Undergraduate Communications Assistant (Federal Work Study)

**Please note that applicants must receive federal work study funding as an undergraduate student currently enrolled at George Mason University**

The Communications Assistant will carry out communications-related tasks on all aspects of the Mary Hoch Center for Reconciliation (MHCR)'s research, work, and events, including the creation of research infographics and social media artwork, the management of a social media calendar and content plan, and the writing and publication of MCHR newsletters.

Responsibilities

• Utilize the platforms currently used by MHCR for communications purposes including (but not limited to): Canva, MailChimp, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Linktree, and SquareSpace. Experience with other comparable platforms is also welcome.
• Support the MHCR Transformation & Reconciliation Lab Manager in translating findings from the newly established literature review for the research on healing-centered peacebuilding and reconciliation into visual teachings, infographics, and/or short social media posts.
• Support the Associate Director with event management both before, during, and after the event, by creating artwork and social media posts related to the event beforehand, taking pictures and capturing quotes during the event, and writing a timely synopsis of the event for publication on our website, social media, and in our end-of-the-semester newsletter. Depending on the event, you may also be a primary point of contact for tech support and smooth facilitation of the event. If the event was recorded, the timely creation and uploading of the recording to YouTube will be expected, along with the promotion of this new content across social media and on our website. Please note that events that are in-person or hybrid typically take place at the Carter School on GMU's Arlington campus.
• Spearhead the newsletters for the MHCR listserv. These newsletters require coordination with other team members at MHCR and are typically published 2-3 times per semester using MailChimp. The contents of the newsletters include the creation/collection of images and writing of event synopses and other MHCR-related news articles.
• Spearhead MHCR's social media presence, especially on Instagram and LinkedIn. You will work closely with the Associate Director on carrying out MHCR's social media and content calendar, adding to MHCR's artwork (made with Canva) for social media posts and creating blurbs to accompany the artwork.
• Other duties as assigned by the Associate Director and Lab Manager as needed.

Required Skills

• Ability to think independently, critically, and deeply.
• Ability to translate complex texts and research outcomes into relatable and digestible visual representations.
• Self-motivated / internal locus of control.

Preferred Skills

• Familiarity and experience with Canva or another visual content creation platform of equal ability is strongly preferred.
• Familiarity and experience utilizing social media platforms (including both Instagram and LinkedIn) for professional purposes is preferred.

While references and a sample of your work are not required as part of the application process for the Communications Assistant position, qualified candidate(s) may be asked to share these items in the final round

of interviews. Please have such items ready for review. References will be the names and emails for 2 professional references who can speak to you as an employee and/or colleague. The sample of your work will be a small sampling of blog posts/social media posts/infographics/etc., that you have previously created. We may also assign you a task to create an item for us as an example.

Applications for this position will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Ideally, we aim to fill the position by August in order to gear up smoothly for the fall semester. This position will have the possibility of extension into future semester(s).

This position is remote (with the possibility of arrangements for a physical work space on GMU's Arlington campus). MHCR's team works nationally and globally, so comfort with an online-based team is important.

We are particularly interested in applicants from diverse, marginalized, and/or minority communities, including but not limited to identities related to race, ethnicity, age, disability, gender, queer and trans, indigenous / native / First Nation, veteran, and religious / spiritual traditions.

To learn more about MHCR, please visit our website: https://www.mhcr.gmu.edu