University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Associate Director of Instructional Design, Wharton Online – Wharton Executive Education

Job Profile Title

Associate Director C, Student Services, Executive Education

Job Description Summary

Founded in 1881 as the world’s first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is shaping the future of business by incubating ideas, driving insights, and creating leaders who change the world. With campuses in both Philadelphia and San Francisco, Wharton has over 850 staff, a faculty population of more than 235 renowned professors, and 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students. Each year 13,000 professionals from around the world advance their careers through Wharton Executive Education’s individual, company-customized, and online programs. More than 104,000 Wharton alumni form a powerful global network of leaders who transform business every day. Wharton is home to a dynamic community of staff, bringing a wide range of skills, experiences, and perspectives. To learn more, visit www.wharton.upenn.edu.

The Associate Director of Instructional Design & Learning Analytics (ADID) role is an evolution of our existing instructional design capacity that directly supports Wharton’s strategic priorities in executive education, quality at scale, and data-informed decision-making. This role helps facilitate the expansion and optimization of the self-paced programming catalog within the Wharton Online business unit. As an extension of that work, the ADID embeds learning analytics expertise within the instructional design function, ensuring that course structures, assessments, and teaching strategies are continuously optimized using real learner and client data. By integrating Canvas, Qualtrics, and CRM data into coherent evaluation frameworks, the ADID assists the business unit in demonstrating impact on learner outcomes, behavioral change, and ROI for corporate partners, thus strengthening the Wharton Online value proposition and its ability to secure and renew engagements. This role also standardizes design and evaluation practices across programs, creating reusable templates, dashboards, and processes that increase efficiency, reduce rework, and make it easier for faculty and staff to deliver high-quality online offerings at scale.

The Associate Director of Instructional Design and Learning Analytics is a member of the Wharton Online team within the Aresty Institute of Executive Education in the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. This position reports to the Director of Instructional Design and Content Strategy. The incumbent applies instructional design methodologies, evidence-based teaching and learning practices, and multimedia design principles to develop and maintain non-credit executive education programs that help adult learners meet their professional development goals. This role also designs and implements program evaluation frameworks, learning analytics practices, and data workflows that connect LMS, survey, and CRM data to support continuous improvement, learner engagement, and organizational decision-making. The Associate Director of Instructional Design and Learning Analytics regularly collaborates with the Associate Director of Video Production Management to create effective and engaging multimedia resources, and with the Associate Director of Educational Technologies to implement pedagogically sound technologies and integrations that improve the learner experience and support scalable evaluation practices.

Job Description

Job Responsibilities

• Consulting with the Director of Instructional Design and Content Strategy, the Associate Director of Instructional Design, and the Wharton Online team to provide instructional design expertise during the design of online asynchronous and synchronous programs.
• Collaborating with and supporting faculty and instructors, Program Directors, Course Managers, and internal and external stakeholders to create accessible and robust online learning experiences. This includes developing learning objectives, course maps, outlines, scripts, slides, videos, assignments, activities, compliance reviews, beta-tests, and preparing final products for launch.
• Designing and maintaining program evaluation frameworks that use surveys, LMS data, CRM data, and follow-up assessments; mapping learning objectives, program goals, and organizational goals; and developing metrics and models to assess learner engagement, learning outcomes, behavioral change, and ROI.
• Developing and managing data workflows and automations that integrate Canvas LMS, Qualtrics, CRM, and other organizational data sources; standardizing data collection and reporting practices; and implementing instructional technology integrations and AI-assisted workflows that enhance instructional quality, learner engagement, and evaluation.
• Conducting research and experimentation, applying statistical methods to analyze learning data, and translating findings into recommendations that support continuous improvement of instruction, courses, and programs.
• Partnering with program directors, leadership, and instructional design teams to define data needs and success metrics; developing reports, summaries, and presentations that translate learning data into actionable narratives; and creating guidance, frameworks, and documentation to support consistent and scalable evaluation practices.
• Maintaining up-to-date, in-depth knowledge of best and emerging practices in online teaching, executive education effectiveness, instructional design, learning science, and learning analytics; presenting on best and emerging practices to internal and external audiences.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications

Required:

• A bachelor’s degree and 3–5 years of experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience supporting faculty or subject-matter experts in developing online courses from design through development, including defining learning objectives, designing activities and assessments, and preparing courses for launch.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively, collaborate across diverse stakeholders, and manage relationships with faculty, staff, and external partners.
• Demonstrated ability to manage high-level structures (e.g., multi-course programs, complex data workflows) and granular details (e.g., individual assessments, survey items, data definitions) simultaneously.
• Experience with learning management systems (e.g., Canvas) and survey tools (e.g., Qualtrics), and comfort working with spreadsheets and basic data analysis.

Preferred:

• Master’s degree in instructional design, learning sciences, educational technology, data analytics, or a related field; 5–7 years of experience.
• Experience in continuing and professional education, higher education, or executive education.
• Experience designing and implementing program evaluation frameworks, learning analytics dashboards, or similar measurement initiatives in an educational or training context.
• Familiarity with data visualization and reporting tools (e.g., Excel, Tableau, Power BI, or similar), CRM systems, and basic statistical methods (e.g., A/B testing, regression, segmentation).
• Experience implementing or supporting instructional technologies, LTI tools, or integrations between LMS, survey platforms, and CRM or data warehouse environments.
• Experience experimenting with automation and AI tools (e.g., GPT-assisted workflows) to enhance productivity, evaluation, or course development processes.

Job Location – City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School

Wharton School

Pay Range

$66,000.00 – $80,000.00 Annual Rate

Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, and in alignment with salary ranges based on external market data for the job’s level. Internal organization and peer data at Penn are also considered.

Equal Opportunity Statement 

The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin (including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any class protected under applicable federal, state or local law.

Special Requirements
Background checks may be required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.

University Benefits

• Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts: Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.
• Tuition: Take advantage of Penn’s exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.
• Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.
• Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.
• Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.
• Wellness and Work-life Resources: Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.
• Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.
• University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.
• Discounts and Special Services: From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you’ll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.
• Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.
• Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.
• Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.

To learn more, please visit: https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/benefits-pay