Svoboda Center Student Fellow - STOVOTES Lead

Job Title: Svoboda Center Student Fellow - STOVOTES Lead

Classification: Student Employee (non-exempt)

Name and Address of Employer: St. Olaf College, 1520 St. Olaf Ave, Northfield, MN 55057

Department Name: Svoboda Center for Civic Engagement

Contact Person/Supervisor: Alyssa Melby, Director, Svoboda Center

Pay Rate: mid-level $12.25/hr

NOTE: This position will begin in Spring 2026 and end in December 2026.

Description of the Position:

• To lead nonpartisan election engagement among students and student organizations, including but not limited to: 
  -sharing information on the voting and democratic engagement processes through relevant communication channels, 
  -organize voter and democratic engagement events with and for different student populations, including students who are from other states and who may wish to vote at home in off-cycle years and international students
  -liaising with SGA and branches of SGA as applicable, 
  -organizing and serving as an Election Ambassador, etc. 
• This person will work alongside professional and student staff in the Svoboda Center.
   

Transferable Skills:

• Relationship and coalition building
• Crafting relevant messages for different student audiences
• Organizing and facilitating program and event planning and execution
• Design promotional materials
• Curate website content 
• Set and manage small budget

Duties and Responsibilities:

The Svoboda Center Student Fellow - STOVOTES Lead will be asked to complete the following, including but not limited to:

• Build relationships and coalitions with and among different student populations and student organizations around nonpartisan election and democratic engagement
• Attend, when possible, the Election Engagement Group meetings as a student representative
• During major election years (presidential and mid-terms) organize the Election Ambassador program
  • Complete training on how to serve as an election ambassador
  • Recruit students to serve as election ambassadors through various groups (athletics, music orgs, student orgs, academic departments, etc.)
  • Facilitate training for election ambassadors
  • Update training materials as necessary for each election cycle
  • Represent the ACE office and the Election Engagement group at various election engagement student events in the 3 months preceding elections
• Work with SGA and interested student organizations, departments, and faculty to plan and implement nonpartisan election and democratic engagement activities, to potentially include but not limited to:
  • Drafting annual election and democratic engagement plan
  • Assisting ACE courses that have a civic engagement component (such as the Intro to Public Health course letter writing campaign project)
• Assist with storytelling efforts around the impact of U.S. elections on non-U.S. citizens living within the United States and international relations more broadly
• Update the St. Olaf VOTE website as needed with relevant information and materials 
• Assist with completing final report for MN Secretary of State’s office 
   

Disclaimer: This position does not in any way support, advocate, campaign, or lobby for any federal, state, or local political parties or candidates.  This position's primary area of focus is civic engagement and information of the election process open to the public.  This position is not performed at a voting poll or place of election.
 

Qualifications: (Education/Experience/Skills)

Education: Student in academic good standing, at least sophomore class standing

Experience: The ACE office is looking for someone who is a...

• Collaborator
• Community builder
• Activator
• Learner

Ideal candidate should have an interest in working with various constituents and communities to advance nonpartisan election engagement priorities and ensuring that all students have necessary resources and information to participate meaningfully in the elections and ongoing democratic engagement efforts. 
 

Skills: Ideal candidate would have skills in the following:

• Google Docs, Spreadsheets, Forms
• WordPress
• Presence
• Tightrope

This job description is for general information purposes.  It is not intended to list all duties and responsibilities of the position.  This job description is subject to change at any time by St. Olaf College, with or without p