Instructional Designer & Serious Games Expert – Youth Financial Literacy Project

Overview We are seeking a high-caliber E-Learning & Serious Games Instructional Designer to architect a groundbreaking financial literacy game targeting youth from Middle School to high schools. This project bridges three vital dimensions: expert investment knowledge, regulatory and legislative compliance, and advanced game-based learning psychology. The objective is to move away from dry, lecture-style teaching and instead build a safe, virtual environment where real-world financial skills are gained through trial and error. Key Responsibilities Curriculum Mapping & Scaffolding: Translate a wide spectrum of financial topics into a multi-tiered game structure tailored to three distinct age groups (12–15, 16–18). Game Mechanics Design (Core Loops): Design meaningful game mechanics where actions directly mirror economic realities (e.g., branching narratives for high schoolers, complex stock market simulation and market crises for university students). Framework & Analytics Design: Define the parameters for an integrated pre-/post-assessment model and wireframe an Analytics Dashboard for regulatory reporting on common youth financial behaviors. Storyboarding & Developer Hand-off: Produce a comprehensive game design document (GDD), storyboards, and instructional blueprints that our technical development team can execute seamlessly. Required Qualifications Proven experience as an Instructional Designer specializing in Serious Games, Gamification, or Educational Simulations. Strong grasp of behavioral psychology, adult/youth learning theories, and the concept of "Safe Failure" in digital learning. Background or strong familiarity with financial literacy, economics, or fintech projects is highly preferred. Excellent communication skills to act as the bridge between Financial Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), Regulatory Bodies, and Software Developers. Application Requirements To be considered, please provide: A brief cover letter explaining your approach to balancing entertainment with rigorous educational depth in serious games, including samples from relevant projects. Suggested project flow / deliverables Answers to the screening questions. Interview / Screening Questions Designing Scaffolding for Age Tiers: "Our target audience ranges from 12 to 18 years old. How do you approach designing a unified game ecosystem that remains intuitive and exciting for a 13-year-old while remaining intellectually challenging and mature enough for a university student?" The Data Side of Learning: "How do you typically structure an analytics dashboard for a serious game? What kind of behavioral data points would you track to prove to a government authority that players are actually improving their financial decision-making skills rather than just guessing correctly?"