Secular Student Alliance seeks a Texas Regional Campus Organizer. This part-time position will provide direct campus organizing assistance to SSA affiliate groups within the Texas Region.
This position will involve a significant amount of travel, including frequent visits to affiliated campus groups as well as semiannual extended stays at our headquarters in Columbus, OH for training and our annual conference. Travel will often be done via rental cars, and expenses will be compensated. An ideal candidate will be self-motivated, able to work efficiently from the road and in a busy, rapidly-changing office environment, and have excellent communication skills.
As is the case with many small non-profits, this position will also assist with other areas of campus organizing and operations. Your flexibility and ability to quickly learn new skills will be incredibly valuable.
This is a part-time position (20 hours/week) with some of those hours on nights and weekends. This position will be based remotely and reports to the Regional Manager. This position will begin on or around May 15, 2013, with in-person training at our Columbus, OH office.
To apply for this position, please send the following materials to hr.co@secularstudents.org. Applications are due no later than Feb 28, 2013. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Your resume
Answers to the screening questions below
A pair of writing samples based on two out of the three prompts below
Responsibilities:
Primary campus organizer for Texas
Provide hands-on support, group-starting assistance, troubleshooting, etc. for groups within Texas
Coordinate service delivery for SSA services within Texas
Assist Campus Organizing team with Affiliation Renewal process within Texas
Communicating SSA national programs and services to groups in Texas
Attend some affiliate events in person and/or assist with planning in person
Facilitate cooperation between groups within Texas and Texas-specific cooperative events
Assisting with other areas of campus organizing as necessary
Requirements
Two years or more college experience
Experience with a campus group (a secular student group is ideal, but experience with other campus groups is also acceptable)
Must be willing to travel within Texas and make extended trips to Columbus, OH, particularly in July 2013.
Microsoft Office skills (Word and Excel)
Self-motivated & independent able to work efficiently remotely and while traveling
Organized and able to follow directions
Flexible and adaptive
Excellent at collaboration
Able to maintain focus and be productive while managing simultaneous tasks
Excellent phone, chat, and email communication skills
Drivers License and relatively clean driving record
Pluses:
Knowledge of secular/atheist/humanist/freethought movement and/or involvement in a secular grassroots group
Google Docs experience
Experience with Facebook, Twitter and other social media
Basic HTML skills
Writing and/or technical writing skills
Graphic design skills and/or experience with Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop and InDesign)
Training and/or experience in statistics
Public speaking experience
Experience with a regional network of student groups
Experience with secular movement in Texas
Compensation:
Start at $9/hour, 20 hours/week
Health, dental and vision insurance available (paid by employee)
Writing Sample Prompts:
Please include as part of your application a pair of writing samples (300-800 words each) each based on one of the three situations described below.
A student leader in your region has emailed you complaining of low turnout at meetings and apathy among its membership. Compose a reply providing them with guidance regarding their situation.
A campus group in your region is interested in hosting a speaker but is unsure of how to do so. Compose a message to them explaining how a speaker event usually works and how they can get started on their own.
A student leader in your region has emailed you with concerns about the group’s flyers being repeatedly torn down and/or vandalized. Compose a response providing them with guidance regarding their situation.
Screening Questions:
Why are you interested in this position?
How did you learn about this position?
When would you be able to start?
What are your long-term career goals? How does this job fit into your long-term plans?
Can you prove that you are either a citizen of the United States, or a legal worker and permanent resident?
What was your college GPA? Is there anything you’d like to say about it?
Have you been involved in some form of student activism? If so, briefly describe.
Are you willing to be publicly known as a supporter of the freethought movement? (The two most controversial elements of that movement being: 1. promoting respect and equal rights for atheists, agnostics, humanists and others who do not believe in a god AND 2. profound skepticism of supernatural claims.)
Do you have any reservations about collaborating with people who are much older or younger than you, or are of a different ethnic group, sexual orientation, or philosophical or political belief?
What experience(s) from your activist/volunteer work do you expect to help you most for this job? Why?
What experience(s) from your paid work experience do you expect to help you most for this job? Why?
From what you know about the SSA, what do you like best?
From what you know about the SSA, what would you most like to see improve?
Have you been involved in a regional network of Secular Student Alliance affiliate groups? If so, which one(s) and to what extent? If not, which network would you most like to become involved with, and why?
Please give the names, emails, and phone numbers of two references. They should be work, activist or academic references. We do not need personal references.
Is there anything else you would like to make us aware of as we consider your application?
The Secular Student Alliance supports a rapidly growing network of several hundred atheist, agnostic, and humanist groups on high school and college campuses. Our mission is to organize, unite, educate, and serve students and student communities that promote the ideals of scientific and critical inquiry, democracy, secularism, and human-based ethics. The Secular Student Alliance is a 501(c)(3) educational, non-profit, public charity. We were founded in 2000 by students and recent students. We are headquartered in Columbus, OH.