Working Title: APRILab - IE

State Role Title: Institutional Employment/Federal Work Study

Position Type: Institutional Employment

Position Status: Part-Time

FLSA Status: N/A

College/Division: College of Arts and Letters

Department: 100033 - Political Science Department

Pay Rate: Hourly

Specify Range or Amount: $12.41

Is this a JMU only position? N/A

Is this a grant-funded position? No

Is this a Conflict of Interest designated position? N/A

Beginning Review Date: 10/27/2025

About JMU:

Located in the heart of Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley, the city of Harrisonburg is approximately 120 miles from Washington, D.C. and Richmond, VA. With a population of just over 53,000, Harrisonburg is one of the most diverse communities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. JMU is a selective, public institution with a growing national reputation for offering experiences that lead to an outstanding education and inclusive environment for students, faculty and staff. The student body includes approximately 20,000 undergraduate and 1,900 graduate students, with over 1,000 full-time instructional faculty.

General Information:

Founded in 2022, the American Political Reform & Innovation Lab (APRILab) in the College of Arts and Letters is a nonpartisan, civic- and community-engaged political science and data science research lab. APRILab produces original, evidence-based research on institutional political reform in collaboration with internal and external social scientists and data scientists, and with leading experts in the national political reform advocacy community. The lab’s research addresses significant, real-world problems posed by institutional dysfunction, democratic backsliding, and unequal political influence.
APRILab is seeking undergraduate and graduate lab associates to begin working in Fall 2022. The duties will require 5 to 20 hours per week depending on student qualifications, undergraduate or graduate status, and scheduling needs. This is a minimum one-semester appointment, with preference given to students who anticipate being eligible to continue for the full academic year and who have an interest in continuing one or more additional years. Students who identify themselves as a member of a traditionally marginalized population are especially encouraged to apply.

Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Conduct data collection, data cleaning, database management, and reporting tasks for multiple, simultaneous political reform research projects;
2. Monitor progress on tasks and report activity to the supervising director and graduate assistant on a weekly basis;
3. Research background material and prepare copy for website, social media, grant proposals, research reports, working papers, and related public-facing media products;
4. Communicate effectively with faculty and staff colleagues, external faculty lab affiliates, collaborators, and political reform advocacy partners;
5. Work collaboratively and productively in a diverse work environment, while acknowledging and appreciating differences among colleagues and external engagement partners;
6. Commit to acting in a professional, nonpartisan manner when representing JMU and the APRILab;
7. Other reasonable tasks related to the lab’s research objectives as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Enrollment in and in excellent academic standing in an undergraduate or graduate program at James Madison University for the 2022-2023 academic year (see conditions of employment);
• High level of intrinsic motivation, good time-management skills, and the ability to be independently productive and accountable to others;
• Willingness to conduct independent research in collaboration with the lab director, internal and external collaborators, and political reform advocacy partners;
• Strong set of organizational, writing, research, and editing skills with a high level of attention to detail;
• Record of coursework in research methods, statistics, data science, or similar topics; and coursework in American politics, history, economics, or similar;
• Demonstrated experience with Microsoft Office suite, Google Drive, LaTeX, Slack, or similar office software.

Additional Posting Information:

• Experience with or coursework in technical writing, copy editing, proofreading, and/or producing alternative audio, visual, or marketing products;
• Experience with or coursework in conducting social scientific, data visualization, or data science tasks, including data analysis in SPSS, Python, R, STATA, or related languages, and with Qualtrics or similar questionnaire software;
• Familiarity with IRB protocols and human subjects research ethics;
• Ambition to pursue advanced graduate education and/or a career in public service and public affairs, broadly defined.

Conditions of Employment:  

Students must be degree-seeking students, enrolled on at least a half-time basis (6 credits for undergraduate and 5 credits for graduate).

E-Verify Notice: After accepting employment, new hires are required to complete an I-9 form and present documentation of their identity and eligibility to work in the United States. James Madison University uses the E-Verify system to confirm identity and work authorization.

EEO Statement:

James Madison University is committed to creating and supporting a diverse and inclusive work and educational community that is free of all forms of discrimination. This institution does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, parental status, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status.

We promote access, inclusion and diversity for all students, faculty, staff, constituents and programs, believing that these qualities are foundational components of an outstanding education in keeping with our mission. The university is interested in candidates whose experience and qualifications support an ongoing commitment to this core quality.

Anyone having questions concerning discrimination should contact the Office for Equal Opportunity: (540) 568-6991.

Reasonable Accommodation:

If you are a student with a disability and need assistance please contact the Office of Disability Services at (540) 568-6705 or disability-svcs@jmu.edu. You may also visit the Office of Disability Services, located in the Student Success Center, Suite 1202 and they will be happy to assist you.