Assistant Counsel
Media and Communications Strategist
Research Assistant
Legal Internships and Externships
Assistant Counsel (Flexible Location)
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is pleased to announce an Assistant Counsel position to be filled as soon as possible in its Legal Office. The location for this position is flexible with the potential for working remotely. This position will work under the direction of AAUP’s Senior Counsel. Founded in 1915, the AAUP has helped to shape American higher education by developing standards and procedures on academic freedom, tenure, and shared governance and by fighting to preserve and protect higher education as a common good. Advancing and protecting academic freedom is the AAUP's core mission. Governed by a Council and Officers who are elected from the membership, the AAUP has approximately 35 employees, and 45,000 members.
The AAUP’s legal office responds to inquiries on higher education law from professors, academic administrators, attorneys, and others; monitors legal developments in higher education around the country; leads workshops and presentations on higher education law; and drafts informational outlines on specific areas of the law. Seeking to shape the law in ways supportive of AAUP principles, the Legal Office also works with experts from around the country in submitting friend-of-the-court (amicus) briefs in key appellate cases. Additionally, the office performs in-house legal work for the AAUP and supplies legal support for a number of key AAUP committees.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Assistant Counsel’s primary role will be to provide legal research and writing services. The substantive areas include academic freedom, employment and labor law, discrimination, and constitutional law. This position will include the following responsibilities:
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Author, co-author and file amicus curiae briefs in support of AAUP’s core issues.
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Conduct legal research using Lexis, PACER and other resources.
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Analyze and summarize case law.
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Review and analyze federal/state legislation—both proposed and existing.
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Draft and review memorandums and other legal documents.
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Draft articles, emails, or other materials for members or other constituencies.
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Conduct trainings, workshops, and webinars for AAUP members and chapter leaders on legal issues.
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Assist with the preparation and presentation of materials for leadership meetings.
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Assist with the preparation of legal office reports to the leadership or other constituencies.
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Assist with preparing AAUP legal compliance materials.
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Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
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Juris Doctorate degree from an accredited law school.
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Admission, in good standing, and license to practice in at least one jurisdiction.
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Three to five years of substantial legal research and writing experience.
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Strong analytical and research skills.
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Strong attention to detail.
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Experience and demonstrated ability working with diverse groups and individuals.
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Computer proficiency skills—including familiarity with MS Office, PACER and Lexis.
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Experience drafting appellate briefs preferred.
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Working knowledge of constitutional law, higher education law, non-profit law, academic freedom, employment or labor law preferred.
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Familiarity with applicable federal procedural rules (civil and appellate) preferred.
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Experience as a judicial clerk preferred.
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Ability to work independently.
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This position requires a valid driver’s license and the willingness and ability to travel occasionally throughout the United States, to work long, irregular hours and weekends as needed.
Compensation
Salary range: Starting salary of $80,000 for required qualifications; higher salary for preferred qualifications and experience. Generous benefits package, including health insurance and 401(K).
Position Classification
This position is designated as a senior program officer in the Legal Department and is excluded from the staff union bargaining unit. This is an exempt position and not eligible for overtime pay.
To Apply
To apply, email a resume with cover letter to
legalsearch@aaup.org.
Please include “Assistant Counsel – YOUR NAME” in the subject line of the email. No phone calls please. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until position is filled. In addition to the resume and cover letter, please provide:
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A writing sample that would demonstrate your analytical writing skills.
The AAUP is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, disability, race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, personal appearance, family responsibilities, genetic information, matriculation, political affiliation, or other characteristics unrelated to professional performance.
Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.
Media and Communications Strategist (Flexible Location)
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is pleased to announce a job opening for a Media and Communications Strategist in the Department of External Relations, which is responsible for the AAUP’s communications with members, leaders, and the public. This is an exciting opportunity at a critically important time for the AAUP and in the academy. We invite you to join us in our vital work to defend and advance the academic freedom, shared governance, due process rights, and economic security of the profession. This position involves building and maintaining positive public relations between the AAUP and the news media, AAUP chapter staff and leaders, members, and the public.
Duties and Responsibilities
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Primary responsibility for
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outreach to the media, including writing media releases, story pitches, and op-eds; maintaining and building relationships with reporters; and training other staff and members to be spokespeople
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developing media strategy
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logistics of the media program, including sending out media releases, maintaining a media database, and tracking coverage; andfielding incoming media queries, identifying and developing appropriate spokespeople within the AAUP, and helping to prepare staff and leaders for interviews.
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Lead responsibility for designing and implementing a social media strategy aimed at raising awareness of AAUP activities and engaging members and chapters. This includes making recommendations about social media use; analyzing performance data; helping maintain the AAUP’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts, and creating, editing, distributing, and optimizing relevant text, graphic, and video content.
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Maintaining the media sections of our websites, including selecting and posting news items.
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Supporting AAUP campaigns of various types that are aimed at engaging and growing the membership, supporting chapter ground campaigns, and/or influencing policymakers.
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Providing guidance to chapters and members on communications and messaging, including one-on-one and through live or video trainings
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Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
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Experience and demonstrated skill in media relations and social media strategy.
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Self-starting, with ability to manage projects with minimal supervision and handle multiple priorities and tasks in a deadline-driven environment.
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Three years of work experience in media relations, strategic communications, or related field required.
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BA or equivalent experience required. MA preferred.
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Superior written and oral communication skills.
