Learning Design Specialist

Job Title - Learning Design Specialist - Organisation Levels - mothers2mothers -> m2m Head Office -> Programmes - Location - Cape Town -, 8000 ZA (Primary) - Type of position - Permanent - Education - Degree - Closing Date - 31/10/2025 - Job Description mothers2mothers (m2m) is an African-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) that employs women living with HIV as frontline community health workers (CHWs) called Mentor Mothers and Peer Mentors, in health facilities and surrounding communities across ten countries in sub-Saharan Africa. m2m’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan aims to address Africa’s biggest health challenges towards our vision of Healthy Women, Healthy Families, Healthier World. We have expanded our model with the ambition of become a leading primary healthcare organization contributing to the acceleration of Universal Health Coverage on the continent, while continuing to prevent and treat HIV. The shortage of CHWs in sub-Saharan Africa is a mission critical barrier to achieving Universal Health Coverage and reducing health disparities. Addressing this shortage remains imperative for improving access to quality healthcare for individuals and communities. Investing in learning and development, training, mentoring, and supporting CHWs is essential for improving population-based health outcomes and addressing health inequity in sub-Saharan Africa. Against this background, m2m is building on its 20-year track record of training more than 11,700 Peer Mentors, by embarking on a critical strategic objective over the next five years - the development and implementation of the m2m Smart Learning Solution. m2mSLS harnesses the power of innovative 21st century learning technology (i.e. personalized, adaptive, “smart” learning) of accredited curricula on the Totara Talent Experience Platform to deliver affordable, effective training and education of the sub-Saharan health workforce at scale - starting with CHWs. **Key Performance Areas**: **Leadership and Management**: - Support the recruitment and onboarding of all Learning Design team members, including permanent staff, freelancers, contract workers and/or consultants. - Lead, mentor and grow a team of effective Learning Designers. - Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for direct reports and track their progress, providing regular feedback to team members to ensure they meet or exceed performance expectations. - Foster a culture of continuous learning and development within the team, ensuring each member receives training and coaching to enhance their skills and expertise. **Design and Developmen**t: - Liaise with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including Learning Technology, Innovation and Digital Transformation Unit, Primary Health Care Unit, Country Technical Unit, and SLS vendors to ensure effective and collaborative design and smart learning curricula delivery. - Develop guidance documents and policies and contribute to departmental / unit process development and improvement. - Identify appropriate tools and software to improve the delivery of smart learning courses and curricula. - Manage the procurement of learning design resources. - Develop innovative smart learning and blended online learning approaches. - Lead the creation of learning design plans, storyboards, and content outlines, making sure they follow sound smart learning principles. - Oversee the creation of multimedia learning assets, including e-learning modules, videos, infographics, and assessments. - Ensure the creation of inspiring, engaging, and dynamic learner experiences. - Ensure that all learning materials are designed and developed with accessibility in mind, meeting all relevant accessibility standards and guidelines. - Ensure quality editing and proofreading of all learning content. - Incorporate insights from user testing into the curriculum development process, ensuring that the learning solutions are user-friendly and effective. - Manage the content licensing and permissions process, ensuring compliance with legal requirements and protection of intellectual property. **Learning Technology**: - Manage production planning in the context of Learning Technology - specifically Totara TXP. - Work closely with the TXP Administrator to maintain and optimise the e-learning platform for effective content delivery. - Support the operationalisation of the digital content strategy, collaboratively with Totara TXP Administrator and in-house Totara Support Team. **Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement**: - Conduct regular reviews and audits of learning materials / curricula for accuracy, consistency, and adherence to established quality standards. - Work with the Senior Manager, m2mSLS to design, test, develop and evaluate new and existing educational models and products. - Manage quality assurance processes, and work on evaluation strategies to review the effectiveness of learning design strategy. - Create mechanisms for collecting and analysing