Position: CREECA Pushkin Summer Institute and Communications PA Graduate Project Assistant
Commitment: 50% Position (20 hours per week)
Period: January 1, 2019—August 31, 2019
The Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia (CREECA) seeks a graduate student with strong writing, communication, and organizational skills to work as a project assistant on communications for CREECA and on various aspects of the Pushkin Summer Institute Abroad (PSI Abroad), an NSLI-Y-funded initiative to provide high school students of Russian with an immersive, in-country experience in Russian language and culture. The PA will work under the supervision of the CREECA associate director, Jennifer Tishler.
Specifically, the Graduate Project Assistant will have the following responsibilities:
I. Communications:
- Research and write stories for CREECA’s monthly e-newsletter
- Design printed flyers and other marketing materials, as well as e-newsletters (experience with MailChimp and knowledge of InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator preferred)
- Manage CREECA’s social media presence (including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)
- Assist with maintenance and further development of CREECA website (knowledge of WordPress desirable)
II. NSLI-Y:
- Coordinate all aspects of the application and selection process of candidates from the partner high schools of the Pushkin Summer Institute
- Work with student participants on completing passport and visa applications, scholarship acceptance forms, and other documents and online systems required by NSLI-Y (likeness release forms, eGoals, STEP)
- Make travel arrangements for student participants and resident director, in compliance with UW and Federal travel regulations
- Process financial transactions, in compliance with University and NSLI-Y policies and procedures
- Communicate with American Councils/NSLI-Y on pre-program assessments/OPI testing
- Coordinate with PSI leadership and senior staff on researching and gathering materials for the Pre-Departure Orientation; prepare agenda and materials for PDO
- Maintain communication with Resident Director for duration of overseas program; schedule regular conference calls between Resident Director and PSI staff in Madison
- Assist PSI leadership in preparation of quarterly reports and final reports
All applicants must be current graduate students in good standing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with excellent organizational and communication skills and experience with coordinating logistics. They should have strong time-management skills and should be able to handle multiple tasks and deadlines simultaneously by working independently and with the CREECA Associate Director.
To Apply: Applications should include: a cover letter (detailing the applicant’s background and qualifications), a current resume or CV, and names of two professional references. Application materials should be saved as a single PDF, using the naming convention “Applicant Last Name_CREECA PA.” Send the electronic files to Jennifer Tishler at jtishler@wisc.edu. Questions may be addressed to Jennifer Tishler, the CREECA associate director, at jtishler@wisc.edu or 608-262-3379.
Review of applications will begin on November 7, 2018.
Compensation: This is a half-time (50%) graduate project assistantship for spring and summer 2019, paid at the annual full-time rate of $44,854, and requires a commitment of 20 hours per week. The monthly stipend is approximately $1,869.