Program Coordinator

Start date:                       September 30, 2024

Hours:                              40 hours per week

Location:                         Nieuwe Looiersstraat 31 (1017 VA, Amsterdam)

Reports to:                       Academic Director

Salary range:                   2.850 – 3.500 EUR gross per month

SIT:

School for International Training (SIT) was founded in 1964 as a training center for the first Peace Corps volunteers. For 60 years, SIT has prepared students to be effective changemakers and global citizens through experiential education focused on the world’s most critical global issues. SIT Study Abroad offers accredited semester and summer undergraduate programs in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as International Honors Programs that operate across multiple continents.

SIT Amsterdam:

The SIT Study Center in Amsterdam offers a semester program on International Perspectives on Sexuality and Gender, which runs from late January to mid-May (in the Spring term) and from late August to mid-December (in the Fall term). Cohorts of up to 25 US-based undergraduate students analyze topics in gender and sexuality from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective in two thematic courses, which are supplemented by weekly site visits and guest lectures. Students also enroll in a Dutch language course and a course on research methods and ethics, which lays the groundwork for an independent study project or internship that forms the capstone of their semester. Both the Spring and Fall semesters include a two-week excursion to Morocco.

In the summer, the focus shifts to short-term programs, and the six-week Human Trafficking, Sex Trade, and Modern Slavery in Europe program in particular. Hewing to the program design of the semester program, students study human trafficking, sex trade, and sex work both as independent and (sometimes) closely intertwined social, political, and cultural phenomena, and supplement the work they do in the classroom with site visits and excursions in Amsterdam and The Hague.

Running concurrently with the summer program, SIT Amsterdam hosts two or more custom programs every summer.

Summary of Position:

The Program Coordinator will have four principal responsibilities:

(1) designing and co-delivering the program calendar for the semester program, as well as the orientation week that precedes the start of classes. Tasks chiefly include scheduling the classes, arranging the guest lectures and site visits (by working directly with SIT Amsterdam’s network of guest lecturers and local partners), and overseeing the logistical arrangements during orientation week. The Program Coordinator also plays a leading role in co-designing the itinerary for the two-week excursion to Morocco, and functions as the on-site coordinator for (at least) one week of the excursion. During the summer, the Program Coordinator will perform the same set of tasks either for the summer program or a custom program.

(2) assisting the Academic Director with the academic management of the semester, summer, and/or custom programs by, for example, (a) registering students in their classes, (b) tracking student attendance, (c) compiling course evaluations and preparing them for faculty, and (d) maximizing the adoption of Canvas for both students and faculty. In addition to these process-oriented tasks, the Program Coordinator is as a thought partner for the Academic Director on the overarching academic philosophy of the program and serves as a Teaching Assistant for the Research Methods and Ethics course, as well as students’ Independent Study Projects.

(3) supporting students on-site as they navigate (the stresses of) studying and living abroad by answering any questions they might have about life in Amsterdam, coping with and resolving (culturally inflected) personal conflicts, and safeguarding their mental well-being. In case of incidents or emergencies, the Program Coordinator offers immediate and continuous support (e.g. by accompanying the student to a medical provider or setting up an appointment on their behalf) until the incident is resolved. In those situations, the Program Coordinator will be asked to comply with SIT’s Student Health, Safety, and Well-Being (SHSW) policies and to file incident reports with the SHSW team in the US. This responsibility is shared with other members on the team.

(4) implementing SIT’s social media policy in Amsterdam by sourcing, producing, and posting appropriate and attractive content across SIT Amsterdam’s social media profiles (with a focus on managing SIT Amsterdam’s Instagram account).

For some parts of the year, this job is primarily administrative in nature (i.e. it involves a great deal of office work), although SIT’s focus on experiential learning means that the Program Coordinator spends ample time with students in and around the city of Amsterdam. In the summer months, however, the Program Coordinator will be expected to lead – or play a hands-on role – in some or all program activities of either the summer program or a custom program.

This position is ideally suited for candidates who are both skilled and detail-oriented project managers/administrators, organizational masterminds who thrive on complexity, and passionate international educators (the latter is truly non-negotiable!).

Given that the Program Coordinator will be asked to manage critical incidents and handle sensitive information, candidates must be able to perform well under pressure, respond to or intervene in emergent situations deftly and promptly, demonstrate intercultural competence (or curiosity), and be emotionally resilient.

What we are looking for:

• Bachelor’s degree required (either HBO or WO, or their international equivalents)
• Proven experience as a project coordinator in [international] higher education (with ideally three years of on-the-job work experience)
• Full professional fluency in English (the candidate must be near-fluent, with    excellent written and oral communication skills), corresponding to – or approaching – CEFR level C2
• A strong interest in the focus of the program on questions of gender and sexuality and the ways in which these intersect with other categories of identity
• Some knowledge of US-American (academic) culture – or a desire to delve headfirst into the world of intercultural education and US study abroad
• A strong interest in developing – and implementing – a social media strategy tailored to the organization’s target audience (i.e. current and prospective students, current and prospective homestay families, and SIT Amsterdam’s academic network)
• Innate project management skills, meticulous attention to detail, and a commitment to service and professionalism
• Ability to apply sound judgment under pressure and to make informed decisions in time-sensitive situations
• Candidates must be allowed to work legally in the Netherlands (SIT is not able to sponsor work or work-and-residency permits)
• Candidates should – ideally – be able to assume the position of Program Coordinator on (or in the week of) September 30, 2024.

What we offer:

• A fixed, one-year contract with the possibility to extend (depending on performance and operational needs)
• A more than competitive salary for the field, with the precise salary depending on the work experience the candidate brings to the position
• A package of secondary benefits, which includes 25 vacation days, an 8% annual holiday allowance, and access to professional development funds
• Twice-yearly excursions to Morocco
• Working in a cozy Learning Center in the beating heart of the city of Amsterdam

SIT is committed to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace and actively prioritizes applications from members of marginalized or minoritized identity groups.

If you are excited about taking on this position and joining the SIT Amsterdam team – and if you believe you meet the criteria outlined above – please send a cover letter and a copy of your resume as a single file to Jonathan Key (jonathan.key@sit.edu), SIT Amsterdam’s Academic Director. Interviews with qualified candidates will be scheduled on a rolling basis.