HEDEX Engagement Manager

HEDEX Engagement Manager

Who we are

Campus Compact is a national coalition of colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education. As the largest national higher education association dedicated solely to higher education civic and community engagement, Campus Compact enables higher education institutions to develop students’ citizenship skills and forge effective community partnerships. Our resources support senior administrators, faculty, staff, and students as they pursue community-based teaching, scholarship, and action in the service of positive change.

Today, we stand at a defining moment: we are ready to scale our impact when the stakes for our work have never been higher. We know that higher education has a critical role to play in fostering democratic principles and culture by addressing polarization, strengthening civic participation, and ensuring students are prepared to navigate and shape our democracy. Thanks to the investment of philanthropic partners, Campus Compact is preparing for a period of significant growth and expansion, particularly in the areas of innovation, scaling, and coalition building.

The Engagement Manager (EM) will be responsible for managing and supporting the Higher Education Democracy Exchange (HEDEX) platform. This position reports to the Director, Strategic Initiatives at Campus Compact. While this position sits within Campus Compact, the HEDEX initiative is a collaboration between Campus Compact, the American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U), More Perfect, and the Karsh Institute of Democracy at the University of Virginia.

HEDEX is a one-stop platform intended to support institutions of higher education to advance their civic missions through collective organizing, resource leveraging, and evidence building. Developed with input from field leadership, this multifunctional platform provides essential infrastructure for accelerating higher education’s collective impact on democratic engagement by centering technology rooted in human-centered design and radical collaboration..

HEDEX, scheduled to launch in late July 2026, facilitates the sharing of resources, civic credentials, data-informed stories, and an inclusive directory of civic practitioners. Built for leaders, practitioners, partners, and anyone committed to advancing the civic mission of higher education, HEDEX is designed to be versatile and responsive to the field.

The HEDEX Engagement Manager will work closely with both Compact and AAC&U staff members, to engage with external partners, maintain, build, and grow a subscriber base of HEDEX, execute on HEDEX communications strategies, and continue platform growth and development. This is a remote, full-time, exempt, fixed-term position that is funded for 12 months from start date, with continuation contingent on external funding, with regular travel required.

• This is a remote position with regular travel required for Planning Retreats, Events/Meetings, Staff Gatherings, and other Campus Compact Events, specifically our annual All-Staff, in-person retreat.
• Grant Funded until July 2027

HEDEX Stakeholder Engagement & Strategy Execution

In collaboration with the Director, Strategic Initiatives and other key stakeholders, execute a communications strategy to drive user engagement for HEDEX. The Engagement Manager will support the development of communications opportunities and strategies for HEDEX user engagement and growth, specifically around collating news in the field, highlighting and promoting HEDEX features across social media outlets, and building narratives for how HEDEX can be utilized across the field.

• Execute and Grow HEDEX Communications Channels: Build and maintain the platform's digital presence, including social media, email newsletters, and content distribution platforms, by sourcing relevant industry news and curating engaging content to drive audience growth.. The Engagement Manager will also be responsible for tracking growth in the user base (i.e., total number of users over time), user metrics (i.e,, user metrics across the platform over time), and expansion of awareness (e.g., social media mentions, repostings, national presentations).
• Foster Partner Relationships: In close partnership with the Director, Strategic Initiatives, maintain and form new stakeholder relationships that build upon foundational partnerships between Campus Compact, AAC&U, More Perfect, and the Karsh Institute of Democracy, in ways that can expand HEDEX’s reach, impact, and inclusivity..
• Cross-Team Alignment: Coordinate with the Campus Compact Membership and Communications teams, keeping teams informed awareness across goals and possible overlap when relevant.
• Communications Support for HEDEX Ambassadors: Collaborate to provide written guidance, such as talking points and slide decks, for ambassadors and core HEDEX staff representing the platform at field events.

Platform Management & Operational Delivery

Manage the day-to-day coordination and delivery of the actual platform. The Engagement Manager will act as a content manager of the backend, amending and creating pages as needed, in collaboration with the Director, Strategic Initiatives and HEDEX PI’s. The Engagement Manager will also translate requests needed to the website developers, and ensure requests are both within scope and budget.

