Strategic Initiatives Coordinator

Who We Are

The Center for Labor and Community Studies (CLCS) at the University of Michigan-Dearborn partners with workers, labor unions, community organizations, faculty, and students to strengthen worker power through education, research, leadership development, and strategic partnerships.

For more than 40 years, CLCS has connected the University with the labor movement through conferences, leadership institutes, courses, research, public programming, and other educational opportunities that help workers understand and shape the economic, political, and technological changes affecting their workplaces and communities.

The Strategic Initiatives Coordinator will coordinate and support educational programs, partnerships, outreach, and strategic initiatives that connect workers, labor organizations, students, faculty, and community partners with CLCS.

Working closely with the Director and other CLCS staff, the Strategic Initiatives Coordinator will help strengthen participation in CLCS programs; expand relationships across the University and labor movement; support the development of new educational initiatives; coordinate student, internship, and faculty engagement; strengthen conference and program operations; improve organizational systems; and support grant and funding development.

The central purpose of the position is to help CLCS build sustainable pathways through which workers, students, and organizational partners can become engaged in the Center, participate in educational programs, develop their leadership, and deepen their relationship with CLCS over time.

• Build and maintain relationships with workers, union leaders, local unions, labor councils, statewide labor organizations, and other labor movement partners.
• Conduct direct outreach to recruit workers and organizations for CLCS conferences, institutes, training, courses, public programs, and other educational opportunities.
• Develop and maintain systems for tracking relationships, outreach, participation, sponsor ships, and follow-up.
• Recruit organizational sponsors and partners for CLCS conferences and educational programs and coordinate sponsorship follow-through with appropriate staff.
• Gather feedback from workers and labor leaders regarding emerging educational, organizing, bargaining, research, and leadership-development needs.
• Help implement pathways that move participants from initial engagement with CLCS into additional education, leadership development, organizing, research, and other opportunities.

• Coordinate implementation and continued development of the Faculty Affiliates
• Program, including faculty recruitment, communication, meetings, engagement, and participation in CLCS initiatives.
• Recruit and connect students to labor education, conferences, research, internships, apprenticeships, leadership development, and other CLCS opportunities.
• Build relationships with academic departments, faculty, advisors, student organizations, and other university programs to expand connections with CLCS.
• Coordinate implementation and continued development of CLCS internship and apprenticeship initiatives, including student and partner recruitment, placement processes, communications, and program materials.

• Support development of new educational programs and areas of work, including initiatives related to the future of work, technological and economic change, sustainable jobs, worker leadership, and other emerging priorities.
• Conduct research on emerging worker-education needs, potential programs, partnerships, and opportunities and prepare recommendations for CLCS staff.
• Coordinat…