Jobs at The Conversation U.S.

Top stories

Salary Range: $60,000 to $65,000

Experience: 0-3 Years

Educational qualifications: Bachelor's Degree

Position: Full-time

Reporting manager: Chief Partnership Officer

Benefits: 401(k) matching, PTO, sick days, health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, parental leave, vision insurance, paid holidays

Works closely with: As an integral member of the University Relations team, the URC will work closely with the team and across the organization.

Website link: https://theconversation.com/us

Location: U.S.

The Conversation U.S. (TCUS) is an independent, nonprofit media organization that publishes daily news analysis and commentary written by academics, edited by journalists and aimed at the general public. Our team of journalists works with academics across the U.S. to help the general public make sense of important news. We take our work seriously, but we also offer a fun and flexible work culture with great benefits and lots of opportunity to shine.

We will consider candidates in locations across the U.S. We currently have offices in Boston and New York and can offer a hybrid of in-person and work-from-home for candidates in those cities. 

The Conversation is deeply committed to inclusion and diversity. We encourage members of traditionally underrepresented groups – including those who are Black, Latinx, Asian American, Native and LGBTQ or armed services veterans - to apply to join our team.

About the Position: University Relations Coordinator

The University Relations Coordinator supports The Conversation's partnerships with colleges and universities by managing member communications, events, data systems, and administrative projects. The role works closely with the University Relations team to strengthen relationships with member institutions, coordinate webinars and conferences, track organizational impact, maintain databases, and support editorial and outreach initiatives. Over time, the Coordinator will serve as a primary contact for a portfolio of member institutions, helping them maximize the value of their partnership with The Conversation through engagement, data insights, and best-practice sharing.

Key Responsibilities

• Support University Relations partner communications and member engagement activities.

• Coordinate webinars and virtual events, including creating Zoom calendar invites, RSVP forms, and related communications.

• Maintain Airtable databases, including the expert database and institutional records.

• Assist with impact tracking, including taking the lead on print impact tracking and working closely with the impact lead on other impact initiatives.

• Enter, maintain, pull, clean, and format data as needed.

• Assist the University Relations Sr. Manager with all aspects of The Conversation's member events, including semi-annual member conferences and regional meetings.

• In coordination with the University Relations Sr. Manager, lead special projects and programs, including member recognition initiatives and other engagement programs.

• Create author profiles in the CMS and add institutions to Airtable and the CMS.

• Monitor and respond to diversity and support email inboxes.

• Assist with newsletter production, grant reporting, and other administrative duties as needed.

• By the end of the first year, serve as the primary contact for an assigned group of member institutions, conducting virtual and hybrid sessions, maintaining regular communication with stakeholders, sharing best practices, reviewing member data, and helping institutions maximize the value of their partnership with The Conversation.

• Coordinate with partner communications contacts, editors, and scholars at member institutions.

• Assist editorial desks as requested, including photo work, editing, research, commissioning, and identifying scholars and topic experts from member institutions.

Skills/Knowledge

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously.

• Experience coordinating events, webinars, meetings, or stakeholder engagement activities.

• Working with databases, Airtable, spreadsheets, CMS platforms, or similar systems is a plus.

• Strong data management, reporting, and administrative skills.

• Ability to build and maintain relationships with a variety of stakeholders, including university partners, scholars, and internal teams.

• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively across departments.

• Interest in higher education, nonprofit organizations, journalism, and public engagement.

• Commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and justice.

Every team member is expected to

• Understand and embrace our mission of democratizing scholarly knowledge for the public good.

• Attend planning, staff, and team meetings as requested.

• Embrace a spirit of collaboration across the organization.

• Represent The Conversation professionally with member institutions, scholars, and external stakeholders.

• Support organizational initiatives that advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.

• Contribute positively to The Conversation's mission-driven culture.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree

• 0–3 years of experience 

How to apply for this job: 

Send your resume and a cover letter telling us why you are interested in this role to us-jobreplies@theconversation.com with the words “University Relations Coordinator (URC)” in the subject line.

The Conversation began publishing in the U.S. in 2014 and is an independent, nonprofit publisher of news written by academic experts and researchers. All of our stories are written by faculty from U.S. colleges and universities and edited by our team of editors for the general public. Authors write on their specific area of expertise, while our editors make sure all stories are accessible, informative and of interest to a general reader.

Our stories are published by a huge range of news outlets under a Creative Commons license, including The Washington Post, CNN, Slate, Gatehouse and McClatchy newspapers, LiveScience, the Cobb County Courier, Punxsutawney Spirit,  and Nice News. The stories also get wide distribution through The Associated Press, Yahoo! News, Apple News, Substack and Medium. According to Harvard's Nieman Journalism Lab, we are the most-read nonprofit news site in the country. The Conversation is published daily on our own site at theconversation.com, and we are active on social media on BlueSky, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Mastodon, Threads, and TikTok.