Program Associate, Journalism and Media at Stanley Center for Peace and Security

The Stanley Center for Peace and Security, an MRA member, has an exciting opening for a journalism and media program associate. Join their team and help their mission-driven organization catalyze real-world change.

In support of the Stanley Center’s long-held belief that independent, accurate journalism is a critical part of societies that are more informed, just, and accountable, the center creates and organizes programs tailored for journalists and members of the media related to the three global challenges the center’s work focuses on: climate change, nuclear weapons, and mass violence and atrocities.

The program associate reports to the director of policy programming strategy and works as part of a two-person team under the day-to-day direction of the senior program officer for journalism and media. The program associate is a key part of developing and carrying out programs such as workshops, reporting fellowships, dialogues, reporting projects, and training in the United States and around the world in collaboration with partner organizations.

The Stanley Center is looking for a self-starter who is intellectually curious, goal driven, and collaborative, with strong knowledge of journalism and media. Candidates should have an interest in international affairs and be motivated to provide program coordination and support, helping to translate vision and strategy into actionable tasks. In addition to a bachelor’s degree in journalism, media, or a related field (or equivalent combination of experience, education, and/or training), candidates should demonstrate self-directed and effective task management, attention to detail, and relationship-building skills.

This is a full-time, nonexempt position with the option to work remotely up to 3 days per week, flexible scheduling, and an optional half day off on Fridays. Travel in and outside of the United States is required, with approximately 5 trips per year for periods of 3-10 days per trip.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States. The Stanley Center offers competitive pay, opportunities for learning and professional growth within the organization, and a generous benefits package. Please see benefits details, job qualifications and responsibilities, and application requirements below.

Only complete applications will be considered.

About the Stanley Center

The Stanley Center for Peace and Security partners with people, organizations, and the greater global community to drive policy progress in three issue areas—mitigating climate change, avoiding the use of nuclear weapons, and preventing mass violence and atrocities. Based in Muscatine, Iowa, the center’s home is one of the most ecologically sustainable office buildings in the world.

Full Position Description

A key member of the Stanley Center team, the program associate supports the planning, implementation, and impact assessment of the center’s journalism and media programming. All journalism and media programming furthers the center’s vision and mission, as well as the strategic goals for our work on three global challenges—climate change, nuclear weapons, and mass violence and atrocities.

The center believes that independent, accurate journalism plays an important role in societies that are more informed, just, and accountable. In support of this belief, the center creates and organizes workshops, reporting fellowships, dialogues, reporting projects, and training programs to provide journalists and media practitioners with the information, tools, and training they need to produce reporting that is fact based and impactful. The center’s programming is often carried out in close collaboration with partner organizations around the world. In all these efforts, they uphold and respect the processes and principles of a free and independent press.

The program associate is a part of the policy programming team, reporting to the director of policy programming strategy and working under the day-to-day direction of the senior program officer for journalism and media.

Primary Responsibilities

Program Support: Because the design and implementation of programming is how the Stanley Center furthers its vision, mission, and goals, the program associate provides key support to center programming activities as part of a two-person team.

As part of program support, the program associate:

• Supports the development and pursuit of journalism and media programming strategies.
• Assists with the design, coordination, and implementation of journalism and media programming activities.
• Collaborates across departments to ensure delivery of high-impact programming.

Specific program support responsibilities of the program associate include:

• Researching and tracking journalism/media trends. This includes keeping the information gathered organized.
• Drafting email communications, written updates, and other text for various uses across the organization and with external partners.
• Collaborating closely with the center’s Communications Department, and others as needed, on journalism and media programming-related communications and publications (social media, newsletters, reports, blog posts, and other content on the center’s website).
• Collaborating closely with the center’s Operations Department when planning, organizing, and carrying out programming events.
• Keeping co-workers across the center well informed of developments and progress on assigned work.
• Participating in programming activities or other events in the United States and abroad organized by the Stanley Center, its partners, or others.

