Hours per Week: 35

Salary Grade 15

The base salary will be $70,560 - $100,680 per annum. Starting salary will be aligned with the successful candidate’s experience, skills, and demonstrated qualifications.

Western University delivers an academic experience second to none. Western challenges the best and brightest faculty, staff and students to commit to the highest global standards. Our research excellence expands knowledge and drives discovery with real-world application. Western attracts individuals with a broad worldview, seeking to study, influence and lead in the international community. Since 1878, The Western Experience has combined academic excellence with life-long opportunities for intellectual, social and cultural growth in order to better serve our communities.

The Office of the Vice-Provost (Academic Programs) provides academic leadership across campus, creating new and ongoing opportunities for learners, and facilitating curricular and academic policy development for undergraduate programs. The portfolio includes the Centre for Teaching and Learning, the Office of Academic Quality and Enhancement and services within the portfolio that focus on students and help to fulfill Western’s commitment to the best student experience. The portfolio advances and engages faculty, industry, and partners in the University’s mission, fosters innovation in teaching and programming, and develops institution-wide learning outcomes. The portfolio engages across and beyond the University, in close collaboration with student leaders, students at large, deans, associate deans, and department chairs to further the University’s academic mission.

The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) advances the university’s teaching and learning mission by providing orientation, training, mentorship, research and innovation opportunities for faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral scholars at Western so that they can create inclusive, high-quality undergraduate and graduate learning experiences for students. The CTL team works to foster and enhance best practices in teaching and learning at Western in partnership with the Faculties, Western Libraries, the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Office of Indigenous Initiatives, Student Experience, Western International, and Western Technology Services. The CTL advocates for teaching excellence and research on teaching at Western, nationally, and internationally.

The Educational Developer, Indigenous Curriculum and Pedagogy will provide academic expertise and guidance in work to advance excellence in Indigenization in teaching and learning across the community as mandated in Western’s institutional plans, Towards Western at 150 (2021), the Indigenous Strategic Plan (2016), and the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Decolonization and Accessibility (EDIDA) Strategic Plan: Advancing Inclusive Excellence (2024). The role will also be informed by Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action (TRC, 2015).

Working in the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) with supervision provided by the Director (in consultation with the VP/AVP II in the Office of Indigenous Initiatives [OII]), the Educational Developer will work collaboratively with internal stakeholders to introduce and enhance Indigenous perspectives and teaching and learning methods into new and current curriculum/programming across Faculties and departments. The Educational Developer will offer expert consultation to faculty instructors and staff members, on curricular policy, and program design and review informed by culturally-safe teaching practices that strive to increase understanding around respectful ways of taking up Indigenous ways of knowing and working with Indigenous students and communities, which are attentive to issues of positionality, cultural misappropriation, misrepresentation, and power dynamics.

The Educational Developer will also support the university in developing and piloting curriculum, researching Indigenous content and pedagogical practices, designing and coordinating a range of learning services and programs, including Indigenous-specific teaching workshops, learning modules/videos, web-materials, and instructional resources.

Education:

• Masters’ Degree in Education, Indigenous Studies or a related field

Experience:

• 3 years of teaching and Curriculum development experience at the university or college level
• 2 years of experience designing, implementing, and coordinating educational development programs and resources, including experience planning and facilitating workshops
• Experience building relationships and consulting with Indigenous faculty, students, and community partners
• Experience with coordinating events and managing projects is preferred

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• In-depth knowledge of Indigenous pedagogies, methodologies and ways of knowing at the university level, such as decolonizing and Indigenizing pedagogies, land-based learning, storytelling, experiential and intergenerational and relational ways to learning
• In-depth knowledge of course design and adult learning principles in the context of de- colonizing curriculum and Indigenous pedagogy
• Knowledge of First Nations band structures and processes, and of Indigenous ways of knowing and perspectives in the area of education.
• Ability to facilitate inclusive course design and provide feedback
• Ability to model community and student-centred learning approaches
• Ability to facilitate difficult and sensitive conversations, across diverse stakeholders, with faculty and staff
• Indigenous cultural competency with an ability to interact and work effectively with people from different cultures and backgrounds
• Proven ability and natural inclination to develop relationships by interacting with people in a professional, respectful and diplomatic manner
• Project management skills, with the ability to meet tight deadlines and perform well under pressure
• Compelling and persuasive communication skills to engage individuals and teams inside and outside the university
• Ability to display a blend of diplomacy and persistence to achieve goals while working collaboratively
• Ability to work with a variety of faculty members and instructors across disciplines with the capacity to consider issues from the perspective of others
• Ability to search within and outside the formal boundaries of the organization for innovative ways to enhance and develop curriculum and learning resources
• Ability to collaborate across internal and external boundaries to meet common objectives, improve outcomes and support Western’s Indigenous strategic plan
• Ability to effectively present information, and conduct training sessions and workshops
• Innovative and flexible critical thinking skills to adjust to and implement new processes or technology to the university’s advantage
• Ability to handle details with a high degree of accuracy and to organize and prioritize a high volume of work to meet deadlines
• A self-reflexive approach which is demonstrated by attending conferences, workshops and other professional developmental opportunities to enhance performance
• Computer skills with the ability to creatively use and integrate technology to improve quality and productivity, intermediate computer skills in Microsoft Office Suite
• Ability to work independently and effectively as a member of the team to achieve department goals

Western, like many postsecondary institutions in Canada, is moving beyond sole reliance upon Indigenous self-identification in its hiring processes. This is to safeguard against the use of incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information in circumstances in which a candidate has made a declaration of Indigenous citizenship or membership. Candidates who are invited for an interview or who are short-listed, and who have made a declaration of Indigenous citizenship or membership for material advantage at Western, including where required or preferred for the position, will be asked to have their declaration of Indigenous citizenship or membership affirmed through a relational accountability process, led by the Office of Indigenous Initiatives (OII), that is consistent with Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing. Please contact the OII directly for details on the affirmation processes: https://indigenous.uwo.ca/. The policy can be viewed at: POLICY 1.58 - Affirming Declarations of Indigenous Citizenship or Membership at Western University.

The University invites applications from all qualified individuals. Western is committed to employment equity and diversity in the workplace and welcomes applications from women, members of racialized groups/visible minorities, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, persons of any sexual orientation, and persons of any gender identity or gender expression.

Accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. If you require accommodations for interviews or other meetings, please contact Human Resources or phone 519-661-2194.

This position is an existing vacancy. This position is fully in-person, on-site. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those chosen for an interview will be contacted.

Preference will be given to candidates who self-identify as Indigenous (First Nation, Métis, Inuit) from Turtle Island and can affirm claims of Indigenous membership and citizenship as required within Western’s MAPP Policy 1.58 – Affirming Declarations of Indigenous Membership and Citizenship. Please contact the OII directly for details on the affirmation processes: https://indigenous.uwo.ca/. The policy can be viewed at: POLICY 1.58 - Affirming Declarations of Indigenous Citizenship or Membership at Western University.