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Department:
Time Type:
Part timeFLSA Status:
Non-ExemptJob Description:
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.
Reporting to the Associate Director, the Student Success & Engagement Graduate Assistant (GA) plays an integral role in advancing the Center for Student Belonging’s mission to foster an inclusive, connected, and empowering campus environment. The GA supports students’ holistic development by providing individualized guidance, responding to student needs, and connecting students with resources that promote wellness, engagement, and academic success.
In this part-time role, the GA will support case management processes, facilitate workshops and outreach efforts, collaborate with campus partners, and contribute to the Center’s advising and support strategies. Through direct student interaction, intentional programmatic support, and ongoing assessment, the GA helps cultivate a sense of belonging and ensures students feel seen, valued, and supported throughout the academic year.
Provide individualized and group advising to students, student leaders, and peer programs, utilizing evidence-based frameworks from student development and leadership theory.
Facilitate reflective practice and critical inquiry with students to support goal setting, experiential learning, and holistic development.
Guide students in navigating complex organizational and community contexts, integrating developmental theory and equity-centered approaches to promote resilience and growth.
Critically evaluate advising strategies for effectiveness, inclusivity, and alignment with institutional priorities and student needs.
Collaborate with student leaders and CSB staff to conceptualize, design, and implement innovative programs and initiatives that advance student engagement, equity, and belonging.
Apply scholarly literature, developmental theory, and social justice frameworks to inform program planning and decision-making.
Lead iterative program evaluation processes, incorporating data, feedback, and research to continuously refine interventions and enhance learning outcomes.
Oversee the operational planning, coordination, and supervision of workshops, trainings, and events, applying principles of project management, risk mitigation, and inclusive facilitation.
Foster an environment that models equity, inclusion, and culturally responsive practices, ensuring events are accessible, engaging, and student-centered.
Reflect critically on event execution to inform improvements in leadership practices, program effectiveness, and institutional impact.
Design and implement assessment and research initiatives to evaluate student programs, engagement, and outcomes using qualitative and quantitative methodologies.
Synthesize findings to produce evidence-informed recommendations, contributing to programmatic and institutional decision-making.
Engage in ethical reflection on the political, social, and cultural implications of research, assessment, and evaluation within higher education contexts.
Translate research findings into actionable strategies to advance student development, equity, and organizational learning.
Develop comprehensive communication strategies to promote student programs, workshops, and initiatives, utilizing digital media, social media, and institutional platforms.
Ensure outreach strategies are inclusive, culturally responsive, and evidence-informed, effectively engaging diverse student populations.
Evaluate communication impact through analytics, feedback, and engagement data to refine outreach approaches and enhance student participation.
Oversee the management of programmatic resources, materials, and supplies, ensuring operational efficiency and sustainability.
Provide mentorship and professional development to student assistants or peer facilitators, fostering their leadership, critical thinking, and reflective practice.
Reflect on supervisory and resource management strategies to enhance organizational effectiveness and leadership capacity within higher education.
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.
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.
Assessment, Evaluation, and Research: The Assessment, Evaluation, and Research competency area focuses on the ability to design, conduct, critique, and use various AER methodologies and the results obtained from them, to utilize AER processes and their results to inform practice, and to shape the political and ethical climate surrounding AER processes and uses in higher education.
Leadership: The Leadership competency area addresses the knowledge, skills, and dispositions required of a leader, with or without positional authority.
Leadership involves both the individual role of a leader and the leadership process of individuals working together to envision, plan, and affect change in organizations and respond to broad-based constituencies and issues.
This can include working with students, student affairs colleagues, faculty, and community members.
Organizational and Human Resources: The Organizational and Human Resources competency area includes knowledge, skills, and aptitude used in the management of institutional human capital, financial, and physical resources. This competency area recognizes that student affairs professionals bring personal strengths and grow as managers through challenging themselves to build new skills in the selection, supervision, motivation, and formal evaluation of staff; resolution of conflict; management of the politics of organizational discourse; and the effective application of strategies and techniques associated with financial resources, facilities management, fundraising, technology, crisis management, risk management, and sustainable resources.
Student Learning and Development: The Student Learning and Development competency area addresses the concepts and principles of student development and learning theory. This includes the ability to apply theory to improve and inform student affairs and teaching practice.
Technology: The Technology competency area focuses on the use of digital tools, resources, and technologies for the advancement of student learning, development, and success as well as the improved performance of student affairs professionals. Included within this area are knowledge, skills, and dispositions that lead to the generation of digital literacy and digital citizenship within communities of students, student affairs professionals, faculty members, and colleges and universities.
Position Type/Expected Hours of Work:
Part-time.
20 hours per week.
Salary Range:
$18.95 per hour.
Bachelor’s degree.
Enrollment in AU’s School of Education graduate programs.
Experience in student programming and/or leadership development.
Experience designing or leading large-scale student programs.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
Ability to adapt to a fast-paced and changing environment.
Experience working effectively with diverse constituencies.
Collaborative work style and team orientation.
Additional Eligibility Qualifications:
This position is primarily in-person, with occasional virtual support.
Flexible scheduling with an expected part-time commitment of up to 20 hours/week.
Evening availability and core day availability (Wednesday, Thursday, and/or Friday).
Position requires collaboration with students, staff, and campus partners.
Other Details
This position is available only to enrolled American University students.
Please note this job announcement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
American University is an E-Verify employer.
Visit https://www.american.edu/hr/ for additional information about American University employment and benefits.
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 Workday and select the Find Jobs report which will take you to our internal career listings.
Contact Us
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