As the Professional Development Student Manager for Continuing Education, you work closely with Associate Director Erin Herrmann, the 
Professional Development Student Manager (PDSM): Mentoring & Onboarding and the 
Professional Development Student Manager (PDSM): Communications to collaboratively coordinate all aspects of staff professional development across key programs and initiatives at the Writing Center, including tutor onboarding and ongoing education, the Mentoring Program, and events—from all-staff gatherings to staff socials.
Professional Development Student Manager (PDSM): Mentoring & Onboarding and the Professional Development Student Manager (PDSM): Communications to collaboratively coordinate all aspects of staff professional development across key programs and initiatives at the Writing Center, including tutor onboarding and ongoing education, the Mentoring Program, and events—from all-staff gatherings to staff socials. In your role as PDSM for Continuing Education, your primary responsibilities include overseeing Tutor Talk, Linguistic Justice + Diversity Training (LJ + DT), and any other PD content and sessions for tutors throughout the year to support tutors’ continual growth as tutors and student employees. You take the lead on organizing all aspects of these PD sessions, including developing agendas and materials, preparing facilitators, and organizing groups and scheduling. Beyond Tutor Talk and LJ + DT, additional PD sessions may involve collaborations with other Writing Center and/or DePaul programs, such as Meet Me at the Mission, or Student Employment, or even collaborations with other writing centers in the Chicagoland area through events like high school writing center visits, trips to other college writing centers, or hosting mini-conferences among Chicagoland writing tutors. Your ideas and vision for shaping continuing education are also strongly encouraged as the PD team develops content and events to support tutors’ growth throughout the year.
In addition to the role-specific work described above, you collaborate with your fellow PDSMs on planning and hosting events, support your fellow PDSMs in their responsibilities as able, serve as a 
Mentor, collaborate with other student managers to facilitate Tutor Talk, attend weekly team meetings, and may work as a Student Manager on Call (SMOC) during regular Writing Center open hours each quarter.
Mentor, collaborate with other student managers to facilitate Tutor Talk, attend weekly team meetings, and may work as a Student Manager on Call (SMOC) during regular Writing Center open hours each quarter.✨ Principal Duties & Responsibilities
As a Student Manager, duties and responsibilities ebb and flow throughout each quarter and over the course of an academic year. We are committed to making sure your duties and responsibilities are realistic and manageable.
- Prepare quarterly Tutor Talk agendas and related materials
- Support student managers as Tutor Talk facilitators through initial facilitator training and session-specific preparation throughout the year
- Organize small groups for Tutor Talk and ensure location is secured for each session
- Oversee scheduling—initial placeholders in WCOnline, record-keeping elsewhere as needed, and ongoing changes—for Tutor Talk
- Follow the Writing Center Scheduling Order of Operations each quarter and communicate scheduling updates and placeholder updates regularly in the #smac channel of Slack
- Gather relevant resources and manage follow-up with any tutors who are absent
Develop and implement Linguistic Justice + Diversity Training (specific to this PDSM role) each quarter
- Oversee launch of
Introductory Linguistic Justice & Diversity Training in Autumn Quarter for new tutors - Review materials and coordinate with administrators on revisions as needed
- Collaborate with Professional Development Student Manager (PDSM): Mentoring & Onboarding to schedule this module and track completion as part of new tutors’ onboarding
- Manage all-staff Linguistic Justice + Diversity Training in Winter and Spring quarters
- Collaborate on article selection, seeking input and suggestions from tutors and admin
- Organize agenda and materials
- Schedule sessions in WCOnline and track completion
Support additional PD opportunities for tutors (specific to this PDSM role)
- Participate in ongoing collaborations and/or in development of new partnerships with departments and organizations across campus and/or with other college or high school writers centers in the Chicagoland area (e.g. high school writing center visits, Chicagoland Tutors Dinner Party, etc.)
- Develop agendas and related materials for additional PD events as they arise
- Coordinate scheduling of and invitations to tutors for any additional PD events
All PDSMs: Develop and manage content and materials for professional development programs and events
- Manage professional development content in Notion, including content specific to the PD program you manage, PD team materials, etc.
