Associate Director of Programming

Associate Director of Programming

The Center for Culture, Equity, and Empowerment within University Life is currently seeking applications from qualified candidates for the Associate Director of Programming position. George Mason University has a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of excellence and diversity among its faculty and staff, and strongly encourages candidates to apply who will enrich Mason’s academic and culturally inclusive environment.

About the Unit:

The Center for Culture, Equity, and Empowerment (CCEE) leverages programs and services focused on advocacy and direct student support to strengthen equity and inclusion at George Mason University. The Center is committed to co-creating an equitable campus climate and society by providing intersectional and healing-centered programs, services, and support that elevate consciousness rooted in culture, healing, and liberation. Our services foster opportunities for identity development, intersectional student support, and cross-cultural engagement through coalition building and advocacy. We serve as an on-campus haven for students of color to be seen, and valued, and obtain a sense of belonging and liberation at Mason and in the world. Additionally, CCEE is a resource to those in the Mason Community who seek to raise their consciousness and meaningfully engage with people with different identities and intersections to co-create an equitable campus environment.

Primary Purpose of the Position:

The Associate Director of Programming for the Center for Culture, Equity, and Empowerment is responsible for the development and management of curricular and co-curricular programs and initiatives centered on social justice and Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center Initiative frameworks. This position serves as a strategic and collaborative leader who works cross-functionally to achieve the goals of the unit. This position reports to the Director of the Center for Culture, Equity, and Empowerment.

Position Responsibilities:

Responsibilities are broken out into three primary categories; Supervision, Intersectional Student Development, and Coalition Building & Advocacy.

Supervision:

• Recruit, hire, train, mentor, and supervise full-time professional staff, student ambassadors, fellows, and graduate professional assistants;
• Supervises 2 full-time professional staff, 10-12 student ambassadors, fellows, and 2 graduate professional assistants, and is accountable for staff performance;

• Provide leadership and guidance to student staff that encourages growth and supports their holistic wellbeing through team building activities and supporting the creation and execution of student-led initiatives; and
• Manage the curricular and co-curricular programming budgets and student staffing for above portfolio, including purchasing supplies, monitoring work hours for staff, grant processes, expense reporting, and the review and approval of supervisee’s spending and budget reports.

Intersectional Student Development:

• Oversee the creation and implementation of diversity, equity, inclusion, identity development, and social justice programs to celebrate and affirm students’ cultures, enhance cultural humility and cross-cultural dialogue between students to learn from one another and to recognize the diversity of perspectives, experiences, and cultures that exist within the University community, surrounding communities, and globally;
• Collect and use enrollment, campus climate, and retention data to identify, develop, and coordinate comprehensive educational and cultural success initiatives to support and address the intersectional needs (academic, social, emotional, etc.) of students at various social locations (e.g., black men identifying students, etc.);
• Oversee coaching and mentorship modalities to department affiliated student groups that foster wellbeing and belonging that contribute to students’ progression and timely completion of educational goals (e.g., leadership and advocacy opportunities in and outside of the classroom, community service opportunities, mentors on campus and community, etc.);
• Provide support that develops community, cultivates opportunities for self-exploration, and builds emotional intelligence and capacity to engage cross-culturally with empathy and vulnerability;
• Develop learning and cultural outcomes, assessments, and reports for programming and training portfolio, including remaining informed on relevant national, local, and campus trends and needs for department affiliated student communities;
• Organize work streams with the creation of transparent systems and streamlined processes to track all initiatives and their impact on students, faculty;
• Build and sustain strategic partnerships with key faculty, staff, and community partners to create curricular and co-curricular collaborations that result in a more equitable campus environment;
• Lead the communication team in curating, producing, and editing stories across media formats to share the experiences and needs of communities at various social locations, and the impact of programs and trainings; and
• Create a vision and manage the development of an integrated storytelling plan, thinking strategically about the roles of marketing communications: website, office market around campus, and social media.

Coalition Building & Advocacy:

• Establish and build sustainable coalitions across the university, local, and national community to cultivate narrative change, truth-telling, healing, and relationship building;
• Work closely with the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, University Life leadership, academic and administrative units across the campus to clearly articulate, develop, and implement a vision and programming portfolio that supports the needs and celebrates the humanity and culture of students at the margins;
• Cultivate sustainable relationships with campus partners and civic and community partners to cultivate learning communities that leverage research, lived experiences, and other ways of knowing and knowledge production to further the work of truth, reconciliation, and racial healing through programming and racial healing training; and
• Deliver reports, presentations, and updates regarding the progress and impact of curricular and co-curricular initiatives on belonging and student development.

Required Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in related field or a combination of education and experience equivalent to an advanced degree;
• Ability and desire to serve as advocate and coalition builder, particularly with a range of diverse communities including students, faculty, and external vendors;
• Demonstrated skill in facilitating complex discussions around identity, power, privilege, and justice, etc., with a wide variety of audiences;
• Skill in effective staff supervision;
• Demonstrated leadership skills in an educational or social justice setting working for and with youth;
• Demonstrated ability to work with multiple stakeholders at all levels of the organization and to be adaptable, engaging, and empathetic; and
• Significant experience building and facilitating diversity, inclusion, and equity conversations, programs, initiatives, and trainings (generally obtained in 3+ years).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Project management, evaluation and assessment skills, including knowledge of report writing and the development and evaluation of learning objectives and outcomes;
• Demonstrated anti-racism and anti-oppressive advocacy skills;
• Ability to be reflective and think abstractly about lived experiences, to reflect on one’s identity, approach, and practice, and recognize the impact power and privilege can have on one’s perspectives and actions;
• Experience working with diverse communities;
• Experience regularly supervising professional staff; and
• Leadership experience demonstrating advocacy skills in a setting with diverse youth.

Special Instructions to Applicants

For full consideration, applicants must apply for position number FA185Z at https://jobs.gmu.edu/; complete and submit the online application; and upload a cover letter, resume, and a list of three professional references with contact information.

George Mason University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, committed to promoting inclusion and equity in its community. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or veteran status, or any characteristic protected by law.