Director of LMS Administration

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

Director of LMS Administration

Job Profile Title

Associate Director D, Information Technology

Job Description Summary

About the Penn Libraries: The Penn Libraries provides a network of information resources and knowledge services that are vital to teaching, research, and learning at the University of Pennsylvania. This network includes 19 physical libraries, recognized for their collections, and a digital library known for innovation and richness of content. Through dynamic programming and exhibitions, and through the acquisition and preservation of literary and artistic artifacts, the Penn Libraries documents a wealth of social and historical periods, bringing scholarship to life at the University and in the various communities it serves.
The Director of LMS Administration is situated within the Penn Libraries’ technology organization, which provides an administrative and technical home for this enterprise academic technology function. While embedded in the Libraries, the role is institution-wide in scope and is focused on the stewardship, reliability, governance, and strategic development of Penn’s learning management ecosystem, including Canvas and closely integrated teaching and learning technologies.
This position reports to the Associate Vice Provost for Technology & Digital Initiatives and leads a small team responsible for the core Canvas platform, associated external tools, data integrations, and related risk-management practices. The role requires substantial technical fluency with Canvas, learning-tool interoperability, authentication and authorization, SIS and data integrations, accessibility requirements, vendor platforms, and the operational practices necessary to manage a mission-critical educational system in a responsive, secure, and compliant manner.
The position will work in especially close partnership with the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Innovation (CETLI), collaborating with CETLI to enact its vision for the role of technology in supporting teaching and learning at Penn. In this partnership, CETLI provides leadership for pedagogical strategy, faculty development, and educational innovation, while this role provides the technical, operational, and platform leadership necessary to translate that vision into reliable, scalable, and sustainable services. Penn’s schools have a complementary role in providing local support to their user communities and their faculty and staff are important stakeholders in the instructional technology ecosystem.
The Director will participate in institutional governance for learning technologies and will help shape Penn’s approach to emerging educational technology, including AI-enabled tools, learning analytics, third-party integrations, data governance, privacy, accessibility, and vendor risk. The role will work across academic, administrative, and technical stakeholders to evaluate opportunities, manage risks, and ensure that Canvas and related systems continue to support both Penn’s current instructional needs and its evolving educational ambitions.

Job Description

Job Responsibilities

• Manage operations of the courseware team and its services for users and school-based stakeholders. Coordinate courseware support activities (help desk, training workshops, documentation). Liaise with the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Innovation.
• Provide technical administration of Canvas learning environment, including management of account and subaccount structure, permissions, and data loading. Prioritize and schedule updates and changes to coordinate with the academic calendar.
• In close collaboration with the Courseware Steering committee, develop platform roadmaps, evaluate emerging tools and AI-enabled capabilities, establish priorities for integrations, and guide decision-making that balances educational innovation with reliability, accessibility, privacy, security, compliance, and sustainable support.
• Chair the Courseware Advisory committee; plan and share clear communications to stakeholders about planned changes and emergent incidents
• Manage courseware policy and compliance to ensure safety and integrity of our instructional technology systems with regard to privacy, academic integrity, and accessibility, by working closely with the University’s Privacy office, ISC, and Center for Community Standards and Accountability.
• Maintain awareness of emerging opportunities and risks in the instructional technology space through participation in groups such as Penn’s Courseware Steering, and being an active member of Canvas R1 peers’ group, Educause and/or other relevant communities.
• Manage vendor relationships for LMS-related services including coordination of renewal activities, tracking contract status, and providing technical planning and coordination of University-wide pilots of new tools.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 5 to 7 of progressively responsible experience in educational technology, academic technology, learning systems, enterprise applications, or a closely related area, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated experience administering, managing, or leading an enterprise learning management system, preferably Canvas, in a complex higher education environment.
• Experience supervising staff, setting priorities, coordinating work across a team, and developing effective service practices for mission-critical technology platforms.
• Knowledge of privacy, accessibility, security, records, academic integrity, and compliance considerations relevant to online learning environments and educational technology platforms.
• Ability to evaluate, implement, and manage third-party learning tools and integrations in a manner that balances instructional value, technical sustainability, usability, privacy, security, accessibility, and risk.
• Excellent communication, consultation, and relationship-building skills, with the ability to work effectively with faculty, instructors, academic leaders, IT colleagues, vendors, and governance groups. Demonstrated ability to translate between pedagogical goals, institutional priorities, technical
  constraints, and operational requirements.
• Strong judgment, analytical ability, and organizational skills, including the ability to manage competing priorities in an academic environment with cyclical deadlines and high visibility.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in educational technology, instructional technology,
• information science, computer science, higher education administration, or a related field.
• Familiarity with responsible adoption of AI-enabled teaching and learning tools, including evaluation of instructional value, risk, privacy, accessibility, and support implications.
• Experience leading Canvas administration or Canvas platform strategy at a large, complex research university.
• Experience working in close partnership with a teaching and learning center, center for faculty development, online learning unit, or academic innovation group.
• Experience with Canvas APIs, LTI 1.3, Learning Tools Interoperability standards, SIS provisioning, identity and access management, and data/reporting tools used in higher education.
• Familiarity with accessibility standards and practices, including WCAG.

Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School

University Library

Pay Range

$101,750.00 - $135,000.00 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.

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