Resource Employee - Writing Beyond the Prison

University of Southern California • Los Angeles, CA

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

The University of Southern California (USC) is seeking two (2) Resource Employees to support grant-funded operations for the Dornsife Prison Education Project's Reader's Circle, specifically for the Writing Beyond the Prison (WBP) initiative. WBP is an ACLS Digital Justice Grant-funded project focused on building a digital-justice ecosystem by supporting incarcerated writers. The project involves preparing manuscripts for publication, developing digital curricula on trauma-informed writing and cooperative governance, and advancing equity by centering the intellectual labor of historically excluded individuals. The Readers’ Circle, housed at USC, is a volunteer-based editing network that pairs volunteers with incarcerated writers. Together with the United Black Family Scholarship Foundation (UBFSF), they will oversee workshops, editorial processes, publication, and digital archiving.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree, Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education
• 1 year of experience, Combined education/experience as substitute for minimum experience
• Minimum Field of Expertise: Administrative support services

Nice To Haves

• Passionate about the intersection between writing and social justice
• Experience and/or commitment to working with system-impacted communities or individuals
• Organized and detail-oriented, with superior time management skills
• Responsive and reliable, with excellent written communication skills
• Capable of multitasking and prioritizing projects according to a fluctuating workload
• Happy solving problems independently as well as working collaboratively as needed
• Working knowledge of Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Drive etc.)
• Candidates may be local to Los Angeles (preferred) or remote.

Responsibilities

• Plan and execute three consecutive, 16-week-long workshops providing compilation and formatting, editing and feedback, and publication support on book-length texts submitted by incarcerated writers.
• Recruit, vet, and train incoming volunteer editors for each workshop.
• Coordinate incoming and outgoing manuscripts and ensure that volunteer editors adhere to a completion timeline.
• Oversee and (where necessary) implement systems and databases for processing, storing, reviewing and returning manuscripts.
• Communicate regularly with authors (via digital prison communication platforms and the mail) and mediate between editors and authors to ensure manuscripts meet author expectations.
• Support volunteer editors by offering weekly working groups, one-on-one meetings, and email Q&A support.
• Ensure edited manuscripts are up to publishing standard and meet each author’s requirements.
• Perform additional editing and formatting when necessary.
• Communicate with the Workshop Assistant and correctional facility staff to ensure manuscripts reach authors and mailing requirements are met.
• Coordinate and oversee workshop support provided by the Workshop Assistant.
• Report to Readers’ Circle and UBFSF leadership as needed to coordinate the project.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Entry Level