Position Summary

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Associate Director works as part of a small team to facilitate and develop programming that advances social justice through education and capacity building. The successful candidate will bring initiative, a high degree of administrative, logistical, and organizational skill. The ideal candidate will also have demonstrated ability to communicate with diverse constituencies, flexibility, attention to detail, commitment to our mission, and willingness to work creatively with changing circumstances and hours in a busy department. The Associate Director administratively supports the Executive Director, as needed. This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position.

Responsibilities

Provides accurate and timely support for a broad range of ACSJL functions, including the following:

Program Development

• Oversee and facilitate the development of social justice centered programming for students, staff and faculty, and the local and global community.
• Design programs to increase social justice analysis, action, and leadership among students with varying experience with social justice issues and practice.
• Ensure programming is accessible to multiple learning styles and stages.

Building Management

• Manage building reservations and use of the guesthouse; communicate with students, staff, faculty, and community members requesting use of space.
• Confirm and manage logistics for all events.
• Identify and resolve immediate operations issues in the building.
• Order supplies, submit and follow-up with work orders, set up in-house technology

Event Coordination

• Serve as part of ACSJL team in brainstorming and planning social justice leadership projects and events.
• Develop and execute promotion and outreach plans for ACSJL programs.
• Provide food, supplies, and on-site support for events.
• Serve as a resource for individual students, faculty, staff and community members who are planning co-sponsored or partnership events.

Administrative

• Develop, maintain, and communicate accurate records and reports for the Center.
• Serve as the primary logistics support for guests.
• Collect program data for ACSJL assessment.

Community Liaison

• Serve as the Center’s key liaison with college support staff.
• Represent the Center in select social justice community initiatives.
• Serve on campus committees as appropriate.

Qualifications

The successful candidate will have a bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred) and will also demonstrate many of the following skills, abilities, and characteristics:

• Program development experience.
• Experience in event planning.
• Must have a strong passion for or experience in social justice work and enjoy connecting with all kinds of people.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively in a team environment.  Experience and/or interest in working with a wide range of people of different races, genders, sexualities, ages, nations and life experiences.
• Experience with online communication platforms and social media tools is imperative.
• Must be highly organized and detail oriented with demonstrated ability to handle multiple responsibilities and stay focused amidst distractions.
• Strong time management and workspace organization skills; promptness and consistency in the workplace are essential.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Problem solving skills, good judgment and decision-making skills; ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality.
• Computer skills, including accurate typing and data entry, ability to apply word processing, database and spreadsheet applications and to use Internet resources. Must be proficient with Microsoft Word and Excel; Access and PowerPoint experience helpful, as is experience with database systems.
• Comfort with learning new technology.
• Physical requirements include ability to:
  • work in an office and campus environment with extensive use of computer and telephone
  • read, write and handle paper documents
  • lift up to twenty pounds
  • move between and within various campus buildings
• A sense of humor and inquisitive mind will be significant assets in this position.
• Ability to work some evenings and occasional weekends.

Benefits

About Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership

The Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (ACSJL) is an initiative of Kalamazoo College whose mission is to develop and sustain leaders in human rights and social justice through education and capacity-building.

We envision a campus and world where:

• every person’s life is equally valued,
• the inherent dignity of all people is recognized,
• the opportunity to develop one’s full potential is available to every person, and
• systematic discrimination and structural inequities have been eradicated.

Social Justice recognizes the inherent dignity of all people and values every life equally. It calls for both personal reflection and social change to ensure that each of us has the right and the opportunity to thrive in our communities, regardless of our identities. When we acknowledge that oppression exists and work together to end systemic discrimination and structural inequities, we increase the promise of a more just world. Learn more about ACSJL at https://arcuscenter.kzoo.edu/.

About Kalamazoo College

Kalamazoo College is a highly selective nationally regarded liberal arts college, offering an integrated undergraduate experience that weaves a traditional liberal arts curriculum into educational experiences in both domestic and international settings with the majority of our graduates participating in study abroad. Kalamazoo College is committed to the liberal arts and sciences, experiential education, freedom of individual conscience and celebration of diversity and inclusion. It is one of the nation’s 100 oldest colleges and universities and a thought leader and innovator in higher education.

The campus of Kalamazoo College is located midway between Chicago and Detroit/Ann Arbor in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a metropolitan community of 261,000, which supports multiple college and university campuses along with numerous civic arts and cultural associations and sports teams. Thirty-five miles from Lake Michigan, the area offers many opportunities for outdoor recreation, a walkable downtown, outstanding restaurants, and plenty of family-friendly activities.

Kalamazoo College encourages candidates who will contribute to the cultural diversity of the College to apply and to identify themselves if they wish. An equal opportunity employer, Kalamazoo College is committed to equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal protection under the law. Please be invited to review our full EEO statement by visiting https://www.kzoo.edu/about/nondiscrimination-policy/. Kalamazoo College is an E-Verify participating employer. Please select Notice and Rights for more information.