• Support Live Platform: Support the live platform by monitoring backend maintenance, tracking resource uploads, and identifying opportunities for functional growth.
• Serve as Project POC: Act as the operational Point of Contact (POC) to drive platform tasks forward
• Resource Monitoring & Growth: Coordinate closely with other teams and external stakeholders, including but not limited to Campus Compact’s Professional Development team, and partners to identify resources that can be added to HEDEX, as well as how the platform can further align with the team’s area of work.
• Vendor & Team Coordination: Support contact with external platform developers to facilitate website support and new features, while monitoring budget. Move stakeholder and user ideas into action by building small project plans, establishing timelines, and assigning tasks.

Event Execution & Logistics

Hands on logistics management for both virtual and in-person spaces to drive interaction and tool adoption. The Engagement Manager will oversee the operational details for events, including two HEDEX Innovation Sprints and multiple live HEDEX Demonstrations, where live, interactive exercises guiding attendees to actively use HEDEX to find, curate and save information in real time will occur.

• Collaborate with Organizers & Stakeholders: Serve as the primary point of contact between HEDEX stakeholders, external event hosts and internal teams before, during and after the event. Partner closely with them to align on event goals, agenda design and integration of HEDEX.
• Event Operations: Handle logistics for virtual and in-person events/meetings, in tandem with event staff and external hosts. This includes agendas, registration, catering, budget tracking, travel support and coordination, venue confirmation, technology set up, and post-event evaluation (i.e. collecting survey responses).
• Event Communications: Draft, review and send timely pre- and post-event communications to drive attendance, ensure awareness and provide participants with necessary logistical details.
• Post-Event Follow Up & Analysis: Gather participant feedback and engagement metrics, distribute follow-up resources, and track invoice payments. Share insights, reflections and post-event action items to relevant stakeholders.

Analysis & Storytelling

The HEDEX Engagement Manager will review trends and platform data to help build compelling narratives that show the collective impact of higher education's civic mission, working closely with HEDEX’s core team, including the PI’s and Director, Strategic Initiatives.

• Track Sector Research: Review and be aware of relevant communications, including research and data, to keep HEDEX informed and responsive to emerging trends within higher education and civic engagement.
• Support Data Stories: Identify sources from within HEDEX and within the field to help develop data stories to highlight emerging trends and promising practices of democratic engagement in higher education.

Evaluation, Reporting, & Budget Monitoring

Support tracking of metrics and budget alignment. Presenting analytics performance of HEDEX (which has been set up by the website developer), assist in drafting funder compliance reports, and track expenditures against the approved budget.

• Track Engagement Metrics: Consulting with the Director, Strategic Initiatives and HEDEX leaders, track engagement using Google Analytics and other metrics (such as resource uploads and event use) to identify how the platform can be further utilized.
• Support Funder Reporting: In partnership with the Director, Strategic Initiatives and the Campus Compact Finance team, use collected metrics to contribute to project funder reports.
• Monitor Expenditures: Work closely with the Director, Strategic Initiatives and the Campus Compact Finance team to manage project budgets, monitor expenditures, and ensure fiscal responsibility and compliance.

Organizational Engagement: Active participation in Compact team activities, including regular staff meetings, retreats, and major events. Complete other related duties as required.

Qualifications:

• Experience in civic engagement networks or projects
• Experience representing work publicly in person or in digital spaces (for example, representing a very public facing project in undergrad counts)
• Project management experience, at any level with multiple stakeholders
• Self-motivated, detail-oriented, and highly organized.
• Ability to take ideas and turn them into actionable steps, driving progress forward, in partnership with key stakeholders, including project PI’s and direct supervisor
• A strong collaborator, approaching work with the confidence to take the lead on projects, organize others, and solve problems.
• Thrives working in a fast-paced environment and is comfortable managing multiple priorities
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to interact effectively with diverse stakeholders.
• A strong writer who feels comfortable communicating directly with Compact and AAC&U members, partners, event attendees, and other audiences
• Proficient in Microsoft office and related technology; project management software and tools proficiency is preferred.
• Experience with identifying, synthesizing, and reporting summarized research.
• A strong understanding of civic engagement, democratic engagement, social responsibility, and community engagement programming and activities within higher education, is ideal.

