What does an instructional design consultant do?
An instructional design consultant is responsible for assisting, developing, and managing instructional material and plans with other professionals such as programmers, web developers, and teachers in IT. They usually collaborate, coordinate, and interact with the aforementioned professionals to develop a program design to enhance their expertise and learning experiences. Also, they must research electronic learning, run usability tests, find learning objectives for a particular project, and do a content development review and analysis.
Instructional design consultant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real instructional design consultant resumes:
- Manage CBT and ILT course documents using SharePoint.
- Manage a repository on SharePoint of all assign training modules and supporting documentation of recent updates and changes to material.
- Develop and implement leader-led and online training programs, introducing new learning methods and growing eLearning market.
- Create and facilitate effective wrap-around or stand-alone ILT curricula.
- Create ILT participant and facilitator guide for Medicare open enrollment.
- Consult SMEs when gathering information to design and develop effective training solutions.
- Streamline eLearning development process, decreasing design and development time while improving the quality and effectiveness of training.
- Manage a repository on SharePoint of all assign training modules and supporting documentation of recent updates and changes to material.
- Overhaul class material including creating a standardize syllabus.
Instructional design consultant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Instructional Design Consultants are proficient in Instructional Design, Subject Matter Experts, and ELearning. They’re also known for soft skills such as Decision-making skills, Interpersonal skills, and Leadership skills.
We break down the percentage of Instructional Design Consultants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Instructional Design, 11%
Managed instructional designers, subject experts, and university faculty on numerous higher education projects for colleges from start to completion.
- Subject Matter Experts, 8%
Consulted with stakeholders/users and subject matter experts for requirements from to improve efficiency and effectiveness of existing courses.
- ELearning, 6%
Streamlined eLearning development process, decreasing design and development time while improving the quality and effectiveness of training.
- Project Management, 5%
Provide planning, development and delivery of high-impact learning programs using strategic leadership with hands-on project management.
- SMEs, 5%
Consulted SMEs when gathering information to design and develop effective training solutions.
- Learning Solutions, 4%
Created customized learning solutions for large, global organizations focused on building core skills critical to organizational success.
"instructional design," "subject matter experts," and "elearning" are among the most common skills that instructional design consultants use at work. You can find even more instructional design consultant responsibilities below, including:
Decision-making skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an instructional design consultant to have is decision-making skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "instructional coordinators must be decisive when recommending changes to curriculums, teaching methods, and textbooks." Instructional design consultants often use decision-making skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "defined the problem and solved all decision-making processes related to instruction, educational policy, and curriculum development. "
Interpersonal skills. Another essential skill to perform instructional design consultant duties is interpersonal skills. Instructional design consultants responsibilities require that "instructional coordinators need to be able to establish and maintain positive working relationships with teachers, principals, and other administrators." Instructional design consultants also use interpersonal skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "designed and facilitated interpersonal skills classes focused on employee development of emotional intelligence. "
Leadership skills. instructional design consultants are also known for leadership skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to instructional design consultant responsibilities, because "instructional coordinators serve as mentors to teachers." An instructional design consultant resume example shows how leadership skills is used in the workplace: "enact leadership: developed case study for senior leadership development program partnering with subject matter experts at leading global electronics organization. "
Analytical skills. A big part of what instructional design consultants do relies on "analytical skills." You can see how essential it is to instructional design consultant responsibilities because "instructional coordinators evaluate student test data and teaching strategies." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical instructional design consultant tasks: "analyzed/conducted usability assessments on target audience, learning objectives, and design of existing wbl and instructor-led training offerings. "
Communication skills. Another common skill required for instructional design consultant responsibilities is "communication skills." This skill comes up in the duties of instructional design consultants all the time, as "instructional coordinators need to clearly explain changes in the curriculum and teaching standards to school staff." An excerpt from a real instructional design consultant resume shows how this skill is central to what an instructional design consultant does: "conducted and facilitated train-the-trainer sessions globally (latam and emea) using lync unified communications platform. "
The three companies that hire the most instructional design consultants are:
- Guidehouse10 instructional design consultants jobs
- Deloitte4 instructional design consultants jobs
- The Henry Ford2 instructional design consultants jobs
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Compare different instructional design consultants
Instructional design consultant vs. Curriculum specialist
The primary job of curriculum specialists is to develop, assess, and improve curricula and instruction. They are responsible for guiding teachers on their teaching methods, conducting research and making recommendations for improvements, and evaluating existing curricula alongside teachers and administrators. A curriculum specialist is expected to assist in creating and revising instructional materials, analyzing student data, and evaluating and improving the utilization of classroom materials. You are also responsible for finding appropriate curricula and textbooks to improve the student body's learning outcomes.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an instructional design consultant are more likely to require skills like "instructional design," "project management," "smes," and "learning solutions." On the other hand, a job as a curriculum specialist requires skills like "math," "k-12," "mathematics," and "powerpoint." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Curriculum specialists earn the highest salaries when working in the education industry, with an average yearly salary of $50,372. On the other hand, instructional design consultants are paid more in the energy industry with an average salary of $77,885.On average, curriculum specialists reach higher levels of education than instructional design consultants. Curriculum specialists are 7.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Instructional design consultant vs. Curriculum writer
Curriculum writers are professionals who are responsible for developing new academic instructional materials, lessons, and activities to be used by teachers or instructional staff from school districts, media companies, and other businesses. These writers are required to conduct professional development sessions for all staff about the design and changes in the new curriculum. They must produce instructional videos to help educators and coaches in preparing educational and instructional materials. Curriculum writers must also head a pilot project to evaluate potential opportunities for extended learning through virtual classroom and distance learning strategies.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real instructional design consultant resumes. While instructional design consultant responsibilities can utilize skills like "instructional design," "project management," "smes," and "learning solutions," curriculum writers use skills like "assessment items," "student achievement," "language arts," and "science curriculum."
Curriculum writers earn higher levels of education than instructional design consultants in general. They're 10.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for instructional design consultants in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Brian Simmons
Associate Provost, Columbia International University
Instructional design consultant vs. Curriculum developer
A curriculum developer is responsible for managing instructional materials, providing recommendations to the teachers, and making adjustments to the current student's curriculum to adhere to the highest educational standards and policies. Curriculum developers also facilitate and offer assistance for any implemented procedures. They also manage and address concerns regarding the learning standards and consider recommendations for curriculum improvement. A curriculum developer must have extensive knowledge of the education system to plan out the necessary teachers' training and coaching.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, instructional design consultants are more likely to have skills like "learning solutions," "sharepoint," "adult learning principles," and "course design." But a curriculum developer is more likely to have skills like "java," "cloud computing," "powerpoint," and "sql."
Curriculum developers earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $65,147. Instructional design consultants earn the highest pay from the energy industry, with an average salary of $77,885.When it comes to education, curriculum developers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to instructional design consultants. In fact, they're 2.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Instructional design consultant vs. Vocational training instructor
A vocational training instructor is responsible for teaching students with the subject expertise needed to land a job for a specific industry requirement. Vocational training instructors are the same as regular instructors as they also identify the students' strengths and weaknesses, manage their learning expectations, and develop personalized teaching plans to address difficulties. They conduct examinations and regular assessments to test the students' knowledge and learning, which is crucial to determine their level of moving up.
Types of instructional design consultant
Updated January 8, 2025
