University Relations Coordinator

Role overview

The Conversation U.S. is looking for a University Relations Coordinator to support partnerships with colleges and universities. This full-time role sits within the University Relations team and focuses on partner communications, event coordination, data upkeep, administrative support, and relationship management. The coordinator will help strengthen engagement with member institutions, support outreach and editorial initiatives, and eventually become a primary point of contact for a portfolio of university partners.

About the organization

The Conversation U.S. is an independent nonprofit media outlet that publishes daily news analysis and commentary produced by academics, edited by journalists, and written for a broad public audience. The organization works with scholars across the United States to make important news easier to understand. The culture is described as collaborative, mission-driven, flexible, and supportive, with a strong emphasis on inclusion, diversity, equity, and justice.

Responsibilities

• Support communications and engagement efforts for university partners.
• Set up and manage webinars and virtual sessions, including Zoom invitations, RSVP workflows, and related messaging.
• Maintain Airtable records, including expert and institutional databases.
• Help track impact, with primary responsibility for print impact tracking and support for other impact-related work.
• Enter, clean, format, and organize data as required.
• Assist with member events such as semi-annual conferences and regional meetings.
• Lead assigned special projects and engagement programs in coordination with the Senior Manager.
• Create author profiles in the CMS and add institutions to Airtable and the CMS.
• Monitor and reply to diversity and support email inboxes.
• Support newsletter production, grant reporting, and other administrative tasks.
• Within the first year, act as the main contact for a set of member institutions, including virtual and hybrid meetings, regular stakeholder communication, data review, and best-practice sharing.
• Coordinate with partner communications contacts, editors, and scholars at member institutions.
• Assist editorial teams with photo work, editing, research, commissioning, and identifying relevant scholars and subject-matter experts.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree is required.
• 0 to 3 years of professional experience.
• Strong written and spoken communication ability.
• Excellent organization and attention to detail.
• Comfort managing several projects and deadlines at the same time.
• Prior experience with events, webinars, meetings, or stakeholder coordination is preferred.
• Experience with databases, Airtable, spreadsheets, CMS tools, or similar systems is an added advantage.
• Solid administrative, reporting, and data-handling skills.
• Ability to develop and sustain relationships with university partners, scholars, and internal teams.
• Capacity to work independently while collaborating across departments.
• Interest in higher education, nonprofit work, journalism, and public engagement.
• Commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and justice.

Benefits and compensation

Salary is listed at $60,000 to $65,000. Benefits include 401(k) matching, paid time off, sick days, health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, parental leave, vision insurance, and paid holidays.

Work arrangement and location

This is a full-time position based in the United States. Candidates across the U.S. may be considered. The organization has offices in Boston and New York, and for candidates in those cities, a hybrid arrangement combining in-person and work-from-home work may be available.

Equal opportunity and culture

The organization encourages applications from people from traditionally underrepresented communities, including Black, Latinx, Asian American, Native, LGBTQ, and armed services veteran candidates. Team members are expected to align with the mission of making scholarly knowledge more accessible, collaborate across the organization, represent the organization professionally, support DEIJ initiatives, and contribute positively to a mission-focused culture.

How to apply

Applicants should email a resume and cover letter explaining their interest in the role to the provided recruitment email address and include the job title in the subject line.