2023-2026 PDSM | Amber C.

As the Professional Development Student Manager for Communications, you work closely with Associate Director Erin Herrmann, the Professional Development Student Manager (PDSM): Mentoring , and the Professional Development Student Manager (PDSM): Continuing Education 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 Communications, your primary responsibilities include developing and distributing the staff newsletter, creating flyers and registration pages for events, promoting events, managing PD communications in Slack, and maintaining team communication in Notion.

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.

✨ 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.

Communications-Specific Role: Create and disperse professional development communications

• Plan, draft, revise, and publish the weekly newsletter Between the Lines to all Writing Center staff to keep staff up-to-date about events, Professional Development programming, and information form other teams across the Writing Center
• Manage additional PD communications when relevant, e.g. updates to SMAC or Slack posts about PD content
• Design event flyers, graphics, invitations, registration pages, and digital materials as needed, e.g. Canva graphics, lu.mas, slides for socials, etc.
• Manage ongoing promotion of events to staff

Communications-Specific Role: Manage communications-related PD team needs across platforms

• Oversee scheduling—initial placeholders in WCOnline, record-keeping elsewhere as needed, and ongoing changes—for PD placeholders for reading the newsletter
  • Follow the Writing Center Scheduling Order of Operations
• Manage and organize ongoing processes and systems for professional development content and resources, such as maintaining team meeting agendas and a Notion database of team tasks

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, tutor onboarding materials, etc.
• Manage Slack channels—creation, content, membership, and engagement—relevant to professional development initiatives and events as needed
• Collaborate to create, revise, and launch onboarding materials for new staff in Autumn Quarter, including the onboarding checklist, the Collaborative Observations process, 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