CFA: Communications GSR – Center for South Asian Studies and Center for the Middle East and North Africa
Application Deadline: November 22, 2024
Position Start Date: January 3, 2025
Position Time Commitment: 10 hours per week
Position Description:
This is an exciting opportunity for a current UCSC PhD student in the Arts, Humanities, or Social Sciences Division to join the team of two Centers housed in The Humanities Institute–the Center for South Asian Studies (CSAS) and the Center for Middle East and North Africa (CMENA) and engage with important research programs at the Centers as well as grow their professional skills. The Communications GSR will report to the Faculty Directors of CSAS and CMENA and will work closely with the CSAS and CMEMA Program Manager to develop and share program and event communications through various channels, including Center email announcements, website updates, social media content, and poster design. This role involves conducting research on best practices for sharing CSAS and CMENA programming with broad public audiences and potentially writing original content for their websites. The GSR is responsible for communicating about Center programs and events to each Center’s mailing list and to the broader audience of The Humanities Institute where the Centers are housed and which includes the UCSC campus, the wider Santa Cruz community, and audiences across the nation.
Responsibilities
The GSR will coordinate communications through three main channels–email lists, websites, and social media–and will assist promoting Center research program and events.
Email Lists
Each Center has their own unique email and email lists and the GSR will be responsible for managing and expanding these lists, making sure that event attendees are added to the lists. The GSR will also compile information for CSAS and CMENA programs and events and put together both textual and visual content for quarterly program emails and event invitations and reminders. Part of the GSR’s role will be to set-up and manage Mailchimp accounts for each Center so as to streamline and organize communications with each mailing list.
Websites
Each Center also has their own website, and the GSR will be responsible for updating and managing the website content with new programs and events with the occasional help of a website designer. Part of the GSR’s role will be to assist in redesigning the CSAS website and The GSR might also develop original material to post on the Center websites.
Social Media
Both CSAS and CMENA are in the process of building a presence on Instagram and Facebook. The GSR will work with the Faculty Directors to develop social media posts and a social media strategy and will manage the Centers’ social media accounts by analyzing social media activity and suggesting social media approaches based on this analysis. The GSR will largely be responsible for posting about Center events on social media, and will also coordinate with the THI team to collaborate on social media posts and to develop an integrated social media strategy.
Additional responsibilities
Additional responsibilities include: attending two bi-weekly program meetings, one for each Center; participating in other meetings as necessary (usually event related); responding to emails in a timely manner; completing other communications and programs tasks as they arise from the ones laid out above.
Note on Time Commitment: While the percentage of time for each responsibility will change depending on the event schedule of each Center, the GSR tasks will never exceed 10 hours per week. The time that the GSR will spend on each Center may vary from week-to-week as well, but it will not exceed 10 hours per week total.
Qualifications
Required
– Exceptional writing skills, including composing engaging and accurate content.
– Strong communicator who works well independently and with a team.
– Ability to communicate complex concepts in understandable language for broad audiences.
– Positive and professional approach.
– Demonstrated appreciation for the work of both CSAS and CMENA.
– Highly organized, shows attention to detail, and meets deadlines.
– Creative thinker who can put together compelling written and visual content.
– Ability to work with online tools, such as WordPress, Mailchimp, and Canva, and to pursue best practices for social media engagement on Facebook, Instagram, and potentially LinkedIn.
Preferred
-Experience writing, editing, and publishing content for an online audience.
-Experience with graphic design and ability to make posters and flyers in both digital and print formats
-Familiarity with social media management tools such as Buffer.
-Demonstrated experience working with WordPress, Mailchimp, and other web-based platforms.
-Experience designing and/or coding WordPress websites.
Eligibility and Compensation
Students must be enrolled in a graduate program in the Arts, Humanities, or Social Sciences Division. The appointment will be made at 10 hours per week for both Winter and Spring Quarters 2025, with the possibility of extending into Summer. The monthly salary will follow the current GSR rates for UC Santa Cruz.
To Apply
Please send a cover letter, writing sample, and resume to thi@ucsc.edu.
Questions?
Please contact Laura Martin, THI Research Program Manager for CSAS and CMENA, lemartin@ucsc.edu