Part Time - Documenters - Communications

The Pennsylvania State University; Ferguson Township (PA); On-site; USD 17,000 - 28,000; Part time

Job summary

The Bellisario Media Center at The Pennsylvania State University is seeking a wage payroll student for the News Lab for the Fall 2026/Spring 2027 year. The role involves coordinating events and trainings, working with the Editorial Director, and promoting materials to Penn State students.

Responsibilities include coordinating posters and social media, communicating with trainers, tracking participation, and administering post-program surveys.

Qualifications

• Students must be motivated, organized, responsible, and creative.
• Background checks may be required by University policies.
• Open to Penn State students for Fall 2026/Spring 2027.

Responsibilities

• Work independently and with the Editorial Director of the Media Center to coordinate, market, and host newsroom events and trainings.
• Coordinate with the News Lab team to guarantee promotional posters and social media posts.
• Communicate with trainers.
• Track student participation.
• Coordinate post-programming surveys.
• Complete tasks as assigned.

Skills

Motivated

Organized

Responsible

Creative

Job description

Job Description

The Bellisario Media Center is seeking to fill a wage payroll position in its News Lab for the Fall 2026/Spring 2027 academic year. Undergraduate and graduate students may apply.

The successful candidate will work independently and with the Editorial Director of the Media Center to coordinate, market, and host newsroom events and trainings.

This includes coordinating with the News Lab team to guarantee promotional posters and social media posts, communicating with trainers, tracking student participation, coordinating post-programming surveys, and tasks as assigned.

News Lab trainings are hosted in-person and via Zoom throughout the year and are open to all Penn State students.

In 2022-23, students filled more than 700 seats in a single semester for trainings on public records requests, fact-checking, broadcast packages, safety during protests and elections, and more.

Responsibilities

• Work independently and with the Editorial Director of the Media Center to coordinate, market, and host newsroom events and trainings.
• Coordinate with the News Lab team to guarantee promotional posters and social media posts.
• Communicate with trainers.
• Track student participation.
• Coordinate post-programming surveys.
• Complete tasks as assigned.

Work Hours

This position is approximately 30 hours across the semester, including trainings and public meeting attendance. Typically, a Documenter would not work more than 5 hours in a single week.

Eligibility and Requirements

Students must be motivated, organized, responsible, and creative.

Background Checks and Clearances

Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.

Campus Security and Crime Statistics

Privacy and campus safety: The University publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR) which includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review.

Equal Opportunity

Penn State is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

We embrace individual uniqueness, as well as a culture of belonging that supports equity initiatives, leverages the educational and institutional benefits of inclusion in society, and provides opportunities for engagement intended to help all members of the community thrive. We welcome applications from all backgrounds. Penn State is committed to and accountable for advancing equity, respect, and belonging. We value belonging as a core strength and an essential element of the university’s teaching, research, and service mission.

Values and Culture

Our values are as follows; Integrity, Respect, Responsibility, Discovery, Excellence, and Community. We are Penn State. One Community. Impacting Many.

At Penn State, passion is met with collaboration in an environment that is rooted in shared pride for the accomplishments of our fellow students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Penn Staters cheer each other on to build a culture committed to service and engagement. Our University values represent our core ethical aspirations for all our daily activities and actions as students, faculty, staff, and volunteers at Penn State.

There's a reason Penn State consistently ranks among the top one percent of the world’s universities. Across 24 campuses, our 100,000 students and 40,000 faculty and staff know the real measure of success goes beyond the classroom - it's the positive impact made on communities across the world. Our ideals stem from our origins as Pennsylvania's sole land-grant institution, which allow us to continue to bring positive impact to humanity through our teaching, research, and engagement mission. And across the world is a community of Penn Staters - more than half a million strong - driven by that same spirit to serve our local and global communities. At Penn State, passion is met with collaboration in an environment that is rooted in shared pride for the accomplishments of our fellow students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Penn Staters cheer each other on to build a culture committed to service and engagement. Our University values represent our core ethical aspirations for all our daily activities and actions as students, faculty, staff, and volunteers at Penn State.