Democracy Fellow Media Specialist - IE

Position Details

Working Title: Democracy Fellow Media Specialist

State Role

Title:

Institutional Employment / Federal Work Study

Position Type: Institutional Employment

Position Status: Part-Time

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt:
Eligible for Overtime

College/Division: Office of the President Unit

Department: 100191 - JMU Center for Civic Engagement

Pay Rate: Hourly ($14.00)

Is this a grant-funded position? No

Posting Period: Opening:
Mar 6 2026 Closing:
Mar 23 2026

Located in the heart of Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley, the city of Harrisonburg is approximately 120 miles from Washington, D.C. and Richmond, VA. With a population of just over 53,000, Harrisonburg is one of the most diverse communities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. JMU is a selective, public institution with a growing national reputation for offering experiences that lead to an outstanding education and inclusive environment for students, faculty and staff.

The student body includes approximately 20,000 undergraduate and 1,900 graduate students, with over 1,000 full-time instructional faculty.

The James Madison Center for Civic Engagement is seeking creative and imaginative students interested in developing their professional storytelling, graphic design and media management skills to further the Madison Center’s brand in support of the university’s civic engagement mission (see: jmu.edu/civic). The Democracy Fellow Media Specialists tell the story of civic engagement, civic leadership and civic discourse se Fellows will shape the brand strategy, voice, and day‑to‑day management of a high profile and highly visible social media account, website, and podcast.

Media Specialists participate in all student staff meetings and support projects across both the democracy and facilitation cohort tracks, creating visual content to promote and elevate the brand of the center. The Media Specialist receives hands‑on leadership, project management training, and professional media mentoring by the Center’s Communication Fellow/Presidential Engagement Fellow, Madison Center’s faculty and staff, and from continuing education opportunities.

All Fellows must have a commitment to non‑partisanship when representing JMU and the Madison Center.

Democracy Fellows are the working heart of JMU’s civic engagement mission. Fellows work in teams to develop programming for campus in support of voting, civic discourse, and civic leadership, including work on democracy and immigration issues, voter education, leadership through difficult conversations, and more. The Madison Center is home to several significant programs at JMU, including Constitution Day, the Better Conversations Together program, and Dukes Vote.

Democracy Fellows also have the opportunity to be on stage and in private networking meetings with high profile speakers and campus leaders during major events.

• Research and develop professional student‑oriented and non‑student‑oriented social media strategies based on emerging trends in higher education social and the broader social media space.
• Develop media content including graphics, posters, and short‑form videos.
• Provide pre‑ and post‑production assistance and editing of department podcasts.
• Regularly update and review social media insights.
• Assist with other miscellaneous social media responsibilities, including but not limited to copywriting, post curation, writing alt‑text for images, managing the social media calendar, comment moderation, etc.
• Assist in Dukes Vote voter registration drives and campus events like the town hall series, educational tabling, election day programming, facilitating civic engagement events, workshops and forums for JMU students, faculty and staff, and community partners and other events with campus and off‑campus partners.
• Serve as a student ambassador during high‑profile events at JMU.
• Attend all‑staff and project meetings weekly to connect, bring ideas and grow as a team.
• Other duties as assigned.

• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Interest in social media management.
• Strong understanding of social media platforms and best…