Communications Assistant

Student Communications Assistant (Title Code 4920: Student Assistant III)

Appointment: March 4, 2019 through May 15, 2020 at 10 hours/week, Work days can be Monday – Thursday.
Preference for candidates who are able to continue during summer 2019 at 20 hours/week (please address this in your application).

Compensation: $16.50 per hour

Application Deadline: March 3, 2019, at 5PM
Applicants must be matriculated undergraduate or graduate students at UC Berkeley. To apply, submit the following items by email as a single pdf to rzfanshel@berkeley.edu with the subject line “Communications Assistant.”

  1. Cover letter
  2. Résumé (limit to 2 pages)
  3. Contact information for 2 professional and/or academic references

About the Berkeley Food Institute:

The Berkeley Food Institute (BFI) at the University of California, Berkeley seeks to transform food systems to expand access to healthy, affordable food and promote sustainable and equitable food production. We empower new leaders with capacities to cultivate diverse, just, resilient, and healthy food systems. We pursue our mission through interdisciplinary programs in education, research, policy, communications, and community engagement.

Position:

The role of the Communications Assistant is to provide vital support for the Berkeley Food Institute’s external communication activities. The position works closely with BFI’s Program Manager with additional interaction with the full BFI staff. BFI will thoroughly train the incumbent in print and digital communications tools, though preference is given to candidates with working knowledge of the software and platforms listed under “Qualifications” below.

Responsibilities to include:

Online Communications:

  • Keep BFI web pages up-to-date
  • Create and distribute monthly newsletter of announcements and upcoming BFI events, working with BFI team
  • During summer: create and distribute weekly Student Opportunities newsletter, working with BFI team
  • Create postings for BFI-sponsored events
  • Create regular content for BFI’s Facebook and Twitter channels
  • Other digital communications projects as needed

Material Design and Media Relations:

  • Assist in content and design of BFI print materials, using consistent branding
  • Assist in creation of a BFI public relations materials as needed
  • Upkeep of BFI Salesforce database, particularly in tracking interactions with media

Event Support:

  • Assist with planning and logistics of BFI events

Administration (primarily during summer):

  • Assist with purchasing and reimbursements
  • Perform research, such as updating list of food-related classes at Berkeley, and other research projects as needed
  • Other administrative tasks as needed to support BFI staff

Required Qualifications:

  • Excellent communication skills, with particular attention to details, both written and visual, particularly in regards to communications across diverse groups
  • Strong skills in copyediting and proofreading
  • Experience with email marketing campaigns, with a preference for knowledge of MailChimp
  • Skills in Adobe Creative Cloud, particularly Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator
  • Experience with WordPress platform
  • Experience with social media platforms and metrics
  • Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team
  • Ability to work independently and to foresee, identify, and recommend solutions in the position’s areas of responsibility
  • Strong attention to detail
  • Comfort with creativity, innovation, and hard work
  • Professionalism, courtesy, punctuality, and good humor
  • Interest and experience in agri-food systems
  • Interest and experience in public service and social equity, as core tenets of the UC Berkeley experience and the Berkeley Food Institute mission

Equal Employment Opportunity:

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status. For more information about your rights as an applicant, see: http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/upload/poster_screen_reader_optimized.pdf

For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy, see:
http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct