Graduate Community Building and Program Development Assistant (Student)

About this role

Work Where You Learn: Build Experience, Grow Skills, and Contribute to Your University Community.   This position is available only to enrolled American University students.

Most student positions at American University are eligible to use Federal Work Study (FWS) awards, with a few exceptions. FWS funds cannot be applied to janitorial, construction, partisan or sectarian positions. For information or questions regarding FWS funds, please contact American University's Office of Financial Aid.   Important guidance for current American University employees: American University current employees, including those employed in student positions, must apply through their employee Workday account. If you are a current employee at American University, please log into your employee Workday account and select the Find Jobs report which will take you to our internal career listings. Applying outside of your employee Workday account may cause delays in a hire process. Department:

Education & Support for LGBTQIA+

Time Type: Part time

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt

Job Description:

Summary:

The Center for Student Belonging (CSB) is one of the key units within the Student Engagement portfolio of the Division of Student Affairs. CSB fosters an inclusive, identity-conscious, and belonging driven campus environment where students can explore their identities, build connections, and develop leadership skills. Graduate Assistants are central to the Center’s mission, helping to plan and implement programs, support students, and contribute to a campus culture that promotes belonging and community engagement.

The Community Building and Program Development Graduate Assistant (GA) advances the CSB’s mission to support students’ academic success, personal growth, and overall well-being through intentional learning experiences. Reporting to the Assistant Director, the GA helps design, implement, and assess initiatives and programs that promote students’ intellectual, social, and emotional development with a specific focus on the LGBTQIA+ and Disability+ communities.

In this part-time role, the GA collaborates with CSB staff, faculty and staff partners, and students to support workshops, reflection-based learning activities, skill-building programs, and wellness-focused initiatives. The GA contributes to programming, facilitates student learning sessions, and helps develop resources that empower students to navigate challenges, build resilience, and thrive both inside and outside the classroom. Through this work, the GA strengthens the Center’s commitment to holistic, equity-minded, student-centered development across the academic year.

Essential Functions: • Facilitate holistic student development programs.

• Plan and implement workshops, dialogues, interactive programs and activities that support personal growth, leadership skills, and student identity exploration.

• Support large scale center events (e.g., Connection Socials, National Coming Out Day, Women's History Month).

• Provide direct support and mentorship to students.

• Meet with students individually and/or in small groups to provide guidance on navigating academic, social, and leadership challenges.

• Support students in reflecting on experiences, setting goals, and developing skills for success.

• Collaborate with student leaders to enhance engagement.

• Partner with student organizations and peer programs to design initiatives that promote belonging and community connection.

• Coordinate program logistics and on-site support.

• Assist in the planning and execution of Center events and initiatives, ensuring seamless operation and an inclusive environment.

• Support CSB and Student Engagement programs by staffing daytime, late night and weekend programs as needed.

• Supervise and support student assistants or volunteers contributing to programs.

• Conduct assessment and evaluation of learning outcomes.

• Create surveys via Qualtrics; Gather qualitative and quantitative data from participants to assess impact on student development and engagement.

• Summarize findings in reports, presentations, or visual dashboards to inform program improvement.

• Support communications and visibility for learning initiatives.

• Develop content for newsletters, social media, and other communications to highlight programs.

• Collaborate with staff to increase awareness and participation in CSB programs.

• Maintain resources and materials for learning programs.

• Organize and track supplies, equipment, and instructional materials to ensure readiness for all workshops and events.

Competencies: • Social Justice and Inclusion: While there are many conceptions of social justice and inclusion in various contexts, for the purposes of this competency area, it is defined here as both a process and a goal which includes the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to create learning environments that foster equitable participation of all groups while seeking to address and acknowledge issues of oppression, privilege, and power. This competency involves student affairs educators who have a sense of their own agency and social responsibility that includes others, their community, and the larger global context. Student affairs educators may incorporate social justice and inclusion competencies into their practice through seeking to meet the needs of all groups, equitably distributing resources, raising social consciousness, and repairing past and current harms on campus communities.

• Advising and Supporting: Addresses the knowledge, skills, and dispositions related to providing advising and support to individuals and groups through direction, feedback, critique, referral, and guidance. Through developing advising and supporting strategies that take into account self-knowledge and the needs of others, we play critical roles in advancing the holistic wellness of ourselves, our students, and our colleagues.

• Assessment, Evaluation, and Research: The Assessmen

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