Project Coordinator, Diverse BookFinder

The Position

The Diverse BookFinder is seeking a part time Project Coordinator for a 9 month period beginning January 4, 2021. The Project Coordinator will be responsible for working closely with the project team, web consultants and users both on the Bates campus and in the wider world to support maintenance, development and promotion of the online resource. Specific responsibilities of this position are grouped into two main areas: 1) Communicating with website creators, managers and users 2) Diverse BookFinder outreach, including social media development/management, and community engagement.

The Diverse BookFinder is an online, searchable database and associated physical collection designed to facilitate the discoverability and exploration of multicultural picture books. Our goal is to diversify and balance bookshelves everywhere, that all our children can find themselves reflected and celebrated in libraries, schools and homes across the nation.

This is a part-time, 9 month position beginning in January 2021. It is approximately 10-15 hours per week and not eligible for benefits.

About

Bates is internationally recognized as a leading liberal arts college, attracting 2,000 students from across the U.S. and around the world.

Since 1855, Bates has been dedicated to educating the whole person through a creative and rigorous scholarship in a collaborative residential community. Committed to opportunity and excellence, Bates has always admitted students without regard to gender, race, religion, or national origin.

Cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action, Bates prepares leaders sustained by a love of learning and zeal for responsible stewardship of the wider world. Bates engages the forces — intellectual trends, demographic changes, and technology — that are transforming higher education and the world into which our students graduate.

Bates has highly competitive admissions, graduates over 90 percent of its entering students, and more than half of its alumni earn graduate degrees. Bates employs 200 faculty members and 550 staff.

The college is proud of deep roots in the Lewiston/Auburn community, Maine’s second-largest urban area with a population of approximately 65,000. Bates is located on a beautiful, 133-acre, traditional New England campus in Lewiston, an emerging city with an entrepreneurial climate, a lively arts scene, and a dynamic business community. Bates is 35 miles north of Portland, 140 miles north of Boston, and 350 miles north of New York City.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have:

• At least a Bachelor’s Degree in the Social Sciences (e.g. Psychology, Sociology, Economics, Education), preference will be given to candidates with library experience.

• Knowledge of and interest in diverse children’s picture books along with training, experience or background in critical race theory.

• Excellent analytical and problem solving skills; ability to synthesize complex or diverse information.

• Ability to work at both the broad/conceptual and detailed/implementation levels.

• Proficiency in data management systems and basic computer applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Apps). Willingness and ability to learn additional applications as needed. (e.g. Wordpress, Facebook).

• Advanced oral and written communication skills.

• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills, including the ability to interact with people from all different levels of race/culture awareness.

• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.

• Ability to work individually and as part multiple teams (e.g. IT, Library and Diverse BookFinder).

• Ability to work with stakeholders, consultants and end users to gather and refine requirements and resolve issues.

• Review of applications will begin on December 7th. Work can be completed in person or remotely (subject to approval). Remote candidates from Maine, Missouri, Washington State, and Colorado are encouraged to apply.