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Program Coordinator / Graduate Research Assistant

University of Iowa Obermann Center for Advanced Studies
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Program Coordinator / Graduate Research Assistant
Obermann Center for Advanced Studies 

 

The Obermann Center for Advanced Studies is the only research institute at the University of Iowa that supports and connects scholars and artists from all disciplines, with an emphasis on the humanities. The Center encourages innovation, cross-disciplinary exchange of ideas, imaginative collaborations, and engagement with our local and global communities. We collaborate with a wide audience, including UI faculty, visiting scholars, UI graduate and undergraduate students, and the greater community. 

 

We are seeking an advanced (ABD) humanities or social sciences UI PhD student to work with the Obermann staff to support programs and events and tell the stories of the exciting research projects and initiatives supported by the Center.

 

This is a professional position that is geared toward a student who is interested in careers beyond the professoriate (e.g., at academic research centers, national professional organizations, nonprofits, etc.). The position requires both creativity and detail-oriented work, including writing, editing, data entry, and interacting with members of the UI and surrounding community. The Program Coordinator will become a valued member of our close-knit team and will ultimately gain from the position a valuable store of administrative, event planning, publicity, marketing, interviewing, problem-solving, and project management skills that will be applicable to any professional work environment. Because we are a small team with each person performing multiple roles, the worker in this position must also be prepared to help with other tasks as they arise.

 

Hours per week: 20

Work Schedule: Various hours on Monday-Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. 

Job begins Fall 2025 and goes through Spring 2026.

Ongoing duties:

  • Write brief, engaging articles about Obermann programming and Obermann-affiliated scholars’ research for the Obermann Center’s website and social media, including conducting interviews with Obermann scholars in person and via email
  • Create and manage Center newsletters and other email campaigns in Dispatch
  • Create and manage email lists in Dispatch
  • Assist with programming
  • Update and edit the Obermann Center website
  • Maintain the Obermann Center’s YouTube channel and Facebook page
  • Create various content for the Obermann Center’s social media accounts, including regularly writing and publishing original content, capturing visual content, keeping target audience(s) in mind, and monitoring post engagement
  • Add Obermann Center events to various online calendars (UI Events Calendar, Little Village, Facebook events), tagging relevant campus units
  • Update and export reports from Obermann Scholar Filemaker Pro database
  • Act as a liaison for visiting international fellows, responding to inquiries about accommodations and other practical needs
  • Keep track of tasks and projects in Trello (an online project management app)
  • There is room in this position to pursue specialized interests. For example, a student interested in video production could add to their duties the creation and publication of short videos/video interviews about Obermann scholars and programming.

 

Required Qualifications

  • Currently enrolled UI ABD PhD student in the humanities or social sciences, must have completed coursework
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Extremely detail-oriented and well organized
  • Ability to proofread and edit for typos, clarity, etc.
  • Experience with social media as both a user and content creator
  • Committed to regularly providing updates on the status of assigned tasks
  • Skillful use of desktop web browsers
  • Customer service
  • Resourcefulness, ability to troubleshoot own problems and ask for help when needed
  • Reliability
  • Ability to meet deadlines

 

Desired Qualifications

  • Working knowledge of languages other English
  • Familiarity with email marketing
  • Experience using and updating databases
  • Journalistic-style writing and reporting skills
  • Knowledge of HTML and web editing
  • Familiarity with Canva
  • Experience resizing and exporting graphics

 

Minimum salary of $22,660 based on years of experience. All graduate assistant employees appointed for a total of twenty-five percent (25%) or more for the entire semester, academic year, or fiscal year will be assured a minimum tuition scholarship for the fall or spring semester for which the appointment occurs.