WIDA TECHNICAL WRITER

Job no: 233879-AS
Work type: Staff-Full Time
Department: EDUC/WCER
Location: Madison
Categories: Communications, Editing, Broadcasting, Media



Position Summary:

WIDA, an organization within the University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin Center for Education Research, provides trusted tools and resources for educators of multilingual learners in early care and education programs through Grade 12 (wida.wisc.edu). WIDA offers a fully integrated, research-based academic language development system, including language standards, assessments, professional learning, research, and technical assistance. For a brief overview of WIDA, you can view our introduction video at https://vimeo.com/373209088 . This position will be housed within WIDA's Communications and Market Expansion Department and will report to the Assistant Director. The Technical Writer will be responsible for authoring and updating technical assessment documentation on an annual basis, collaborating on the design and development of assessment training materials, and gathering and implementing feedback from internal and external stakeholders. While the majority of the work will be focused on technical writing (approximately 70% time), this position will also review and edit materials (approximately 30% time).

While it is preferred that the selected candidate live in or relocate to the Madison area, WIDA will consider telecommuting for the right candidate. Visit https://madison.wisc.edu/ for more information on what Madison has to offer.

WIDA is committed to challenging linguistic discrimination, cultural biases, and racism in education. WIDA values linguistic and cultural diversity both as an end and a means for success in the field of education. As such, we strongly encourage applications from a diverse pool of candidates who champion social justice as a core value.

Position Duties:

List of Duties

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: Diversity and Inclusion

Degree and Area of Specialization:

Bachelor's degree required in field of communications, English, linguistics, measurement, or related field.

Minimum Years and Type of Relevant Work Experience:

Required
*Minimum 2 years' experience of developing technical documentation and training materials, preferable in the field of language testing.
*Minimum 2 years' experience of active participation in all phases of the documentation lifecycle, from ideation to creation, maintenance and retirement.
*Experience using technology, including Adobe Creative Suite, InDesign, and Microsoft Suite.
*Proven ability to quickly learn complex topics and make them easily understandable.
*Demonstrated ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously.
*Demonstrated ability to author, review, and edit technical documentation.
*Highly organized, deadline oriented and excellent attention to detail.
*Excellent interpersonal skills, including demonstrated ability to work in a team environment.
*A value of promoting and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion.
*A willingness to engage in and deepen knowledge of WIDA's Social Justice value.

Preferred
*Experience collaborating on development projects with external vendors.
*Multilingual or bilingual/bi-literate in Spanish.
*Experience with PDF document accessibility (UA or WCAG 2.0).
*Experience with K-12, special education, education research, psychometrics.

Additional Information:

Who we are

The Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), established in 1964, is one of the first and largest university-based education research and development centers globally. WCER's researchers and staff work to make teaching and learning as effective as possible for all ages and all people.

WCER at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's highly ranked public School of Education is one of the world's first and most productive education research centers. Our center has helped scholars and practitioners develop, submit, conduct, and share grant-funded education research for more than 50 years.

WCER is an incubator for advances in education policy and practice. It provides services and resources for UW-Madison researchers, graduate students, collaborators, educators, funders, and communities locally and worldwide.

Our Mission

WCER's mission is to improve educational outcomes for diverse student populations, impact education practice positively and foster collaborations among academic disciplines and practitioners.

Our Values

At WCER, all employees share five fundamental organizational values. We take pride in these values guiding the purpose and quality of our work and interactions within ourselves and our outside stakeholders.
The values that the work and people of WCER strive to uphold are:

Innovation and Excellence. Continuous improvement is a driver for excellence. We innovate and improve in our work to advance education through leading research and development.

Equitable Education. Equitable education is essential to a healthy society. We aim to reverse imbalances and injustices in education through our work.

Affirming and Increasing Diversity. Individual differences and group diversity inspire creative and equitable outcomes. We actively affirm and seek to increase such diversity in our center.

Healthy Workplace. The well-being of our workplace enhances success for all. We commit to a workplace based on mutual respect and transparency.

Partnering Across Differences. Diverse backgrounds and expertise improve the quality of our work. We collaborate across disciplines, methodologies, organizations, and communities to strengthen our research and development outcomes.

WCER's Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison and The Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER). Individual differences and group diversity inspire creative and equitable outcomes. WCER actively affirms values and seeks to increase diversity in our everyday interactions, practices, and policies.

Our center is conscious of inequities in the field of education and how these disproportionately harm the most marginalized members of our society, including BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color) individuals, people from poor and working-class backgrounds, people with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ people. We firmly believe that these communities must be centered in the work we do. Hence, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or members of other marginalized groups.

For more information and news about our center, please go to https://wcer.wisc.edu/

Department(s):

A177500-SCHOOL OF EDUCATION/WCER

Work Type:

Full Time: 100%

Appointment Type, Duration:

Ongoing/Renewable

Salary:

Minimum $50,000 ANNUAL (12 months)
Depending on Qualifications

Instructions to Applicants:

Please click on the "" button to start the application process. As part of the application process, you will be required to upload a cover letter addressed to Heather Buettner, a current resume, and a reference list with the contact information of at least three professional references.

Contact:

Franchesca Beswick
franchesca.beswick@wisc.edu
608-263-4221
Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1 (out-of-state: TTY: 800.947.3529, STS: 800.833.7637) and above Phone number (See RELAY_SERVICE for further information. )





Official Title:

EDITOR(R92DN) or ASSOC EDITOR(R92FN)

Employment Class:

Academic Staff-Renewable

Job Number:

233879-AS

The University of Wisconsin is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. We promote excellence through diversity and encourage all qualified individuals to apply.

If you need to request an accommodation because of a disability, you can find information about how to make a request at the following website: https://employeedisabilities.wisc.edu/disability-accommodation-information-for-applicants/

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is engaged in a Title and Total Compensation (TTC) Project to redesign job titles and compensation structures. As a result of the TTC project, official job titles on current job postings may change. Job duties and responsibilities will remain the same. For more information please visit: https://hr.wisc.edu/title-and-total-compensation-study/ .

Employment will require a criminal background check. It will also require you and your references to answer questions regarding sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department .

Applications Open: May 4 2021 Central Daylight Time
Applications Close: May 31 2021 11:55 PM Central Daylight Time