Reading & Writing Specialist (Part-Time)

Who We Are:

National Louis is a 130+ year old university that has been grounded in the values of innovation, access, and excellence from its inception. As an institution we believe in providing access to educational opportunity and that education is our greatest lever for social and economic mobility. We are a student focused community that is committed to continuous improvement and asks how do we become more “student ready” so that we may better serve our students. We believe that through education we are able to empower change and build healthy communities. Our community works hard in the service of students and supports one another like a family.

What You Will Do:

National Louis University’s Undergraduate College is seeking a Reading and Writing Specialist to join our team at the Chicago Loop campus (122 S Michigan) & Wheeling campuses to provide tutoring in academic reading and writing.

This is a part-time position of approximately 16-20 hours per week, with scheduled time occurring primarily during daytime classes (9am-4pm).

• Ownership and Quality of Work: Effectively manages own work, ensuring timely delivery of high-quality work within a fast paced environment.
• Organizational Commitment: Passionate, energetic, and driven to make a difference; Acts with honesty, integrity, and professionalism; Self-reflective, focused on development, and makes regular progress on development areas; Learns from mistakes and setbacks; Is adaptable and welcomes change.
• Upward Management: Engages at appropriate level with supervisor in defining desired outcomes, providing status updates, and obtaining input as to ongoing project direction and process; Keeps commitments and meets deadlines without the need for reminders; Proactively shares information in a timely manner.
• Collaboration: Works with colleagues, from across the organization, toward achieving common goals by sharing knowledge, learning, and building consensus. Proactively identifies relevant stakeholders and engages colleagues as needed to achieve goals.
• Communication: Uses effective written and oral communication with internal staff, teams, community served, and partners; demonstrates empathy and listening.

• Collaborate with faculty team to develop an effective learning experience for students, with a focus on utilizing inclusive practices and achieving equitable outcomes
• Support courses by providing engaging tutoring and/or supplemental instruction in a blended or remote, synchronous classroom environment
• Empower students to develop competency by leveraging their diverse strengths and backgrounds and by sharing a passion for the subject and skills being taught
• Utilize technology-based teaching platforms, including but not limited to adaptive courseware to aid students in the development of competencies
• Communicate effectively, with consideration of how social, cultural, and power dynamics may impact the communication

• Maintain current and active content knowledge in the expertise area that is reflected in tutoring and instruction
• