Messy Conversations Federal Work Study - S. Beth Lohre [work Study] - Remote Eligible
Messy Conversations Federal Work Study (FWS)
Start Date: 10/13/2025 End Date: 6/30/2026 Number of Positions: 2, One student will focus on administrative support/documentation & backup, the other on outreach to students, faculty, AU community & beyond Hours per Week: 20 hrs/2 students Weekends Required: No Evenings Required: Yes Supervisor: Sara Beth Lohre Alternate Supervisor: Asa Wilder This position allows for remote work Yes/No: Yes Percentage of time that could be remote (0-100%): 100% Method to assess remote work: Attendance at Messy Conversations 3:45 PM PT-5:45 PM PT + Weekly meetings to discuss work/progress & support in addition to weekly Tuesday Planning Team meetings--4-5 PM PT in addition to workload as decided and two-way feedback sessions.
Job Description
Work-Study Position: Messy Conversations Federal Work Study (FWS) About Messy Conversations Messy Conversations is a community dialogue series centering lived experience, collective learning, and relational accountability. We host weekly conversations, share resources, and maintain a growing public archive.
Role Summary The work study (FWS) supports the full lifecycle of our weekly conversations—planning, outreach, live-session support, and post-session archiving—while helping maintain our communications channels and records. This position is cross-trained to cover all functions.
Work Study Students (2) will work collaboratively with the other work-study student to define roles and division of labor each quarter so the work is covered smoothly and sustainably--roles assigned based on skills, experience, willingness to learn and divided up by the students along with the supervisor's guidance. This is an opportunity to connect AU resources with the existing and always-changing larger community and to develop skills needed to amplify voices on issues of anti-racism and social justice including communication, practice, documentation, networking, marketing, outreach, and community-building, among many others.
Key Responsibilities Event Operations (live on Zoom)--all duties will take a few minutes to a few hours depending on the person and their learning. Students are encouraged to build, develop and adapt our current organizational systems to best support their work and their way of engaging in the work. Attend weekly Messy Conversations (typically Mondays, 3:45-5:45 PM PT) to provide live support (resource links in chat, light moderation, and troubleshooting) (2 hours). Capture and label session artifacts (screenshots as appropriate; chat transcript; links, slides, Padlet items shared by participants) Download, label, and archive all session materials promptly in shared drives. Planning & Coordination Attend weekly planning meetings (typically Tuesdays, 4:00 PM PT) and implement assigned follow-ups. Coordinate with the team to gather session info (titles, guests, bios, resources) for flyers, invites, and the archive. Help manage incoming/outgoing email related to announcements and RSVPs. Communications & Outreach Create a weekly promo cadence: draft flyer by Tuesday; share a test reminder to the team by Wednesday; distribute the announcement by Thursday morning; send calendar invites by Friday as needed. Maintain and update the Messy Conversations website/pages as needed. Create social media content and short highlight clips from past sessions for posting/embedding. Documentation, Publishing & Archiving Upload recorded videos to YouTube and link them to our LibGuides/archive promptly. Maintain accurate attendance counts and collect participant contact info in accordance with program policies. Keep the master mailing list current and maintain the "Complete Sessions" spreadsheet (title, date, guests, attendance, links). Support broader archiving initiatives and help refine our knowledge-management systems.
Partnerships & Logistics Coordinate with community partners (e.g., Malik Books) to distribute digital gift certificates when applicable and archive related receipts. Assist with recruiting and onboarding future student staff when transitions arise. Growth Projects (as capacity allows) Explore turning Messy Conversations into a podcast (editing, distribution to major platforms). Support grant research and drafting to sustain the series.
Qualifications Must be Federal Work-Study (FWS) eligible through your institution. Reliable availability for Mondays at 3:45-5:45 PM PT (events) and Tuesdays at 4:00-5 PM PT (planning). Strong organization and follow-through; able to manage details and deadlines. Comfortable with Zoom, Google Workspace/Drive; willing to learn YouTube uploads, basic video clipping, and LibGuides. Clear, warm written communication; basic flyer creation (Canva or equivalent). Collaborative, community-minded, and able to hold confidentiality.
Hours & Compensation Part-time student position paid via Federal Work-Study at your school's hourly rate and guidelines. Scheduling is coordinated with the team based on event cadence and deadlines.