A paid position to support Taylor design-thinking outreach and education to promote changemaking and social impact for 2020-2021 year. Specific employment dates will be determined with the supervisor and could include summer employment.
Download all Taylor Student Employment job descriptions (pdf).
You can also submit your application via email to taylor@tulane.edu.
Download the application as a word document.
Taylor is seeking a diverse team of responsible, open-minded, motivated, and dynamic “changemaking” Student Fellows and Graduate Assistants (GAs) who are excited to join a culture of collaborative social innovation and design thinking at Tulane and in New Orleans. Taylor “Student Fellows” are more than the usual student worker and will be treated as paraprofessionals. Taylor GAs are expected to perform to a high level of professionalism. Both Fellows and GAs will shape our continued growth and impact.
Specifically, Taylor Center Student Fellows and GAs:
- Are ambassadors of the Taylor Center engaging the Tulane and New Orleans community through on and off-campus programming and social media
- Create, implement, and communicate Taylor programs and outreach materials
- Are self-starters who can self-structure their work and are comfortable with ambiguity
- Possess the initiative to thrive in a dynamic environment
- Must be comfortable working at a fast pace
Taylor Graduate Assistant Employee Commitments
- Work for the time commitment stipulated in the individual job description, which may include summer
- Work 15-20 hours per week, depending on the specific Some weeks will be busier, and some weeks will be lighter, depending on the specific position.
- Work evening and weekend hours, as required and communicated in
Eligibility
- Must be enrolled as a student at Tulane in both Fall and Spring 2020/2021
- Must be in good academic standing for the term prior to selection and during entire period of employment
- Must maintain at least a cumulative GPA of 3.0
Training /Orientation
- Student employee orientation on Friday, August 23, 2020 from 12-5 pm
- Required for Taylor Student Fellows
- Not Required but recommended for R&S GAs
Position Summary
The Design Thinking GAs at the Taylor Warehouse will support the work of the Taylor Center at its satellite location. This work will specifically engage students, staff, and faculty at Tulane’s schools with presences downtown (Public Health and Tropical Medicine; Social Work; Medicine; and Freeman’s Stewart Center), as well as programs that engage non-Tulane affiliated changemakers.
Performance Standards/Duties
Primary duties include providing support, as part of the design thinking team, such as:
- Design of design thinking programs (~50%):
- The GAs will support the design of design thinking offerings, specifically those engage students, staff and faculty at Tulane’s schools with presences downtown (Public Health and Tropical Medicine; Social Work; Medicine; and Freeman’s Stewart Center), as well as programs that engage non-Tulane affiliated changemakers.
- Event support (~25%):
- Taylor Center recently opened a new 1860ft space in the Warehouse District. The space is available for many audiences to conduct work that is consistent with Taylor’s mission (cultivating changemakers, social innovation, design thinking). The GAs will support the logistics of events and workshops hosted at the space.
- Development and support of operations (25%)
- As the space and our programs develop, it is important that we build clear and adaptive processes for things like: inventory management; house rules; fee-for-service; marketing and communications; CRM; monitoring, evaluation, and learning; thought-leadership; etc. The GAs will work with Taylor Center team to create process that integrate programs and operations that occur primarily downtown with those that occur primarily uptown.
These percentages for each responsibility are approximate; they will change depending on candidate interest, and they will change over time. For example, thought-leadership will become a larger part of the job description if the position extends to next academic year and if the candidates are interested.
Required Qualifications for Graduate Assistants for Design Thinking at Taylor Warehouse
- Enrolled in a degree-bearing graduate program at Tulane at the masters or doctoral level. Applicants can be enrolled in any discipline or department at Tulane
- Interest in social impact and changemaking skill development.
Preferred Skills for Graduate Assistants for Design Thinking at Taylor Warehouse
Experience with design thinking, social innovation, change-making or related fields is preferred but not required. The ideal candidate:
- Commits to creating more just, sustainable, and equitable societies
- Embodies a learning mentality, embracing curiosity and open-mindedness at the individual and organizational levels
- Thrives in energetic and ambiguous environments
Required Qualifications for all Taylor Student Employees
Character Traits
- Approachable and friendly demeanor, with a strong customer service orientation
- Flexible and adaptable
- Empathy: have strong people and relationship-nurturing skills
- A can-do, optimistic attitude
- Self-motivated and able to work independently when needed
- A team player: Able to collaborative effectively and generously as part of a team, with diverse students, staff, faculty and community partners
Competencies
- Strong oral, written communication, and public speaking skills
- Strong relationship building and people skills
- Ability to prioritize, handle multiple tasks, and work
- Ability to balance professional and personal boundaries
- Writing skills for short blog posts, email communications to a general audience, use social media and write reports
Knowledge/Skills
- Strong problem solving, organization, presentation, and decision-making skills
- Working knowledge of standard computer programs, specifically Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Publisher, PowerPoint), Google Drive, BOX, desktop publishing, and/or website maintenance
- Comfortable using social media (FB, Twitter, Instagram)
- Good time-management skills: must be punctual, timely, and deadline-oriented
- Strong problem solving, organization, presentation, & decision-making skills
Preferred Qualifications for All Taylor Student Employees
- An interest in social innovation as a field (i.e., changemaker, social entrepreneurship, design thinking, community engagement)
- Proven leadership skills via student organizations, employment, event planning, community service and/or outreach
- Experience in advertising, communications, marketing, promotions, or other outreach experience via business, class projects, student or community
- Photography or multimedia experience and graphic design skills
- Work experience with community agencies, social enterprises, and/or non-profit organizations (volunteer, internship, or paid)
- Working knowledge of campus cultures, departments, student organizations, and other resources relevant to Taylor
Remuneration
- The GA for Design Facilitation will work 10 hours/week on average from August to May (specific hours/week might vary from 10/week to 20 hours/week at times, owing to the timing of specific design projects). Pay rate is est. $15/hour, paid in monthly stipends ($5,000 total)
- Students are eligible to apply to Taylor student funding for up to $1500/year.
Supervision
The GA for Design Thinking will report to the Visiting Assistant Professor, Rafe Steinhauer.