Civic Life Specialist

We are seeking a Civic Life Specialist in the Center for Social Concern (CSC) at Johns Hopkins University. This position will create opportunities for Hopkins students to engage in voter and democratic opportunities at JHU. The Civic Life Specialist will work with the Associate Director, Civic Learning and Deputy Director/Director of Hopkins Votes to develop a strategy for mobilizing student leaders at the university and provide students with indispensable experience in the areas of democratic engagement and non-partisan political engagement. This position will directly report to the Associate Director, Civic Learning with an additional direct line of reporting to the Director of Hopkins Votes around voter engagement efforts, especially during election seasons.

The Civic Life Specialist will provide high-level strategic capacity and project management services to coordinate the Hopkins Votes campaign, especially the day-to-day outreach and coordination of voter engagement activities throughout the Homewood Campus, with potential impacts on other JHU campuses. This role will be responsible for recruiting, training, and engaging with Hopkins Votes ambassadors and other student volunteers, with an intent to ensure every eligible Hopkins student is supported in their voter registration, ballot access, and turnout.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities

Student Engagement & Program Planning (70%)

Hopkins Votes

• Provide support and volunteer management for signature and key events where Hopkins Votes presence is expected, such as Democracy Day, National Voter Registration Day, and other critical activities led by the CSC and other university and community partners.
• Provide direct support to the CSC Deputy Director/Director of Hopkins Votes and CSC staff in the planning and execution of programs that promote voter engagement at JHU.
• Assist with supporting student organizations interested in coordinating their own student voter engagement and education efforts.
• Provides oversight for voter engagement resources, including the development and maintenance of the Hopkins Votes Toolkit, website, and communications platforms.
• Other potential projects include supporting in-person on-campus polling experiences for students voting in Student Government Association elections in coordination with offices across the JHU enterprise.

Democracy Day

• In collaboration with colleagues from Student Transitions & Family Engagement, SNF Agora, and other university departments, support the coordination of the annual Democracy Day, a campus-wide series of events to introduce JHU students – especially first-year students – to JHU’s academic and co/extra-curricular opportunities for democratic engagement.

Constitution Day

• Create, implement, and evaluate engagement strategies for students to learn about and celebrate Constitution Day.
• Ensure that all students have access to information about the Constitution and its relevance to their student experience (International students, FLI students, etc.).

Campus-Wide Democratic Engagement Initiatives

• Coordinates with LEED, CDI, SNF Agora, and other relevant offices to advise and support civic and democratic engagement programming, including bringing speakers to campus.

Student Leader Advisory Support

• Support student organizations focused on democratic engagement efforts.
• In collaboration with LEED, provide support for the Student Government Association, especially its Civic Engagement Committee.
• Supports Student Affairs initiatives on freedom of expression.

Project Development & Management (30%)

• Provide high-level project management for voter engagement initiatives.
• Perform research/benchmarking projects as assigned, including data analysis projects.
• Represent the Center for Social Concern with a high degree of professionalism and confidentiality, and the ability to interact with a wide range of constituencies.
• Work with CSC staff and other members of the JHU community in the drafting and editing of documents and relevant materials, including the JHU Voter Action Plan, Annual Report, Voter Friendly Campus designation, and other opportunities for planning and recognition,
• Support ongoing education and outreach as it relates to voter and democratic engagement, including the development and execution of staff/student training.
• Coordinate evaluation data and assist with ongoing assessment of voter engagement processes. This includes relying on NSLVE data, TurboVote registrations, and other sources of information to effectively plan and execute democratic engagement efforts.
• Complete other related special projects as assigned by the CSC Leadership Team.
• Participate in divisional, departmental, and community-based programs, training sessions, and workshops.
• Support policy and protocol development pertaining to civic and democratic learning.

General Functions

• Establish strong relationships with the Leadership Team and staff in the Center for Social Concern.
• Build and sustain meaningful working relationships with colleagues across Student Affairs, other areas of the University, and voter/civic engagement community partners, including the SNF Agora Institute.
• Work with autonomy and respect the importance of collaboration with key partners and stakeholders.
• Maintain the highest levels of confidentiality.

Additional Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Sophisticated understanding of the economic and racialized systemic inequities in Baltimore and demonstrated commitment to advancing equitable civic learning experiences.
• Excellent judgment in the realms of program and project management.
• Excellent written, and verbal communication skills.
• A demonstrated understanding and enthusiasm for civic engagement, community outreach, public service and/or volunteerism.
• A demonstrated capacity to work effectively using a racial equity lens with persons of diverse backgrounds and to foster sensitivity in student life and in the community.
• A strong interest in relationship building with varied and diverse stakeholders.
• Strong organizational and logistics management skills.
• Ability to maintain a working knowledge of best practices in civic engagement and leadership development as it relates to their areas of focus.
• Ability to work independently to manage multiple assignments in a fast-paced setting.

Additional Information

• This position’s duties will require routine evening and/or weekend work.
• They will be expected to periodically represent the office on various internal and external committees.
• Duties may also require in-and-out-of-state travel or other.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree.
• Three years of experience in higher education, nonprofit sector, or human services.
• Additional education may substitute for required experience, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.

Preferred Qualifications

• Background in student development and programming, civic/democratic engagement, nonpartisan voter engagement, experiential education, service-learning facilitation, nonprofit program management or other related field is ideal.

Classified Title: Community Programs Specialist
Job Posting Title (Working Title): Civic Life Specialist
Role/Level/Range: ATP/03/PB
Starting Salary Range: Min $45,700 – Max $80,000 Annually ($57,058 targeted; Commensurate with experience)
Employee group: Full Time
Schedule: Mon – Fri / 8:30am -5:00pm
Exempt Status: Exempt
Location: Hybrid/Homewood Campus
Department name: ​​​​​​​Center for Social Concern
Personnel area: University Student Services 

Please refer to the job description above to see which forms of equivalency are permitted for this position. If permitted, equivalencies will follow these guidelines:
JHU Equivalency Formula: 30 undergraduate degree credits (semester hours) or 18 graduate degree credits may substitute for one year of experience. Additional related experience may substitute for required education on the same basis. For jobs where equivalency is permitted, up to two years of non-related college course work may be applied towards the total minimum education/experience required for the respective job.

**Applicants who do not meet the posted requirements but are completing their final academic semester/quarter will be considered eligible for employment and may be asked to provide additional information confirming their academic completion date.

The successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background check. Johns Hopkins is committed to hiring individuals with a justice-involved background, consistent with applicable policies and current practice. A prior criminal history does not automatically preclude candidates from employment at Johns Hopkins University. In accordance with applicable law, the university will review, on an individual basis, the date of a candidate’s conviction, the nature of the conviction and how the conviction relates to an essential job-related qualification or function.

The Johns Hopkins University values diversity, equity and inclusion and advances these through our key strategic framework, the JHU Roadmap on Diversity and Inclusion .

Johns Hopkins has mandated COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, as applicable. The COVID-19 vaccine does not apply to positions located in the State of Florida. Exceptions to the COVID and flu vaccine requirements may be provided to individuals for religious beliefs or medical reasons. Requests for an exception must be submitted to the JHU vaccination registry. For additional information, applicants for SOM positions should visit https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/ and all other JHU applicants should visit https://covidinfo.jhu.edu/health-safety/covid-vaccination-information/ .

The following additional provisions may apply, depending on campus. Your recruiter will advise accordingly.

The pre-employment physical for positions in clinical areas, laboratories, working with research subjects, or involving community contact requires documentation of immune status against Rubella (German measles), Rubeola (Measles), Mumps, Varicella (chickenpox), Hepatitis B and documentation of having received the Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccination. This may include documentation of having two (2) MMR vaccines; two (2) Varicella vaccines; or antibody status to these diseases from laboratory testing. Blood tests for immunities to these diseases are ordinarily included in the pre-employment physical exam except for those employees who provide results of blood tests or immunization documentation from their own health care providers. Any vaccinations required for these diseases will be given at no cost in our Occupational Health office.

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