- Share drafts of PD materials (e.g. Between the Lines editions, mentoring agendas, Tutor Talk agendas) with the PD team for feedback and provide feedback to other PDSMs on their materials
- Coordinate a timeline for producing, receiving feedback on, and revising PD materials to ensure on-time launch of materials to tutors
- Communicate program information in the Between the Lines newsletter and in Slack as relevant (#smac, #professionaldevelopment, #news, etc.)
- Support the Associate Director in developing agendas and materials for all-staff events like All-Staff Orientation and Winter Retreat, e.g. creating materials for and facilitating Conversation Cafe
- Review professional development content in the Writing Center Handbook and suggest changes as needed
All PDSMs: Plan and facilitate events
- Coordinate logistics, planning, and organization of PD events, including staff socials, Tutor Talk, mentor training, and other events that may arise
- Ensure all aspects of event planning are completed for each event, including room reservations, catering, flyers/registration, invitations, promotion, supplies, scheduling logistics, etc.
- Host and facilitate PD events
- Host portions of All-Staff Orientation and Winter Retreat (e.g. Conversation Cafe) as needed
All PDSMs: Support and engage tutors in professional development programs, initiatives, and events
- Develop new ways or initiatives to enhance tutors’ work (e.g. resource-sharing, ongoing observations, etc.)
- Seek tutor feedback at key points throughout the year through surveys or other means toward the goal of ongoing program improvement
Serve as a Mentor
MentorMeet regularly with the Professional Development leadership team as well as one-on-one with the Associate Director as needed
Fulfill Overall Student Manager Responsibilities
- Work as assigned in the core Writing Center roles of
Writing Center Tutor, 
Receptionist, Course-connected tutor (e.g., Writing Fellow), and 
Writing Group Facilitators
- Collaborate with other student managers to facilitate Tutor Talk
- Attend team meetings
- Work as assigned as a Student Manager on Call (SMOC)
- Assist administrators in hiring new tutors in Spring Quarter
- Read and score applications
- Conduct interviews as part of the hiring team
- When working in-person shifts, and only when possible given your other commitments, you commit to being a source of support to tutors and daily operations
Perform other tasks as assigned
🏆 Requirements & Qualifications
We count on each Student Manager to…
Be an exemplary employee and leader of/model for other student employees
Student managers must demonstrate high-quality tutoring practices, know and follow our , and in general be invested in making our workplace as effective and collegial as possible.
We expect student managers to be highly invested in their work and to go above and beyond in solving problems that arise.
We do not expect that student managers will never make mistakes or face challenges at work, but rather to face challenges and own up to mistakes and work with their supervisor and team to learn from these experiences.
Be an effective communicator
We expect student managers to be effective communicators—with fellow SMs, with other tutors, and with administrators and coordinators.
Whenever a student manager sees a policy or procedure that is inefficient, not-ideal, or otherwise problematic, we expect them to work to share their concerns with their supervisor—and whenever appropriate with all administrators and coordinators.
Qualifications
- Be a team player who enjoys collaborating with others
- Be exceptionally organized, professional, and knowledgeable of Writing Center programs and our
- Bring creativity and strong problem-solving skills
- Be able to be self-driven, to follow through, and to work independently when needed
Requirements
- You will be a current undergraduate or graduate student** who will also be a student for the duration of the academic year during which you will serve as a Student Manager
- Student Managers may not be on teams unrelated to your Student Manager role, given the time demands of the role, unless approved by your supervisor
- When working in-person shifts, and only when possible given your other commitments, you commit to being a source of support to tutors and daily operations
- You commit to serving as a Student Manager for the duration required of the given position you apply for and accept (see
Student Managers position descriptions for exact requirements)
- For PDSMs: Commit to serving as a Student Manager for a full academic year, including the following:
- Summer Quarter: at least 10 hours/week for student manager work (with an option to work up to 20 hours for additional Writing Center work)
- 20 hours/week all 10 weeks of Autumn, Winter, and Spring Quarters
- December intersession: potential for work depending on Writing Center budget and program needs
🧑🏫 Principal Learning Objectives
- Develop an action-oriented vision to impact the direction of professional development at the Writing Center
- Exercise creative problem-solving and attention to detail in managing event planning and scheduling logistics
- Further develop leadership skills in collaboration, facilitation, and communication
- Exercise skills in organization, time management, and systems thinking
🧑⚖️ Direct Supervisor
Associate Director, Erin Herrmann