External Networking and Relationship Maintenance: Because collaboration with other organizations is a key element of the Stanley Center’s work, the program associate is a part of networking and maintaining strong and supportive ties with key organizational partners, journalists, editors, and other media professionals. As part of networking and relationship maintenance, responsibilities of the program associate include:

• Supporting the center’s journalism and media-oriented networking and relationship development by tracking journalism/media networks, organizations, and funders; previous participants in the center’s journalism and media programming; and the work of partners, as well as by researching potential new partners or participants and programming models.
• Assisting with external collaboration with outside partners, including by scheduling and being a part of planning meetings, drafting documents (e.g., agendas and invitation lists), and other related tasks.
• Keeping journalism and media contacts organized and up to date in the center’s contact database and management system.
• Communicating effectively the vision, mission, and values of the center and the goals and strategies of the journalism and media programming.

Learning: Because the Stanley Center has a learning process to help us best understand the impact of the center’s programming, the program associate is expected to understand and contribute to that process. For the program associate, this includes:

• Working with the journalism and media program officer, and outside partners as needed, to collect feedback and impact data (quantitative and qualitative) for the center’s learning process, including administering post-activity assessment surveys.
• Working with the journalism and media program officer to incorporate lessons learned from activity-specific assessments and to adjust programming to reflect feedback from midcycle and end-of-cycle assessments.
• Participating in cross-team learning from assessing programming impact.
• Building their own media intelligence that allows them to understand the needs and challenges of journalists and other media partners and how best to engage journalists and other media professionals around the global challenges of climate change, nuclear weapons, and mass violence and atrocities.

Team Contribution: Because the Stanley Center values teamwork and collaboration, the center expects the program associate to use open, respectful, and inclusive communication and be part of creating a workplace with a sense of belonging. As part of the larger staff team, the program associate meets deadlines agreed on with others and contributes to internal reporting mechanisms, meetings, and processes/procedures as requested.

Other assigned or voluntary responsibilities. The program associate may be asked or voluntarily choose to be part of meetings, processes, or organizational committees focused on tasks outside of their primary responsibilities.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will possess:

• A bachelor’s degree—or equivalent combination of experience, education, and/or training–in journalism, media, mass communications, or a related field. Some coursework in international relations, political science, and/or foreign policy issues preferred.
• One to two years of project/program implementation experience, including a proven capacity to manage tasks, set daily work goals, and meet deadlines, and an interest in gaining new or additional knowledge of and experience with programming design and implementation.
• Practical experience interacting with journalists and media organizations and/or producing journalism or media content, and a demonstrated familiarity with a variety of news, media, and communications platforms. The center values diverse experiences, including those gained outside traditional professional roles, that align with the qualifications of this position.
• An interest in international policy and global challenges that cannot be solved by one country alone, particularly policy related to the center’s vision, mission, or areas of focus—climate change, nuclear weapons, and mass violence and atrocities.
• Excellent communication and active-listening skills, including the ability to present your own ideas and other information effectively and to provide and accept appropriate feedback.
• Highly effective organizational skills, including the ability to track details and manage multidirectional information flows across multiple ongoing activities and to plan, schedule, and organize everyday work in a way that allows for a high level of quality productivity.
• Proficient writing and analytical skills, including the ability to connect background research and ideas with their practical application in designing and implementing programming.
• Excellent collaborative skills in a team setting, including the ability to pursue shared goals, establish trust and maintain openness/transparency with others across the organization, and adopt work habits that contribute to a positive work environment.
• Dynamic networking and relationship-cultivation-and-maintenance skills.
• Familiarity with technology and tools that are commonly used in today’s digital workspaces.

Additional desirable traits include:

• Familiarity with utilizing social media and other digital media and communications platforms.
• Exposure to international policy work and a broad understanding of how policy change is created.
• Ability to speak, read, and/or write in multiple languages.
• Study, travel, or living experience outside of the United States.

