Teaching and Learning Specialist (Open Rank)

Role Overview

The Teaching and Learning Specialist helps strengthen teaching and learning at NYU Abu Dhabi by working with faculty, academic staff, and students to create, test, and expand instructional and assessment methods rooted in evidence. The position centers on collaborative experimentation, review, and improvement of teaching practices that improve student engagement and learning in a diverse international setting.

Rooted in the mission of a global liberal arts university, this role supports educational practices that build critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, and social responsibility so students are prepared to respond to complex and changing global challenges.

The specialist reports to the Director of the Hilary Ballon Center for Teaching and Learning.

About the Hilary Ballon Center for Teaching and Learning

The Hilary Ballon Center for Teaching and Learning works with faculty, academic staff, and partners across NYU Abu Dhabi to promote inclusive, innovative, and evidence-based teaching that supports learning, belonging, and student success. Through classroom innovation support, interdisciplinary exchange, teaching communities, and scholarship on teaching and learning, the center encourages reflective practice and pedagogical approaches that respond to evolving educational needs and emerging technologies within a global liberal arts environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Carry out and use research on teaching and learning to guide classroom practice and institutional projects.
• Turn evidence and feedback, including student and faculty input, surveys, and learning analytics, into practical insights and tools.
• Help shape and share research-based teaching practices across the university and beyond it.
• Work with faculty and academic staff to design courses, assignments, and assessments.
• Contribute to faculty development efforts such as new faculty orientation, discipline-specific programs built around local needs, and peer observation initiatives.
• Support faculty in adopting inclusive, innovative, and evidence-informed teaching methods.
• Design and run pilot initiatives that test new approaches to teaching and assessment, including AI-aware and AI-integrated practices.
• Help create AI-related guidance, policy materials, and support resources for faculty.
• Support programs in building AI literacy through embedded assignments and activities.
• Assess successful innovations and help expand them in line with institutional goals.
• Involve students as partners in teaching and learning work through collaboration with AI student liaisons, student government, and other student groups.
• Build and support ways to collect student perspectives, such as surveys, focus groups, faculty-student meetings, and research, to inform teaching and institutional priorities.
• Create opportunities for faculty to use student feedback in course design, assessment, and AI-related practices.
• Work closely with related units such as the Center for Writing, Academic Resource Center, and Student Success to align academic support with course expectations and learning goals.
• Coordinate with academic and administrative teams, including Academic Technology, the Library, the Writing Center, and the Academic Resource Center, to align teaching and learning efforts.
• Support institution-wide priorities connected to curriculum, assessment, and student success.
• Help build connected, coordinated approaches across programs and initiatives.
• Assist in planning and delivering workshops, events, and teaching-focused programs.
• Create and share resources, guides, and communications for faculty and students.
• Bring in external partners and speakers to deepen conversations about teaching and learning.

Required Qualifications

Applicants should hold a master’s degree in Education, Learning Sciences, Instructional Design, Educational Technology, or a related field, or have an equivalent combination of education and experience.

A minimum of five years of experience in higher education, teaching and learning centers, or similar roles is required. The role also calls for strong experience in curriculum design, assessment of learning outcomes, and evidence-based pedagogy.

Candidates should understand foundational skill development, including critical thinking, problem-solving, and disciplinary ways of knowing. Experience using Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) methods to inform practice and institutional work is important, as is prior collaboration with faculty on course design, assessment, and instructional innovation.

The university is seeking someone with a clear commitment to inclusive teaching and support for diverse student populations, along with an interest in advancing teaching and learning in a global liberal arts context.

AI-Related Competencies

The role requires awareness of how AI, including generative AI, is changing student learning behavior, assessment, and skill development.

Candidates should be able to assess AI-enabled tools and their effects on teaching, learning, and academic integrity, and should have experience or strong interest in using AI in pedagogically meaningful ways.

Skills and Competencies

Success in this role depends on the ability to collaborate effectively with faculty, students, and cross-functional teams.

Strong analytical ability is needed to convert research and data into practical strategies and resources, along with excellent written and verbal communication skills for creating instructional materials.

The position also requires the ability to manage several priorities and projects in a fast-moving environment.

Application Materials

Applicants must provide a CV, a cover letter, and the names and email addresses of three professional references. References may be contacted later in the hiring process.

Additional Information

Applications will start being reviewed on June 8th. Questions about the role can be sent by email to nyuad.academicrecruitment@nyu.edu.

NYU Abu Dhabi is committed to equal opportunity and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates. The university seeks individuals who will add to the strength and energy of its academic community. It also emphasizes belonging, respect, multidisciplinary research, and excellent teaching within a global campus environment.

As part of its broader commitment, the university provides a supportive work environment that includes a generous relocation allowance, educational assistance for dependents, access to health and wellness services, and support for dual-career families.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The university maintains a policy of non-discrimination and equal treatment in recruitment and hiring. All legally protected characteristics are covered under this commitment, including age, citizenship status, disability, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, and others protected by law.

Sustainability Statement

NYU aims to become one of the greenest urban campuses in the country and to reach carbon neutrality by 2040.

About NYU Abu Dhabi

NYU Abu Dhabi is the first comprehensive liberal arts and research campus in the Middle East operated abroad by a major American research university. It combines a selective undergraduate curriculum across disciplines with a major center for advanced research and scholarship.

The university draws students from more than 120 countries who speak over 100 languages. Together with campuses in New York and Shanghai, NYU forms a global university network that gives faculty and students opportunities to learn across different settings and cultures, including study-abroad sites on six continents.

NYU Abu Dhabi upholds a culture of dignity, mutual respect, academic excellence, and equal access and opportunity.

Graduate education is expanding, with a current graduate population of more than 100 students expected to grow as doctoral programs develop.

Social Tags

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