Expectations:

• Education Level: Undergraduate degree
• Understanding and familiarity with the civic/democratic engagement and higher education space
• Organization, Time, & Priority Management
  • Consistent, highly organized, and can easily manage competing priorities. We’ll rely on the Engagement manager to set and meet deadlines, plan and assign tasks, and deliver consistently high-quality work.
• Data:
  • Analytical skills to interpret user marketing & constituent engagement data across platforms and make action-oriented recommendations to improve our offerings.
• A deep personal and professional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Would Welcome Additional Experience:

• Organization and/or active participation of democratic and/or civic engagement efforts in a campus setting
• A year or more in a professional setting working on a public-facing engagement campaign
• Asana
• Working with higher education institutions

As an employee of Campus Compact you strive to represent & live Campus Compact’s Shared Values & Commitments in both how you show up for and work with your colleagues as well as Compact’s partners and communities:

• Equity: We prioritize full participation and diversity of thought, experience, and background. We center equity in our actions, processes, and practices to uplift diverse voices and perspectives.
• Growth mindset: We consistently push ourselves and each other to do and be better. We are motivated by growth—embracing new ideas, prioritizing continuous learning, and meeting challenges head-on.
• Accountability: We recognize that long-term change requires individual and shared ownership of personal and organizational actions. We own our mistakes, give each other grace, collaborate openly, and hold ourselves to high standards of integrity.
• Responsiveness: We ensure our offerings, resources, and approaches are flexible, grounded in feedback, and responsive to the challenges of our time.
• Transparency: We are direct and authentic within our team, with our members, and with our partners. We know that building trust starts with consistent, honest, and transparent communication.

Internal & External Relationship Management:

• Coordinating across teams around communication, dates, and cross-functional alignment
• Maintain productive and informed partnership with AAC&U, in close collaboration with Director, Strategic Initiatives
• Communicating effectively within Strategic Initiatives and the larger HEDEX team, including colleagues at AAC&U. Communicating across Campus Compact, as needed

Qualification Requirements: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function in a satisfactory manner. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical requirements:

• This is primarily a sedentary position requiring the ability to sit at a desk and use a computer and phone most of the day.
• Minor bending and lifting periodically (mostly related to help with events and office management needs)
• The physical demands described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Additional Information:

• Position Type: This is a remote, full-time, exempt, fixed-term position that is funded for 12 months from start date, with continuation contingent on external funding.
• Location: This is a remote position with occasional travel required for staff gatherings and Compact Events, most specifically our annual All Staff, in-person Retreat.
• Reporting Structure: Director, Strategic Initiative, with a close working relationship with our Senior Vice President, Strategy, and HEDEX PI’s
• Compensation Band: $65,000-75,000
• Benefits: Campus Compact provides a competitive benefits package, including national healthcare coverage, generous paid time off, and an employer retirement contribution. The organization prioritizes employee well-being and professional development and lives out those values through a flexible work environment, an inclusive and caring culture, and dedication to professional development.
  • Winter Break: Dec. 24th - Jan. 1st
  • Summer Reset: Week of July 4th
• Organizational Breaks:

We would like this position to start as soon as is reasonably possible, but ideally no later than September 7th, 2026. We would like for the person hired to be able to attend (in person) Campus Compact’s Staff Retreat the week of September 14th, 2026.

We recognize that applicants may use tools, including AI, to support drafting or editing their materials. We ask that your responses reflect your own experience, judgment, and voice. We are most interested in understanding how you think, how you approach the work, and what you would bring to this role, so please use the application questions as an opportunity to share your perspective authentically.

Campus Compact strives to attract and retain a diverse and talented staff who will contribute to the organization’s goals, mission, and vision. We encourage individuals of all ethnic, racial, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds to apply. Campus Compact is committed to increasing our team’s diversity, consistent with the values of our network. Campus Compact is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to qualified individuals. It does not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, height, weight, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information or characteristics (or those of a family member), or any other basis prohibited by law.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

Campus Compact participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. will only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the Form I-9.

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