Coordinator, Community Service Practicum

Each year Adler University’s first-year graduate cohort, 200-300 students, complete 40,000 to 60,000 hours of internship work at over 100 community organizations geared towards social justice. Over the course of this practicum, students are trained to be socially responsible practitioners and agents of change in their community. This practicum has been operating for well over a decade and leaves a large footprint in the Chicago helping-professions community.

Under the general guidance of the Chair and Online Program Manager of the Social Justice Practicum, the Social Justice Practicum Coordinator, on the Chicago campus, will coordinate Adler University’s hallmark Social Justice Practicum (SJP), a practicum required of all first-year graduate students that is anchored in Adler University’s mission of social justice and community engagement. Coordinating this internship involves, organizing students into groups for workshops, meeting with and coordinating with workshop facilitators, and creating a yearlong workshop schedule, for participation in workshops, overseeing the payment for facilitators, working with the Registrar’s office to create sections for students workshops including, but not limited to, programs such as DCES that require special consideration for practicum placements, students with accommodations from Adler Disability Services, etc., coordinating accompanying educational workshops for students, managing student placement at an organization, monitoring student progress, final grading after completion, coordinate with the Manager of Community Partnerships to organize the SJP Student Symposium, and evidence-based program review to prepare for the next year. This role will work closely with the Manager of Community Partnerships to assist them in the Manager’s duty to resolve any issues that arise between students and their SJP sites, at the Manager’s direction.

As a co-curricular program, the Social Justice Practicum Coordinator leverages social justice knowledge and internship industry best practices to promote the mission and vision of the Social Justice Practicum and Adler University. They will serve as a pivotal link as a student coordinator, interfacing, inspiring, guiding, and challenging students to become change agents rooted in social justice pedagogy. This role is vital in its support of culture development and management efforts that the Center administers throughout the academic year.

Those who are looking to make a difference through experiential education, have a passion for training students to be future colleagues, have excellent multi-tasking organizational skills, and want to join a team where they can be a thought-partner are encouraged to apply.

Education/Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree is required.
• Experience working in an academic environment, community agencies, or non-profits preferred.
• Must reside in Chicago

K/S/A

• Excellent written communication skills
• Ability to encourage and inspire students through their communication
• Adhere to polite but professional boundaries when interfacing with students
• Superior organizational skills
• Must be very detail-oriented
• Ability to multi-task
• Quick thinker
• Good verbal communication skills
• Must be a self-starter, capable of taking initiative and working independently on projects
• Ability to work with diverse groups and populations
• Knowledge about or experience with service learning, community engagement, social justice and/or community partnerships a plus
• Ability to work as part of team
• Ability to consistently identify opportunities for improvement and make recommendations based on observations
• Strong demonstration of alignment with Adler’s social justice mission and vision
• Strong critical thinking, problem-solving and visioning acumen
• Ability to proactively identify challenges and barriers to stated objective and employ assistance in addressing these
• Strong collaboration acumen and abilities
• Demonstration of Emotional Intelligence and professional maturity
• Proficient knowledge of MS Office (Work, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook)
• Strong research acumen and abilities

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Oversees all tracking related to students’ Social Justice Practicum requirements, including applications, evaluations and hour logs
• Works under the guidance of the Manager of Community Partnerships to resolve student and site issues
• Functions as the point person for students and responding to queries for information from students
• Coordinates workshop series as it occurs throughout the month
• Partakes in event planning, including semi-annual student presentations; provides general administrative support such as filing, copying, setting up meetings, responding to phone calls and emails and other tasks as assigned.
• Assists in the maintenance and upkeep of an online database.
• Works closely with work study students assigned to the Center.

Work Environment (Physical Demands):  The usual and customary methods of performing the jobs functions require the following physical demands: some lifting, carrying, pushing, and/or pulling and significant fine finger dexterity. Generally, the job requires 80% sitting, 10% walking, and 10% standing. This job is performed in a generally clean and healthy environment.

Universal Core Behaviors:

Communication:

• Effectively expresses oneself in all oral and written communications.
• Exhibits good listening and comprehension skills.
• Keeps others informed, as well as responds, in a timely manner.
• Demonstrates match between words and actions.
• Responds with tact, diplomacy, respect and composure when dealing with others.
• Promotes the spirit and essence of the School’s Vision, Mission, Values and Key Strategies through both verbal and written communication.

Teamwork and Collaboration:

• Cooperates with others toward the achievement of common goals.
• Seeks consensus and win-win solutions to problems and conflicts.
• Contributes actively and participates fully in team initiatives.
• Puts success of the team above own interests.
• Builds and maintains constructive work relationships.

Responsive to Change:

• Supports changes in the work environment.
• Displays a proactive, problem-solving approach toward work.
• Committed to life-long learning by continuously increasing skills, knowledge and effectiveness.
• Actively seeks and initiates creative and innovative solutions.
• Exercises sound, accurate and informed independent judgment when needed.

Quality-Driven and Accountable:

• Results-oriented and committed to quality through continuous process improvement.
• Eliminates ineffective activities and closes performance gaps.
• Anticipates and responds to customer needs.
• Monitors own performance, accept responsibility for actions and actively seeks feedback.
• Meets deadlines and completes projects and activities in professional, timely manner.
• Seeks opportunities to increase productivity and/or reduce costs while maintaining highest quality standards (fiscally responsible).

Support of Vision, Mission, Values, Key Strategies:

• Supports and models the School’s Values of: social interest, compassion, justice, respect for the individual, honors diversity and difference, intellectual rigor, optimism and collaboration.
• Articulates the School’s Vision, Mission, and Key Strategies in a way to educate others.
• Demonstrates active commitment in advancing the School’s Vision, Mission and Key Strategies.
• Exhibits personal integrity, honesty, zeal and compassion.
• Aligns work processes to advance the School’s strategic plan and key strategies.

Equal Opportunity Employer

It is the policy of Adler University that all persons are entitled to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) protection. The University does not discriminate against any individual for employment because of age, religion, race, color, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, marital status, physical or mental disability, military status (including unfavorable discharge from the military), or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law. As part of the Adler's equal employment opportunity policy, Adler will also take affirmative action to ensure that minority group individuals, females, disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, other protected veterans, Armed Forces service medal veterans, and qualified disabled persons are introduced into our workforce and considered for promotional opportunities.