The Democratic Civic Engagement Coordinator / Student Services Assistant II

MSU Internal Job Postings Details•East Lansing, MI

About The Position

The Democratic Civic Engagement Coordinator serves as the lead staff member for non-partisan democratic civic engagement efforts at Michigan State University, under the auspices of the Center for Community Engaged Learning and the Office of Community and Student Relations. This role advances civic learning, voter education, and preparation for participation in today’s democracy. The coordinator develops and sustains educational initiatives that strengthen students’ civic knowledge, democratic skills, and capacity for informed participation in public life. A primary focus of this position is to support and coordinate the MSUvote Campus and Community Initiative, comprised of faculty, staff, students, and community partners committed to advancing civic and democratic engagement at MSU.

Requirements

Knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by completing one or two years of post-bachelor’s degree work (such as a master’s degree in a related field); one to three years of related and progressively more responsible experience in career counseling, human affairs, or related areas; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Nice To Haves

2–3 years of experience working at a large public institution of higher education.
1–2 years of experience working on civic or democratic engagement initiatives.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Demonstrated ability to create content and manage social media platforms.
Ability to build and maintain organizational websites.
Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-stakes, and deadline-driven environment when necessary.
Ability to work effectively with undergraduate, graduate, and professional student populations.

Responsibilities

Manages and facilitates events, meetings, conferences, voter education initiatives, civic learning programs, and democratic engagement projects.
Supervises interns, fellows, and scholars working on civic and democratic engagement efforts.
Provides administrative leadership and coordination for the MSUvote initiative.
Develops and coordinates educational materials for use in classrooms and co-curricular settings focused on democratic processes, civic responsibility, and informed participation.
Designs and delivers trainings and workshops that prepare students to participate thoughtfully and effectively in democratic life.
Coordinates resources and opportunities with national networks and higher education partners engaged in democratic engagement initiatives.
Manages updates to the MSUvote website and maintains associated social media accounts.
Designs and disseminates promotional and educational materials.
Supports democratic engagement work with the strategic goal of strengthening student participation through civic learning, voter education, and engagement initiatives.
Partners with campus units to embed civic learning and voter education into campus culture, including new and transfer student orientation and major fall and spring events.
Actively builds and sustains partnerships with campus units, student organizations, community partners, municipal leaders, and public-service organizations to grow a broad coalition supporting democratic engagement efforts.
Identifies and collaborates with student organizations and campus partners to co-sponsor and host civic and democratic engagement programming.
Drafts campus communications; oversees social media; and collaborates with Student Affairs, University Outreach & Engagement, Government Relations, University Communications, and other campus partners to deliver coordinated messaging and outreach.
Represents MSUvote in national networks and initiatives, including the Big Ten Voting Challenge, All In Democracy Challenge, Voter Friendly Campus, and Campus Vote Project.
Creates and shares reports summarizing civic engagement activities, educational initiatives, partnerships, and future planning with campus and national partners.
Collaborates with CCEL to develop, implement, and assess workshops and trainings that build students’ civic knowledge, democratic skills, media literacy, deliberative dialogue capacity, and understanding of democratic institutions and processes.
Develops learning outcomes, program goals, and measures of success; administers assessments; and implements continuous improvement strategies.
Secures grants and manages associated budgets, reporting, and compliance requirements in support of democratic civic engagement initiatives.
Plans and delivers outreach and educational programming; strengthens partnerships; ensures adherence to university policies; and supports program administration to promote stable and productive university–community relationships.
Works to ensure and expand equitable access to programs, facilities, and educational services for diverse audiences, with attention to inclusion and broad participation.