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Computer proficiency, including working familiarity with MS Office suite and the ability to learn to edit and post on WordPress and Drupal websites.
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Work experience with membership organizations, advocacy organizations, labor unions, and/or higher education environment preferred.
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This position requires a valid driver’s license and the willingness and ability to travel occasionally throughout the United States, to work long, irregular hours and weekends as needed.
Compensation
Salary range: $65,000 for minimum qualifications. Higher salary for preferred qualifications. Generous benefits package.
Position Classification
This Media and Communications Strategist position is categorized as a senior program officer position in the Department of External Relations and is part of the staff union bargaining unit. This is an exempt position and not eligible for overtime pay.
To Apply
To apply, e-mail a résumé with cover letter, two writing samples, and the names and contact information for three professional references to
comms-search@aaup.org (references will not be contacted until after candidate interviews are held). If possible,
please put all your application materials into one pdf file and name that file with your last name. No phone calls, please. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until position is filled.
The AAUP is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, disability, race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, personal appearance, family responsibilities, genetic information, matriculation, political affiliation, or other characteristics unrelated to professional performance.
Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.
Research Assistant (Flexible Location)
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is pleased to announce a Research Assistant position to be filled as soon as possible in its Research Department. The location for this position is flexible with the potential for working remotely. The Research Assistant is responsible for providing support for our research program, including the annual Faculty Compensation Survey as well as research related to AAUP policies and standards. The Research Assistant will report to the AAUP Director of Research. The position involves working with diverse individuals both inside and outside of the AAUP office.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Research Assistant plays a key role in our Faculty Compensation Survey and research related to AAUP policies and standards. The position will include the following duties and responsibilities:
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Assist with the collection and review of research data under the direction of professional staff.
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Assist with analysis of quantitative and qualitative research data and contribute to the reporting and interpretation of findings under the direction of professional staff.
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Process data orders and other departmental correspondence.
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Respond to routine information requests on higher education topics utilizing published sources.
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Participate in activities of the AAUP national office, including occasional travel to assist with events.
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Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
The research assistant should have strong statistical/mathematical skills and a demonstrated attention to detail with a high degree of accuracy. Other requirements for the position include:
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Baccalaureate degree in a field with a significant quantitative component required. Graduate work with a research component preferred.
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Excellent written and oral communication skills required.
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Experience working with individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives required.
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Demonstrated familiarity with large national database projects (e.g., IPEDS) required.
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Experience using MS Excel to manage data, including advanced features (e.g., formulas, pivot tables, filters) required.
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One or more years of work experience in a higher education or non-profit setting with a research component preferred.
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Volunteer or work experience with labor unions or professional associations preferred.
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Knowledge or experience in using statistical software (e.g., SAS, R, Stata, or SPSS) preferred.
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This position requires a valid driver’s license and the willingness and ability to travel occasionally throughout the United States, to work long, irregular hours and weekends as needed.
Compensation
Starting salary of $50,000 for minimum qualifications; higher salary for preferred qualifications and experience. Generous benefits package, including health insurance and 401(K).
Position Classification
The Research Assistant position is categorized as an administrative assistant position. This position is designated as an administrative assistant position in the Department of Research. The location for this position is flexible with the potential for working remotely. This position is part of the staff union bargaining unit. This is a non-exempt position, eligible for overtime pay.
To Apply
To apply, email a resume with cover letter to researcher.search@aaup.org. Please include “Research Assistant – YOUR NAME” in the subject line of the email. No phone calls please. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until an adequate number of qualified applications have been received. For additional information about the AAUP, please visit www.aaup.org.
The AAUP is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, disability, race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, personal appearance, family responsibilities, genetic information, matriculation, political affiliation, or other characteristics unrelated to professional performance.
Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.
Legal Internships and Externships
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is seeking qualified interns or externs for summer or the academic year.
The intern and extern positions will be in a legal department currently staffed with two lawyers and one paralegal and involves significant in-house legal and other support work for the Association. The legal office files amicus briefs in higher education cases of national significance, provides legal information on a wide range of issues to staff and members all over the country, and acts as a resource on higher education issues. Staff and volunteer lawyers are experts in such areas as academic freedom, discrimination, affirmative action, intellectual property, and employment. Interns and externs can expect to be asked to research and write on a variety of legal issues including First Amendment, higher education, collective bargaining, election, tax, labor, personnel, financial, and contract issues.
Past legal interns have helped research and write amicus briefs in the federal court system, updated a multi-state survey on faculty handbooks as employment contracts, and researched and written legal outlines and fact sheets on topics such as “Faculty and Defamation Suits,” “Faculty and Family Leave Issues,” and “Academic Freedom and the First Amendment.” Externs should be in their second or third year of law school and be available to work approximately fifteen hours per week. Summer internships are available to students who have completed their second year of law school. AAUP legal staff will work with interested applicants to arrange for public interest stipends, academic credit or pro bono credit from their law school.
Qualified applicants will possess excellent analytical skills
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strong writing and research skills
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interest in higher education issues
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enthusiasm and initiative
To apply for an externship or internship position, please send a cover letter, resume, official transcript and writing sample to:
AAUP – Legal Department
ATTN: DC Internship Program
1133 19th St. NW, Suite 200
Washington, D.C. 20036
legal.dept@aaup.org (If applying by email, please address the Subject line as: “DC Internship + Your Name”)
For more information, please see AAUP’s Legal Program.
