Karsh Institute Associate

The Karsh Institute Associate is a new 12-month full-time position at the Karsh Institute of Democracy. The candidate selected for the 2025-2026 year will be the inaugural Associate and will help shape and provide recommendations for the Associate program’s future.

The Karsh Institute is a pan-university institute that brings together a range of scholars, journalists, policy makers and practitioners in various fields to address the most pressing challenges to democratic governance and civic life. If you thrive on collaboration and adaptability, this role offers the opportunity to shape the future, tackle complex challenges, and make a lasting impact in a dynamic organization.

As a staff member at the Karsh Institute of Democracy, the Karsh Institute Associate will work on projects related to the Institute’s priorities and support essential administrative and operational work across the Institute. The Karsh Institute Associate will provide event, communications, executive, and project support as assigned by the Institute’s leadership team. This position will report to the Managing Director with a flexible start date between June and August 2025. The Associate will participate in the interview selection process for the 2026-2027 Associate.

Position Responsibilities:

Event Support and Coordination

• Serve as a logistical point of contact for vendors, facilities management, and internal and external partners for events and convenings at Bond House
  
• Orient event partners to the Bond House event space, to include AV support, parking reservations, signage, and visitor check in
  
• Coordinate AV needs and provide technical AV support for meetings and events at Bond House
  
• Provide event coverage and logistical assistance during major events, as necessary (e.g., Advisory Board meetings, Democracy360, Touchstones of Democracy series)
  
• Support logistical planning for the Institute’s Advisory Board meetings, including assistance with the preparation of board materials, board member and speaker communications, and meeting logistics
  
• Update event materials and policies as needed
  

Executive Support

• Assist with drafting, organizing and updating briefing and background materials for the Executive Director in advance of meetings and events
  
• Conduct research related to the Executive Director’s speaking events to support speech writing and the preparation of talking points
  
• Manage updates for Advancement related projects, including donor relations and status updates
  

Planning and Project Support

• Assist in the preparation of key meeting agendas and action items
  
• Update Institute project and initiative tracking documents and event calendars for internal use
  
• Draft internal communications and announcements
  
• Conduct ad hoc research and analysis on key issues for the Institute’s leadership team review and use
  
• Assist with and help to execute special projects and signature events, such as Democracy360 and the Touchstones of Democracy series
  
• Carry out other duties as assigned by the Managing Director
  
• Assist with unforeseen priorities that emerge within the Institute
  

Minimum Qualifications:

Education: Bachelor's degree

Experience: Two years of experience. Relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

The Karsh Institute is a fast-paced, highly collaborative culture and the ideal candidate will demonstrate a value for self-directed learning, initiative, innovation, and excellence.

• Knowledge of and passion for the University of Virginia, its culture, policies, and procedures
  
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; proven ability to clearly articulate information in multiple forums to a broad array of stakeholders
  
• Excellent operational and project management skills, including the ability to prioritize and multi-task
  
• Ability to interact with executive level administrators, faculty, staff, students, donors, external partners, and other stakeholders in a productive, positive, and professional manner
  
• Ability to take initiative by thinking proactively in a fast-paced environment
  
• Ability to exercise discretion and handle sensitive issues while maintaining confidentiality
  
• Ability to prioritize tasks and use independent judgment
  
• Ability to contribute to a working environment where differences are valued and supported
  
• Ability to work independently as well as in collaboration with cross-functional teams
  

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Preference will be given to individuals who will receive an undergraduate and/or graduate degree from the University of Virginia in Spring 2025 or those who have recently received a UVA undergraduate and/or graduate degree
  
• Advanced Microsoft Office suite skills, especially PowerPoint, Excel, Visio, and SharePoint
  
• Demonstrated interest in higher education administration, nonprofit organizational leadership, and/or the history and principles of democracy
  

This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally requires traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.

This position is an In-Person located in Charlottesville, VA. with occasional evening and weekend hours required for special events. Opportunities for occasional remote work and/or flexible work hours will be established in coordination with the Managing Director.

The anticipated start date is June 2025.

This position is a restricted position and is dependent upon project need, availability of funding and performance. Anticipated Hiring Range: $ 50,000 - $60,000 commensurate with education and experience. commensurate with education and experience.

This is an Exempt level, benefited position . For more information on the benefits at UVA, visit www. hr.virginia.edu/benefits. This position will remain open until filled. Review of applicants will beg in in late March, 2025. This position will not sponsor applicants for work visas. The University will perform background checks on all new hires prior to employment.

To Apply:

Please apply through the UVA Job Board and search R0070454. Internal applicants must apply through their UVA Workday profile by searching 'Find Jobs'.

Complete an application online with the following documents:

• CV or Resume
  
• Cover letter articulating interest in the position
  
• For selected candidates only - A writing sample or writing exercise
  

Upload all materials into the resume submission field, multiple documents can be submitted into this one field. Alternatively, merge all documents into one PDF for submission. Applications that do not contain all required documents will not receive full consideration.

References will be completed via UVA’s standardized process Skill Survey. A total of five references will be requested via SkillSurvey during the final phase of the interview process.

For questions about the application process, please contact Jon Freeman , Recruiting Specialist, at jf2sw @virginia.edu

For more information about UVA and the Charlottesville community please see http://www.virginia.edu/life/charlottesville and https://embarkcva.com/.

The University of Virginia, i ncluding the UVA Health System which represents the UVA Medical Center, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, UVA Physician’s Group and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, are fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff. We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person's perspectives and lived experiences. We are equal opportunity employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, and family medical or genetic information.