Lead, Digital WIL Experience

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Job Requisition ID:

2026-03335

Time Type:

Full time

Employee Group:

Staff

Job Category:

Academic Delivery Support

Employment Type:

Temporary

Department:

Co-operative and Experiential Education - Work-Integrated Learning Curriculum

Hiring Range:

$87,620.25 - $109,525.32

Posting Information:
This posting is for an existing vacancy.

The internal posting deadline for this position is October 29, 2026 at 11:59PM

This position is being offered as a Secondment or contract opportunity. Term: 18 months

Job Description:

Primary Purpose

The Centre for Work-Integrated Learning (Centre for WIL) is part of the Co op and Experiential Education (CEE) portfolio. The Centre for WIL fosters excellence in the pedagogy and practice of work-integrated learning (WIL) as a thought leader and key provider of high-quality curriculum, courses, and programs in this field.

As a role within the Centre for WIL’s Curriculum Development team, this position bridges curriculum, user experience, educational technology and AI-enabled solutions to design and enable high-quality digital WIL experiences, in collaboration with institutional and external systems and stakeholders, and has three main areas of focus:

• Digital WIL Strategy & Enablement: Enablement of a digital WIL strategy through stakeholder engagement, change leadership, coordinated implementation and ongoing stewardship to ensure organizational readiness, adoption and alignment of stakeholders, systems and processes.

• Digital WIL Experience Design: Designing user-centered, technology-enabled WIL experiences by integrating stakeholder insights, UX (user experience) and learning design principles, and emerging technologies (i.e. AI & AI-enabled EdTech) to create meaningful, accessible, and engaging interactions for students and industry partners.

• Team Leadership and Portfolio Stewardship: Leadership and development of the digital WIL Experience team, fostering an inclusive, engaged and high-performing team while advancing the digital WIL experience strategy within CEE and across campus.

Key Accountabilities

Digital WIL Strategy & Enablement

• Drives the evaluation and adoption of digital WIL tools and platforms, and AI-enabled technologies ensuring they enable useable, accessible and engaging student learning and external engagement

• Establishes sustainable stewardship, evaluation, and enhancement processes to ensure effectiveness and relevance of digital WIL experiences aligned with stakeholder and institutional needs

• Leads innovative cross-functional projects, establishing roadmaps, timelines, and resource plans to guide phased implementation and scaling of digital WIL experiences

• Collaborates with external and institutional stakeholders (e.g., CEE technical teams, IST, external vendors, etc.) to align platforms with campus standards, policies, and Quality WIL principles

• Leads change and communication efforts, supporting stakeholder readiness, adoption, and reliable delivery of digital WIL experiences

• Serves as the primary liaison for CEE/Centre for WIL on key institutional committees (e.g., Learning Environment Operations) ensuring alignment and fostering awareness of digital WIL priorities within CEE and across campus

Digital WIL Experience Design

• Leads engagement with faculty, staff, students and external partners to co-design innovative digital WIL experiences, using UX research, user journeys, and stakeholder insights to ensure impact and alignment

• Designs experiences that leverage institutional platforms (e.g., LMS, EdTech, etc.) and innovative technologies (e.g., AI-enabled tools, simulation platforms, digital portfolios) to enhance employer engagement and students’ WIL learning and reflection

• Develops and tests prototypes and applies UX and service design methods (e.g., journey mapping, user flows, co-design) to understand and improve student, instructor, and employer experiences throughout WIL experiences

• Champions compliance with accessibility, equity, and inclusive design principles into digital WIL experiences via oversight, training and resource development

• Advances strategic opportunities for continuous improvement and sustainability across all forms of WIL within CEE and across campus

Team Leadership and Portfolio Stewardship

• Provides strategic oversight for digital WIL learning priorities including creation and maintenance of shared standards, models, and quality benchmarks, ensuring excellence in digital WIL learning experiences within CEE and across campus

• Oversees design, implementation, stewardship and continuous improvement of digital WIL experiences, contributing directly to projects as needed to bolster team capacity, and support complex initiatives and specialized design requirement

• Manages team capacity, resource allocation and work planning to enable delivery, evolution and continuous improvement of digital WIL experiences in collaboration with the Senior Manager, WIL Curriculum and affiliated Lead roles.

• Defines strategic priorities for the Curriculum Development team working closely with the Sr. Manager, WIL Curriculum and other Leads to align strategy and goals across teams and work

• Leads recruitment, onboarding, supervision, coaching, and performance management of Digital WIL Experience team members

• Translates emerging trends in WIL, digital learning, UX and industry, employer, and community needs into strategic direction, guiding the Digital WIL Experience team and shaping innovative WIL experience solutions

Education

• Degree or Diploma in a field related to digital experience, learning design, educational technology or user experience, or equivalent education and extensive experience.

Experience

• 5+ years progressive experience designing, implementing and improving technology-enabled learning experiences, digital projects, educational technologies or user-centered service experiences.

• 2+ years experience providing leadership and functional direction to developers, digital learning professionals and systems/IT professionals.

• Experience navigating sustained innovation while managing high-volume resources and prioritizing competing demands.

• Project management experience in a higher education setting considered an asset.

• Work-integrated learning experience considered an asset.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Ability to lead a team of direct reports including performance coaching, professional development and work planning.

• Demonstrated success in cultivating and maintaining positive working relationships, and working in collaboration with a wide variety of stakeholders.

• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts to technical and non-technical audiences.

• Strong strategic, systems-thinking and planning skills, with the ability to guide change and continuous improvement, and navigate complexity.

• Strong knowledge of UX, accessibility, inclusive design, instructional design for online learning, universal design for learning and a variety of web technologies, including but not limited to HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.

• Experience with a variety of systems that support the development and delivery of educational technology, such as Articulate, Desire2Learn, and SharePoint.

• Strong understanding of digital media, web technologies, educational technology, and emerging trends, with sound judgement in selecting appropriate tools and approaches.

Equity Statement

The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is coordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.

The University values the diverse and intersectional identities of its students, faculty, and staff. The University regards equity and diversity as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to accessibility for all employees. The University of Waterloo seeks applicants who embrace our values of equity, anti-racism and inclusion. As such, we encourage applications from candidates who have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including applicants who identify as First Nations, Métis and/or Inuk (Inuit), Black, racialized, a person with a disability, women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.

Positions are open to qualified candidates who are legally entitled to work in Canada.

The University of Waterloo is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. If you have any application, interview, or workplace accommodation requests, please contact Human Resources at [email protected] or 519-888-4567, ext. 45935.