In 1837, Emory College placed the competition of ideas at the center of the student experience with the creation of Phi Gamma Literary and Debate Society. While the format of events and the student body has evolved, The Alben W. Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation, and Dialogue remains the standard-bearer of Emory’s definitive and robust commitment to the deliberative exchange of ideas by providing students numerous opportunities on and off the campus. Named after the 35th vice president of the United States and Emory alum, the Barkley Forum (BF) is driven by a mission to create meaningful encounters that encourage people to seek and share knowledge. At its core, the BF works to promote and encourage difficult conversations about and across our difference, deliberative civic engagement, and student research.

JOB DESCRIPTION:

• The Debate and Dialogue Specialist provides argument research for debate competition and campus events, develops and implements trainings, and maintains an engaged and dynamic social media presence promoting Barkley Forum programs.
• Develops and implements coaching instruction focused on improving students' oral communication and research skills.
• Creates, delivers, records and distributes training lectures.
• Maintains office hours to meet with students for mentoring, assistance, and coaching.
• Attends five debate competitions or campus engagement events each semester.
• Develops, writes, and edits students' presentation materials.
• Updates and maintains the Barkley Forum's research database.
• Assists with the production of NDT/CEDA topic paper.
• Manages social media accounts.
• Manages digital signage.
• Manages instant messaging accounts.
• Contributes to the production of the Flowsheet, BF's alumni newsletter.
• Designs and distributes material promoting debate and dialogue events.
• Designs and distributes recruiting materials.
• Serves as an area director at the Barkley Forum for High Schools.
• Manages Emory student support for the Atlanta Urban Debate League.
• Develops, writes, and edits arguments for use at Emory National Debate Institute.
• Attends high school debate and speech events to engage potential recruits.
• Performs other related duties as required.

ADDITIONAL JOB DETAILS:

The Barkley Forum has three areas of focus:

• Intercollegiate competitive debate program – Our nationally ranked policy debate team strives to be an exemplary program for training students to be inquiry-driven while they work to achieve Emory’s mission to create, preserve, teach, and apply knowledge in the service of humanity. This is done while maintaining an access mission to provide training to students who have not previously participated in intercollegiate debate.
• Campus engagement initiative – The BF houses a robust set of deliberation and dialogue programs assisting in creating transformative conversational opportunities across the campus.
• Alumni/ae and community engagement – The BF supports the continued participation of alumni/ae in BF programs. Atlanta Urban Debate League (AUDL), Barkley Forum High Schools (BFHS) and Emory National Debate Institute (ENDI) comprise the primary vehicle the BF uses to aid students in using their immense talents to improve the myriad of communities to which they belong.

Responsibilities:

Student learning

• Develops and implements coaching instruction focused on improving students’ oral communication and research skills.
• Creates, delivers, records and distributes training lectures.
• Maintains office hours to meet with students for mentoring, assistance, and coaching.
• Attend five campus engagements each semester

Research

• Develops, writes, and edits students’ presentation materials.
• Updates and maintains the Barkley Forum’s research database.

Social media presence and communication

• Manages social media accounts.
• Manages digital signage.
• Manages instant messaging accounts.
• Contributes to the production of the Flowsheet, BF’s alumni newsletter.

Promotional materials

• Designs and distributes material promoting debate and dialogue events.
• Designs and distributes recruiting materials.

Community Engagement

• Serve as an area director at the Barkley Forum for High Schools
• Develops, writes, and edits materials for use at the Emory National Debate Institute
• Coaches, lectures and assist with the Emory National Debate Institute

• A bachelor's degree and two years of policy debate or public speaking experience, OR an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
• Five years of experience is preferred.
• Demonstrated commitment to social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion, and an ability to work with diverse populations.
• Strong oral and written communications skills.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Five (5) years of policy debate or public speaking experience