in supervising the Arabic-language adaptations to the CRM and Moodle Systems
- Work with instructional designers and course developers during the programming process to clarify content as needed
- Prioritize, manage, and accurately complete tasks within prescribed time-frames.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bilingual in Arabic and English
- Master’s degree in a general education discipline,
- Experience in academic administration
- Broad knowledge, and an ability to make creative connections between different academic disciplines
- Strong written and oral communication abilities
- Strong organizational skills; a self-starter capable of working independently while also being a team player
- Excellent computer and technology skills
- Reliable internet access and ability to travel to the US (or located somewhere to which UoPeople personnel can travel)
Other Qualifications:
- Understanding of online education, pedagogy, and best practices
- Knowledge of instructional design principles
- High degree of accuracy and attention to detail is critical
- Ability to work independently and as a collaborative team member
- Ability to manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines
- Identify and resolve problems in a timely manner
- Generate suggestions for improving work processes
- Utilize flexible interpersonal communication skills to provide quality service
- Ability to adapt to changing policies and procedures
- Work with diverse groups from all organizational levels
Preference Given to Candidates Who Possess All of the Above Plus:
- Doctorate Degree in a general studies discipline
- Experience at the department chair or dean level within the American University system
- Experience working for an online university or specifically for online programs
- Demonstrated ability to design, execute and manage online curriculum development projects
- Have previous experience working with Moodle
- Understanding of quality benchmarks in online education
- Experience with accreditation or reaccreditation, particularly data collection and report writing
How to Apply:
Interested applicants should submit a cover letter of application discussing relevant experience accompanied by a resume to [email protected]. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.
The Institution:
University of the People (UoPeople) is the first non-profit, tuition-free, American accredited online university. Dedicated to opening access to higher education globally, UoPeople is designed to help qualified high school graduates overcome financial, geographic, political, and personal constraints keeping them from collegiate studies. The university currently offers two-year associate and four-year bachelor’s degree programs in business administration, computer science, and health science as well as an MBA program.
UoPeople opened its gates in 2009, was accredited in February 2014, and has over 14,000 students enrolled from more than 200 countries and territories. Including among those students are over 1000 refugees, 600 of them Syrian. UoPeople has academic partnerships with UC Berkeley, the University of Edinburgh, NYU, and Yale Law School ISP.
The university is led by President Shai Reshef, an education entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience, and by distinguished international boards of trustees and advisors. UoPeople's President’s Council is chaired by John Sexton, President Emeritus of New York University and includes: George Rupp, President Emeritus of Columbia University; Catharine Hill, President Emerita of Vassar College; Nicholas Dirks, former Chancellor of UC Berkeley; Roger Mandle, President of the Rhode Island School of Design; Sir Colin Lucas, Vice Chancellor Emeritus of the University of Oxford; Torsten N. Wiesel, President Emeritus of the Rockefeller University, among others. More than 6,000 professionals have volunteered for the university, including those who fill all key UoPeople leadership positions.
UoPeople is building a sustainable new model for higher education, in which students are asked to pay only a $100 exam processing fee at the end of each course ($200 in the MBA). One year of study (10 courses) costs $1,000, and a four-year bachelor’s degree is only $4,000. For students who might find even these modest fees prohibitive, the university offers a variety of scholarships, to fulfill the part of its mission that no qualified student will be left behind for financial reasons.