The position requires frequent travel in and outside of the United States. Applicants must be able to travel approximately 5 times per year for periods of 3-10 days per trip. During work travel, work hours may exceed a typical workday (8 hours).

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States. A preemployment background check is conducted after a job offer. Past justice system involvement does not automatically disqualify a candidate from employment; background checks are evaluated individually in relation to the specific role.

What the Stanley Center Offers

Flexibility and Benefits

• Work remotely up to 3 days, with 2 required office days (Mondays and Thursdays), per week.
• Flexible scheduling and optional half day off on Fridays.
• Minimum of 10 days’ vacation leave annually (determined at hiring).
• Eight days of health care leave annually.
• Eleven paid holidays plus 2 individual holidays per year.
• Up to 9 weeks of paid parental leave.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance; center pays approximately 95 percent of employee-only premiums; employee pays approximately $60/month for employee-only coverage.
• Flexible benefit plans.
• Retirement plan with up to 3 percent match plus annual contribution of 7 percent of compensation, 100 percent vested on day of hire.
• Employer-paid life and long-term disability insurance.
• Tuition reimbursement and annual allotment for professional development.
• Lifestyle Spending Account: up to $1,500 per year for fitness, airline club memberships, veterinary expenses, home purchase closing costs, home office equipment, and more.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Cell phone and internet stipends.

Classification: This is a full-time, nonexempt, salaried position.

Schedule: Monday-Friday, eight work hours per day, with some schedule flexibility, including optional half days on Fridays.

Compensation: Salary commensurate with qualifications; a hiring pay range will be shared directly with all applicants. The Stanley Center covers most expenses involved with relocation, including housing-hunting trips and temporary housing, if needed.

Location: 304 Iowa Ave, Muscatine, Iowa (work in-office at least Mondays and Thursdays).

This position is located at the Stanley Center office in Muscatine, Iowa, a unique community of 23,000 people with affordable housing and a variety of recreational opportunities on the Mississippi River. From the center’s founding in 1956, they have been intentionally based in Muscatine. The location provides a valuable vantage point from which to conduct global operations while also continuing the Stanley family’s commitment to fostering inclusive dialogue, celebrating diverse perspectives, and promoting equity locally.

The Stanley Center offers a beautiful, sustainable work environment. They have recently renovated the former city public library to be the center’s new home and have transformed the space into one of the most environmentally friendly and ecologically sustainable buildings in the world.

Within commuting distance of Muscatine are Iowa City (population 70,000)—UNESCO City of Literature and home of the University of Iowa, the renowned Iowa Writer’s Workshop, and nationally recognized University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics—and the Quad Cities area, comprising Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, and Moline and Rock Island, Illinois, with a combined population of about 350,000.

Application Directions

MRA – The Management Association, is assisting the Stanley Center with filling this role. To be considered for this position, please apply using the application form above. Please send a letter of interest, your resume, at least three references, and a brief sample of your writing (paper, proposal, essay, blog, article) with an explanation of why you chose that writing sample to share.

Priority Application Deadline: 5:00 PM Central time on Tuesday, December 3, 2024. The position is open until filled, but candidates are strongly encouraged to apply by the priority deadline.

Position Posting Date: October 18, 2024

Target Hire Date: January 15, 2025

Hiring Process: The Stanley Center’s hiring process can include an initial phone interview, a videoconference interview, and an on-site interview. The Stanley Center pays for travel costs associated with on-site interviews. They conduct reference checks before making an offer of employment.

For more information about working at the Stanley Center and applying for this position, please visit their Careers page and read their Career FAQs.

The Stanley Center is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ applicants are strongly encouraged to apply. The center is committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, cultures, and experiences, knowing that diverse perspectives lead to new and better ideas. The Stanley Center cultivates an organizational culture that reflects our vision for freedom, justice, and dignity for all people—one that is antiracist and in which all employees are valued and respected.