Call For Applications

Haverford A-Doc Impact Lab Coordinator

• Part-time remote work: March 1-August 31, 2022 (six months)
• Deadline to Apply: Noon, February 17, 2022

About the Lab

Haverford College’s Hurford Center for the Arts and Humanities and VCAM (Visual Culture, Arts, and Media) in partnership with the Asian American Documentary Network (A-DOC) invite applications for the position of Impact Lab Coordinator for the Summer 2022 DocuLab project, “Haverford A-DOC Impact Lab.”

DocuLab is a five year donor-funded program that develops student-faculty documentary work in Haverford College’s VCAM facility. For the first time, this year’s DocuLab will involve not only a faculty film but two additional films selected by partner A-Doc. This is a first for A-Doc as well, and constitutes an exploratory program as part of its newly launched Impact Initiative.  

The summer 2022 iteration of the DocuLab program is a ten-week partnership between Haverford and the Asian American Documentary Network (A-Doc), a network of 1000+ film professionals that works to increase the visibility and support of Asian Americans in the documentary field. The collaboratively envisioned Impact Lab will focus on an emerging field of filmmaking which harnesses the unique power of film to bolster social justice goals. Impact producing is a strategic practice that mobilizes filmmaker-community partnerships to bring about change through shifting cultural narratives, changing attitudes and behaviors, activating grassroots movements, and targeting power-holders. 

Format

June 2022 Impact Strategy Summit (at Haverford)

The 10-week Lab will kick off with a 3-day intensive summit at Haverford that brings together 3 film teams, 5 students, community partners, and impact experts. The summit will bring together selected stakeholders such as issue experts, grassroots organizations, journalists, educators, and members of the affected community to watch film excerpts and offer important insights through discussions on the key issues, story, scenes, messaging, framing, and other aspects to inform impact strategy development for the film.

June-August 2022 Core Lab Activities (Virtual)

The remainder of the lab will consist of one (1) weekly virtual workshops focused on deepening shared understandings of impact producing models, strategies and skills and two (2) hands on project-based work with each film team, including a weekly remote report-back session for each team to highlight what they are working on, and any challenges they would like feedback on from the other teams.

Workshop topics will cover four major curricular areas: (A) Impact producing (B) Distribution (C) Cultural strategy, and (D) Social change strategies. Workshops will be led by experts in the field of documentary, impact producing, and social change.

Hands-on project-based work will depend on the needs and stage of the selected films. Each student will take the creative lead on one project, examples of which could include developing a multimedia film discussion guide, producing and editing a package of promotional videos (e.g. interviews, special trailers, behind the lens features), coordinating a tour of film screenings, designing impact campaign materials, or leading a social media campaign.

August 2022 Retreat (at Haverford)

The Lab will conclude with a 2-day retreat at Haverford, including a field visit to film screenings at the Blackstar Film Festival in Philadelphia followed by in-depth discussions amongst Lab participants. The retreat will culminate with presentations from each film team on their impact campaign strategy, learnings and insights on the process, and other impact-related project updates from the teams.

The Coordinator Position

The Impact Lab Coordinator is a key role within the DocuLab team, working closely with the project’s Faculty Lead Emily Hong, Hurford Center Associate Director James Weissinger, and Asian American Documentary Network’s Lab Planning Working Group members Rahi Hasan and Gerry Leonard as well as A-Doc staff. 

Responsibilities/Key Deliverables:

• Work collaboratively with the team on the project management for the lab through bi-weekly meetings with the team starting in early February 2022 leading up to the start of the Lab
• Take the lead on day to day planning, outreach, and operations and other follow up tasks from planning meetings
• Coordinate with Lab mentors, workshop leaders, guest speakers, and Lab participants on summit and workshop sessions
• Lead planning, scheduling, and execution of summit, retreat, and weekly virtual workshops with the support of the Faculty Lead
• Supervise student worker to document lab curriculum
• Working with Faculty Lead, co-facilitate weekly report-back sessions for film teams
• Mentor lab fellows and participants on their projects in conjunction with other team members and mentors
• Mentor student fellows on their projects with the support of the Faculty Lead
• Collect feedback from lab participants and analyze feedback and metrics for a post-Lab impact assessment
• Coordinate travel logistics in partnership with the Hurford Center Associate Director and the Center’s Financial & Administrative Assistant
• Maintain the group’s bookkeeping system and work with Hurford Center Financial and Administrative Assistant to track expenses

Qualifications/Skills:

• A passion for media and stories that center Asian and Asian-American experiences and the desire to help amplify and leverage these critical stories
• At least 3-5 years of professional or academic related work experience, which includes a strong background in impact producing or substantial experience at the intersection of documentary film and social justice 
• Strong public speaking and group facilitation skills 
• Strong communication and writing skills
• Experience in project management, outreach and coordination, operations, and bookkeeping 
• Ability to work with students and a diverse team 
• Self-motivated individual with efficient and reliable time management and goal-setting skills 
• Demonstrated ability to work well collaboratively
• Own laptop/desktop and access to reliable wi-fi 

Salary/Hours

The Impact Lab Coordinator will receive a flat rate of $9,500 for their work on the project. Expect to dedicate approximately 10 hours per week (with more intensive 20 hours per week during the Lab). Travel and food expenses for in-person components will be covered by the project budget. This is a six month position.

Availability

Applicants must be available for the following dates:

• Part-time remote work: March 1 - August 31, 2022 (six months)
• Lab dates: June 2-August 7
• In-Person dates: 
  • Summit: June 2-5 (or 3-6) in Haverford, PA
  • Retreat: August 5-7 in Haverford, PA during BlackStar Film Festival (festival dates: August 3-7)

To apply, please email HCAH Associate Director and VCAM Operations Manager James Weissinger at jweissin [at] haverford.edu and Faculty Lead Emily Hong at ehong1 [at] haverford.edu and submit the following:

• Cover letter describing your interest in the project and approach to the deliverables in the position description. Please also describe your previous experience working in impact producing and/or other relevant arts and culture and social justice work as well as relevant experience in project management/coordination of an event/project of comparable scale
• CV/resume and bio
• Names and contact info of at least two references from organizations and/or projects for whom you have performed similar work with

Please direct any questions to James Weissinger at jweissin [at] haverford.edu and Faculty Lead Emily Hong at ehong1 [at] haverford.edu.

Haverford College is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer that does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital status, disability or veteran status. Haverford has a longstanding commitment to diversity rooted in values of inclusion and social justice, a commitment reflected in the curriculum, classrooms, and communal composition of the College. Haverford welcomes applications from candidates who share these values and who will foster their contribution to the College’s mission.