Center Overview

The Center for Labor and Community (CLC) invites applications for the Center for Labor and Community Program Director. The Center for Labor and Community (founded as the Center for Labor Studies in 2007), is dedicated to the study of working people, the labor movement, and the challenges of the rapidly-changing economy as it impacts the communities of California and beyond. Our goals are to connect students, faculty, policy-makers and labor and community stakeholders, and collaboratively pursue research, policy analysis, and educational and public programs that support workers and their families, particularly those in low-income communities, immigrant communities, and communities of color on the California Central Coast.

With new funding through the University of California Worker Rights Policy Initiative (WRPI), the center aims, in the next three years, to:

• expand our capacity for research, policy analysis and public-facing programming, particularly in collaboration with community and labor organizations;
• support unions and community organizations to conduct their work more strategically by developing curricula, training staff and rank-and file members, and providing technical assistance; and
• develop the next generation of labor and community organizers, researchers, and leaders among undergraduate and graduate students by connecting them with community and labor organizations, and training and involving them in community-engaged action research.

The center works closely with the 80 labor unions that are members of the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, as well as numerous community organizations working for economic and social justice, such as Santa Cruz Community Action Board, Community Bridges, and California Rural Legal Assistance. In Summer 2023, the center launched its inaugural Labor Summer program, which continues to train and place UCSC undergraduate students in paid summer internships with labor unions and community organizations.

The center is administratively housed within the Institute for Social Transformation (IST), which supports innovative scholarship, and connects scholars and partners across and beyond the University, developing research-based solutions to urgent problems in the world.

Program Director Responsibilities

Under the direction of CLC faculty director, the CLC program director is the senior full-time staff person for the CLC. They work closely with the faculty director in leading the center and managing its dynamic and growing portfolio of research, training, programing and community collaboration. The program director is responsible for independent development and coordination of all aspects of center operations. This includes:

Strategic Leadership
Working with the center’s faculty director and our Campus/Community Advisory Board, the program director provides strategic leadership in planning and implementing all research and programing at the center. This includes:

• Collaboratively developing, evaluating and monitoring a detailed strategic plan for the center.
• Coordinating with the IST, other UCSC centers, and community and labor partners
• Representing the center at annual conferences, community-sponsored events and working groups.

Center Management
The program director is responsible for personnel, operations, and program management at the center. This includes:

• Being responsible for implementation of the strategic initiatives and policy decisions of the center, overseeing project management, recommending timelines and resources needed to achieve strategic goals.
• Supervising and mentoring existing staff (will eventually include two research specialists, two graduate student researchers, and student employees/interns).
• Hiring, supervising, and mentoring additional staff and contractors as needed and funding allows, ensuring HR needs are met.
• Managing institute infrastructure which includes equipping offices and caretaking spaces in coordination with center staff, facilities staff, and visitors.

Research and Programming Support
Working closely with the faculty director and the center’s advisory board, the program director will help develop and guide the center’s research, policy analysis and public-facing programming. This may include:

• Overseeing ongoing center projects and develop new collaborations with labor and community organizations, and other research partnerships that support the mission of the center.
• Supporting on-going research and developing new research, which may be in areas of the program director’s research interests where they align with the center’s research mission.
• Helping recruit, communicate with and manage the center’s advisory board, made up of strategic labor and community partners, as well as affiliated faculty.
• Supporting programming and training for labor and community leaders in collaboration with the Monterey Bay Labor Council’s Leadership academy .
• Overseeing and evaluating the annual Labor Summer Program that recruits, trains, and places undergraduates in paid summer internships with local labor and community organizations.

Research Administration and Financial Management
The program director oversees and further develops the organizational structure for the center’s financial and business operations, including the generation, management and reporting of center budgets. This includes:

• Overseeing contract and grant management, working closely with divisional research accountants.
• Ensuring effective management of programs supported by contracts and grants affiliated with the center, working closely with faculty and other research staff.

Fundraising
Working with the faculty director, staff researchers, and the IST Managing Director to plan, develop, and initiate strategies for generating resources and/or revenues. This may include:

• Working with the Office of Research to identify new funding opportunities.
• Working with diverse interdisciplinary collaborations of faculty and research partners, to develop and implement new research projects and proposals, including providing content and editorial feedback on draft proposals.
• Communicating with program officers of foundations and public sector funding agencies about research projects and collaborations and exploring potential funding opportunities.
• Representing the center’s mission and research accomplishments to external stakeholders, including potential major donors, and leveraging external relationships to create new opportunities.

Communications
The program director directs and oversees all aspects of the center’s communications, from web presence to external relations. This includes:

• Developing and overseeing communication of the center’s research accomplishments, to the public, press, foundations, government, and the UCSC community.
• Providing content and editorial feedback on draft policy reports and research translation reports published by the center.
• Working with the Social Science Division’s marketing and communication staff on both broad communication strategy and developing specific communication and marketing materials.
• Communicating with community partners about center activities.
• Developing websites and supervising social media outreach and messaging.

Event Development and Coordination
The program director oversees all center organized and affiliated events. This includes:

• Working with the faculty director and other UCSC scholars on all aspects of center events, from conceptualization and planning through to implementation and evaluation.
• Reaching out to external scholars, public intellectuals and labor and community leaders about proposed and planned events.
• Coordinating communication and event planning, working closely with IST, Division and University events staff.
• Writing publicity materials related to center events.
  

We strongly encourage candidates with any of the following qualifications to apply:

• Advanced degree in the social sciences.
• Broad knowledge of the U.S. and/or international labor movements.
• Knowledge of racial and economic justice organizations and campaigns.
• Knowledge of popular education and training methodologies and curriculum development.
• Design and management of public programming.
• Ability to work effectively with internal and external partners.
• Excellent presentation, written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong computer skills.

The hiring unit will not sponsor employment-eligible immigration statuses for this position.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status. UC Santa Cruz is committed to excellence through diversity and strives to establish a climate that welcomes, celebrates, and promotes respect for the contributions of all students and employees. Inquiries regarding the University’s equal employment opportunity policies may be directed to the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 or by phone at (831) 459-2686.

Under Federal law, the University of California may employ only individuals who are legally able to work in the United States as established by providing documents as specified in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Certain UCSC positions funded by federal contracts or sub-contracts require the selected candidate to pass an E-Verify check (see https://www.uscis.gov/e-verify). The university sponsors employment-based visas for nonresidents who are offered academic appointments at UC Santa Cruz (see https://apo.ucsc.edu/policy/capm/102.530.html).

UCSC is a smoke & tobacco-free campus.

If you need accommodation due to a disability, please contact Disability Management Services at roberts@ucsc.edu (831) 459-4602.

UCSC is committed to addressing the spousal and partner employment needs of our candidates and employees. As part of this commitment, our institution is a member of the Northern California Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (NorCal HERC). Visit the NorCal HERC website at https://www.hercjobs.org/regions/higher-ed-careers-northern-california/ to search for open positions within a commutable distance of our institution.

The University of California offers a competitive benefits package and a number of programs to support employee work/life balance. For information about employee benefits please visit https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/index.html

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

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