Program Assistant

PROGRAM ASSISTANT
Center for the Political Future

Los Angeles, CA

THE CENTER FOR THE POLITICAL FUTURE (CPF) is a non-partisan center housed in the University of Southern California’s Dornsife College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Our mission is to combine “rigorous intellectual inquiry, teaching, and practical politics to advance civil dialogue and research that transcends partisan divisions and finds solutions to pressing national and global challenges.” The Center has several departments and initiatives that further its mission: the Unruh Institute of Politics, the USC Dornsife/LA Times Poll, a Political Conversations series, a Fellows Program, and large-scale conferences.

Originally founded in 1978 as the USC Institute of Politics and Government, it was renamed in 1987 as the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics after the late California politician. In 2018, the Unruh Institute became part of the new Center for the Political Future. Longtime political rivals, Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy head the Center as Director and Co-Director respectively. Shrum is a longtime Democratic strategist for politicians including Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and John Kerry. Murphy is a veteran Republican campaign strategist and has worked for Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jeb Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney. The Center’s Executive Director is Kamy Akhavan, former CEO of ProCon.org.

The Role

CPF seeks to hire a full-time (37.5 hours per week) Program Assistant to coordinate our internship and scholarship programs.

The USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future (CPF) houses the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics, which provides internships, scholarships, and experiential learning programs for USC students. These programs provide meaningful civic engagement and political networking for students, draw community members to USC for practical insights into politics and social issues, attract significant positive media attention for the university, personify the Dornsife mantra of the “academy in the public square,” and serve as vital training and education in civic engagement for students so they can graduate as responsible and informed citizens.

Day-to-day activities will include: handling operations for the Unruh Institute; maintaining strong relationships with 200+ internship providers mostly in LA, DC, and Sacramento; developing new relationships with campaigns, government agencies, NGOs, advocacy groups, political consulting firms, media outlets, and other politically affiliated industries; coordinating off-site student outings to Sacramento, DC, Iowa, and elsewhere; serving as primary liaison between students and the Unruh Institute regarding internships and career readiness; administering and interviewing students for our various competitive scholarship programs; assisting the Internship Director of the Unruh Institute; serving as liaison between CPF and various other campus entities; securing partnerships to co-promote events; creating meaningful career development workshops for students; posting events in USC and public calendars; staffing events with students and staff and volunteers; working with student groups to increase participation and relevance of events, and other functions as needed.

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a clear writer and meticulous proofreader, has a strong customer service orientation, works extremely well with students, has significant internship experience, has a deep knowledge of political figures and writers, loves politics, works well independently and in teams, takes criticism with a growth mindset, and sincerely believes in the CPF mission.

The ideal candidate should come across as polished and professional, hold himself or herself to the highest standards, and be able to work calmly in high-pressure environments.

Performs other related duties as assigned or requested. CPF reserves the right to add or change duties at any time.

Existing knowledge of existing USC eMarket, Kuali, and WorkDay a plus.

Salary range: $24 – $28 per hour and will commensurate with experience.

Required Documents and Additional Information

• Resume and cover letter required (may be uploaded as one file). Please do not submit your application without these documents.

• Job openings are posted for a minimum of (5) five business days. This job may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended, so please apply on the same business day if interested.

• USC has excellent benefits, including health benefits for staff and their family with access to the renowned university medical network; central Los Angeles location with easy access to commuter trains, buses and free tram pick up services; discounts to sporting and other campus events.

The University of Southern California is an Equal Opportunity Employer that Values Diversity.

Minimum Education: Bachelor’s degree, Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education
Minimum Experience: 1 year, Combined education/experience as substitute for minimum experience
Minimum Field of Expertise: Administrative support services