Consultant, Instructional Designer for Online Higher Education

Position Title: Consultant, Instructional Designer for Online Higher Education

Division: [251] Teaching & Learning, Academic Affairs

Employment Type: Full-Time Consultant

Period: Six months with possible extension

Reports To: Dean of Faculty

Location: Remote

Salary: As per AUAF Budget

About the University

The American University of Afghanistan is Afghanistan's only nationally accredited, private, not-for-profit, non-partisan, and coeducational institution of higher education. It opened its doors in 2006 with an initial enrollment of 50 students, and since that time has grown to enroll more than 1,700 full- and part-time students across undergraduate, graduate, and professional training programs. Despite a changing political and security climate in Afghanistan, AUAF has successfully lived up to its mission to provide equal access to high-quality higher education across gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic backgrounds. More than half of our undergraduate students are female. Generous support from the U.S. government and other funding partners has allowed us to support a secure, inclusive, residential campus environment in Kabul. Our professional community comprises a diverse, talented Afghan and international faculty and staff who work together in support of our students and toward a sustainable, ambitious future for the provision of American-style education in Afghanistan.

Position Summary

The Instructional Designer partners with faculty across Liberal Arts, Computer Science, and Business to design high-quality online courses that are accessible, inclusive, and outcomes-driven. The role blends pedagogy, learning analytics, educational technology, and flipped-classroom methods to craft engaging learning experiences aligned to program outcomes and industry expectations. The Instructional Designer serves as both a pedagogical consultant and a project manager, guiding courses from concept to launch and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

Cross-Program Responsibilities

• Apply instructional design models (Backward Design, ADDIE, SAM) to align learning outcomes, assessments, content, and activities.

• Design for a flipped-classroom model:
- Curate/create concise pre-class microlearning (short video, readings, interactives) with embedded checks for understanding.
- Structure synchronous or in-class sessions around active learning (case analysis, coding labs, debates, simulations, problem-based learning).
- Use pre-work analytics to adapt sessions (just-in-time teaching) and address misconceptions.
- Provide accountability structures (low-stakes quizzes, reflection prompts, readiness assurance tests) and transparent rubrics.
- Translate seminar-style and project-based learning into effective online modalities (discussion, peer review, collaborative annotation, simulations, labs, role-play).
- Guide the creation and organization of courses in the LMS (e.g., Canvas, Moodle) with consistent navigation, templates, and rubrics.
- Ensure accessibility and inclusivity (WCAG 2.1, ADA/Section 508) and apply Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles.
- Create and maintain multimedia assets (storyboards, scripts,