Assistant Director, Civic Engagement Office, Bryn Mawr College

Posted by on August 05, 2010

[emailed 8/3/2010]

Assistant Director
Civic Engagement Office

The Civic Engagement Office of Bryn Mawr College is seeking a full time Assistant Director.  This is a 12 month administrative and program coordination position in a fast-paced student development office that supports multiple community-based and experiential learning programs.

The Assistant Director supports the work of the Civic Engagement Office by providing field placement coordination to academic community-based learning courses, supervising and coordinating established co-curricular civic engagement programs, and helping to develop new programming in response to community needs.

The ideal candidate will be team oriented, comfortable balancing multiple projects, experienced in working with diverse populations, and will have experience in at least two of these areas:  environmental studies/sustainability, public health, education, community arts, economic justice and social justice issues.

Familiarity with service-learning, strong communication skills, demonstrated skills in program development/training, a Master’s Degree in a relevant field (i.e.:  Social Work, Education, Higher Education Administration, etc.)  and at least two years of post-graduate, relevant work experience required.

Send resume, cover letter and three references to jobs@brynmawr.edu by 8/16/10.

JOB DESCRIPTION
General Civic Engagement Office Responsibilities:
•    Developing and strengthening relationships with faculty, staff, students and community partners and working with them to implement new programming (including courses) and to improve existing programming
•    Supervising a student worker in the management and processing of state and federal clearances for students working with children and/or vulnerable populations through their volunteer or field work and maintaining up-to-date records of students’ completed clearances
•    Developing and implementing comprehensive workshops and programming designed to prepare and support students engaged in off campus civic engagement or Praxis activities
•    Assisting in the planning, coordination, and facilitation of an annual experiential orientation event in the fall to expose incoming students to civic engagement at Bryn Mawr College

Praxis Field Placement Coordination and Program Support:
Providing field placement coordination for 2 – 3 community-based learning courses per semester

Duties include:
•    Meeting with the course instructor prior to the start of each semester to review the syllabus and timelines and to identify specific areas of Praxis support requested for the course
•    Developing field placements appropriate for the course by collaborating with existing community partners and outreaching to new community partners
•    Planning the Praxis orientation session with the course instructor
•    Keeping up-to-date records of student and field supervisor contacts
•    Preparing and distributing all Praxis-related paperwork to the students in the course
•    Matching students with field placements based on their schedules and interests
•    Attending and participating in 4 – 5 class sessions each semester
•    Conducting face-to-face visits with each field site supervisor at least once per semester
•    Maintaining ongoing contact with the field supervisors via phone and email to check on student progress and to help connect field supervisors to the Praxis course
•    Facilitating the involvement of the field supervisors in the class according to the wishes of the course instructor
•    Meeting with students in the classes who have concerns about their field placements or who want to talk about their work
•    Troubleshooting any problems that arise at the field placements
•    Distributing evaluation surveys to field supervisors, students, and course instructors and compiling survey results

Serving on the Praxis Steering Committee

Assisting with outreach to faculty members new to the Praxis Program and supporting faculty members in developing and integrating new Praxis components into their courses

Supervision & Coordination of Co-Curricular Programs:
Providing oversight to a variety of co-curricular civic engagement programs by supervising a team of student coordinators and providing support and guidance to their work to
•    publicize ongoing volunteer programs;
•    recruit new student volunteers;
•    coordinate information sessions for each program and invite the site supervisors to attend;
•    arrange transportation to and from the program sites for student volunteers and assist students in the process of requesting clearances, if necessary; and
•    maintain ongoing communication with both the student volunteers and site coordinators to ensure the programs run smoothly and provide assistance should any problems arise.
The Assistant Director will meet regularly with student coordinators and will select and train new coordinators as needed.

Conducting site visits at community partner agencies and service sites where students engage in civic engagement activities

Developing and implementing structured reflection sessions to assist volunteers with the challenges of fieldwork and to discuss the meaning of their work in a larger context

Responding to community requests for volunteers for one-time service activities and facilitating student involvement in select one-time activities

Advising individual students interested in independent volunteer work or internships about available opportunities and support provided by the Civic Engagement Office

Coordinating summer service programming, including
•    recruiting and selecting student participants;
•    supervising site placements and conducting site visits; and
•    facilitating training and reflection activities for participants