Summary

The adviser to HILLTOP MONITOR student newspaper serves as the primary non-student faculty administrator for the newspaper staff and is responsible for recruiting, hiring, training, and mentoring all students on the College’s student newspaper staff.  The HILLTOP MONITOR is a weekly paper currently published approximately 24 times per academic year.  The adviser oversees and guides the student staff’s weekly work to create and distribute this publication, teaches COM 393 Journalism Activity and reports directly to the Dean of Students at the College.  

Duties and Responsibilities 

• Recruitment- Responsible for meeting with prospective students and their families as part of the student recruitment process.  Also responsible for posting job descriptions, reviewing all applications/portfolios for students applying for journalism talent scholarships, as is required by the College’s financial aid policies.  The adviser ultimately makes all recommendations to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Services regarding the level of scholarship talent for each individual program recruit.  In charge of selecting a diverse staff from incoming and current students, through the College’s student worker program, that will represent as many aspects of the College’s student body as possible. 
  
  
• Supervision- The adviser serves as the College’s primary supervisor of the student staff, charged with building a staff that values trust, hard work, and a commitment to excellence.  The adviser recruits, selects, and appoints the Editor-in-Chief, a student position, and empowers the Editor-in-Chief to assume as much leadership as possible for all aspects of the paper and the staff.  In addition, the adviser empowers the student staff to do the same, holds the staff to the highest standards of accountability, and manages all students who are on the College’s payroll for their newspaper work, as work-ship and/or workstudy students are required to report their hours of work in accordance to College human resource and payroll policies. 
  
  
• Teaching and Professional Knowledge- The adviser also plays a critical role in teaching the student staff to be responsible citizens, as well as courageous and independent thinkers.  The adviser is responsible for teaching student staff members the key principles of journalism, the Code of Ethics used by the Society of Professional Journalists, and to guide the students as they learn how to implement that Code and those principles.  In addition, this position requires that the candidate possess a clear knowledge of the legal issues regarding media, especially issues and case law within high school and college/university settings.  The adviser is the instructor for COM 393 Journalism Activity (1 credit hour).  Enrollment in this course is optional for student staff members.
  
  
• Mentoring- Organization advisers have direct contact with students on a regular basis.  This requires them to assume the role of mentor.  The adviser should be prepared to build an appropriate and positive level of trust between themselves and the student staff.  This requires the adviser to demonstrate approachability, availability, and advocacy. Working with students often requires the adviser to counsel students and provide them with advice on both College and related personal matters.  Finally, students have a developmental need to develop meaningful friendships and relationships with an adviser.  This requires the adviser to balance the need for friendship with the professional obligations for appropriate relationships with students.
  
  
• Fiduciary Responsibilities- The adviser has the fiduciary responsibility to work within the College’s budget framework.  In addition, the adviser must approve all expenditures, including student staff payroll authorizations, as well as establishing and maintaining a good working relationship with the printer of the paper.  

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Master’s degree is related field preferred, along with significant professional experience in media and journalism
• Interpersonal skills and verbal and written communication skills required to counsel students and parents and provide journalistic review of written communication content.
• Knowledge of legal issues related to high school and college/university journalism and general knowledge of issues within higher education and a demonstrated commitment to advocating for students and the newspaper organization are essential. 
• Analytical abilities required to assess situations and determine the best method of dealing with such issues based on College policies.  

Working Conditions

Part-time position does require the adviser to be available some evenings while the paper is being copy-edited, proofread, and prepared for publishing.  The adviser also will need to be available to student staff throughout the week via email and phone.  Employment dates:  fall and spring semesters each year.

Supervisory Responsibility 

The adviser directly supervises the student Editor-in-Chief and the other student newspaper staff members, oversees that tracking and approval for student workship and workstudy hours.  

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees in this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications of employees assigned to this job. 

Application Procedure

Submit cover letter, resume and William Jewell College application by PDF or MS Word format to jobs AT william.jewell DOT edu

Applicants, who need accommodation for the application or interview process, please make such accommodation request in advance to the Human Resources department.

William Jewell College
Office of Human Resources
500 College Hill Box 1017
Liberty, MO  64068
(816) 415-5992 

Availability

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

All final candidates will be required to successfully pass a criminal background check prior to beginning employement.
 

William Jewell College promises students an outstanding liberal arts education
that cultivates leadership, service, and spiritual growth within a community
inspired by Christian ideals and committed to open, rigorous intellectual pursuits.

 
William Jewell College is an equal opportunity employer.