Virtual Community Manager (Office of Undergraduate STEM Education)

The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), the leading national higher education organization committed to advancing the vitality and public standing of liberal education by making quality and equity the foundations for excellence in undergraduate education in service to democracy seeks a Virtual Community Manager in the Office of Undergraduate STEM Education (OUSE). 

The Association of American Colleges and Universities serves as the virtual home for STEM Central, one of the nation’s premier digital habitats for undergraduate STEM faculty. Since 2001, STEM Central has hosted working groups, community polls, and private project sites for supporting and showcasing the work of STEM faculty. STEM Central seeks to: 1) provide professional development for STEM faculty; 2) maintain and grow a virtual space for STEM faculty to build community; and 3) position STEM Central for national influence in the undergraduate STEM reform community. With a decided emphasis on broadening the participation of marginalized groups in STEM, STEM Central relies upon the voices of those faculty who have been the most successful in creating and sustaining the institutional and departmental conditions for all students to thrive and succeed. For further information about AAC&U’s STEM Central, visit us at www.stem-central.org.

The digital-savvy Virtual Community Manager will provide overall direction for building, expanding, and monitoring, promoting, and maintaining the social media outlets, online forums, content, activity, and dissemination outlets of STEM Central. The ideal candidate will have a passion for the reform of undergraduate STEM education. The Virtual Community Manager will be responsible for ensuring that all digital communications and interactions of STEM Central are aligned with ongoing reform efforts of AAC&U. As such, the Virtual Community Manager will be the first point of contact for STEM faculty, web developers, and external funders. It is expected that the Virtual Community Manager will be a strategic thinker with a strong work ethic, and congenial personality.

This is a full-time position and reports directly to the Vice President for Undergraduate STEM Education.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

• Curate engaging undergraduate STEM reform content for STEM Central
• Engage with the national STEM Central community of STEM faculty and administrators
• Monitor and analyze web traffic and relevant community metrics
• Contribute to the development and implementation of STEM Central initiatives
• Liaise with STEM Central web developers and content contributors, as well as AAC&U staff in the Office of Undergraduate STEM Education
• Contribute to the knowledge base through original content via peer-reviewed publications, blogs, and social media posts
• Other related duties as assigned

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, writing, journalism, marketing, or related field. Master’s degree preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge of foundational theories, frameworks, and practices that inform undergraduate STEM education, in general, and STEM faculty development, more specifically
• Advanced knowledge of and extensive experience with the LifeRay platform, web hosting, Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), project management software, and virtual conference and data sharing platforms
• Proficient in Google analytics
• Experience in managing social media platforms
• Knowledge of marketing industry trends
• Strong organizational and project management skills
• Ability to work collaboratively and effectively in a dynamic, interdisciplinary team environment and on short timelines
• Strong interpersonal skills and high emotional intelligence
• Able to work independently and without supervision; demonstrated ability to handle complex projects and prioritizing and managing multiple tasks under tight deadlines and time constraints

Application Instructions

Application materials should be forwarded to jobs@aacu.org.  The deadline for applications is December 15, 2021. Required materials to be submitted include: 1) a cover letter outlining qualifications, skills, and commitment to empowering the professional lives of others; 2) most recent CV; and 3) contact information for three references.

AAC&U believes that a broadly diverse staff is critical to achieving excellence as a national higher education association. We seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. We are fully committed to equal employment opportunity and compliance with the full range of fair employment practices and non-discrimination laws.