Laboratory Course Coordinator at Amref International University (AMIU)

Job Description

Main Purpose of the job:

The Course Coordinator will be expected to play a role in building the course’s national and international profile whilst enhancing the quality of learning experiences for students.  The incumbent has the responsibility of providing academic leadership to ensure the coherence, cohesion and quality of the teaching and learning experience offered by the trainers and the qualification(s) in the Programme area. The Course Coordinator also manages a group of academic staff in the programme area.  The role requires significant liaison with other Programme Leaders and colleagues in other Departments/Schools/Directorates to support students who study modules from other Programme areas, and students from other Programme areas who are ‘visiting’ the Programme as part of their study pathway; also support academic colleagues for whom they are the line manager who work on modules in other Programme areas, and colleagues whose ‘home’ is in another Programme, but who are working modules covered by the Programme. 

Key Duties & Responsibilities:

Working closely with the Director, and other stakeholders to:

• Provide academic leadership in their subject area;
• Develop and set the tuition, curriculum, assessment and academic strategy for the qualifications in the Programme area;
• Plan, equip and operationalize the teaching laboratories as per key subject areas;
• Develop the learning outcomes, manuals, SOPs, progression and coherence of the qualifications in their Programme area, ensuring the appropriateness of the constituent modules and for maintaining its academic standards;
• Manage inventory, procurement, calibration and maintenance processes of equipment;
• Ensure that Programme area focuses on delivering a high-quality student experience that maximises student retention and progression and widens participation;
• Lead the enhancement of teaching and learning in the Programme area, particularly in relation to curriculum design, course development, assessment and pedagogy, such that the student experience and learning is optimised;
• Lead on the development of the use of new technologies and the use of social media to promote the Programme area and to enhance teaching and learning;
• Oversee student practical training, assessments and clinical placement coordination;
• Lead on the approval of Modules and Qualification specification and review considering external examiner/assessor/regulatory bodies and other reports and a range of data; 
• Keep the Programme’s teaching performance under regular review, measuring against the student satisfaction, retention, attainment, and graduate employment targets and taking action with respective staff to respond to and improve these;
• Monitor the external environment as it affects the maintenance and planning of the constituent qualifications and request relevant market intelligence to inform the development and maintenance of the programme;
• Represent the Programme at Directorate and University level and externally as appropriate, providing the Director with regular updates and attending regular meetings;
• Ensure compatibility of the Qualification/Programme area with appropriate external requirements and benchmarks and, where appropriate, securing sector endorsement;
• Lead on the environmental analysis and contribute to the market intelligence of the Qualification/Programme area;
• Line manage the staff in the programme;
• Monitor regularly the progress of staff in the programme against their annual work plan, taking action as necessary;
• Responsible for the consideration of credit transfer cases;
• Responsible for the consideration of student academic queries and student academic conduct.

Qualifications

Skills and experience essential: 

• Evidence of ability to contribute to and to monitor academic strategy development and curriculum planning in the Programme area;
• Strong understanding of diagnostic Laboratory procedures and quality management systems;
• Demonstrable evidence of the innovative use of technology for learning;
• Evidence of the ability to engage in capacity and workload planning and resource allocation;
• Demonstrable ability to contribute to strategic development and monitoring in the programme area 
• Experience of managing academic staff;
• The capacity to engage in budget setting and monitoring.

Education, Professional Qualification & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Medical Laboratory Sciences
• Registered and holder of a valid licence from Kenya Medical Laboratory Technician & Technologist Board of Kenya
• At least three (3) years’ of laboratory teaching or clinical laboratory experience
• Experience in Laboratory set-up, accreditation process and program development is an added advantage
• Proficiency in Microsoft office and adequate knowledge of ERP and Learning Management Systems (LMS)
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills to converse effectively with students and faculty members
• Excellent interpersonal skills which to enable the Course Coordinator to serve as a point of contact for Students and staff in the programme area.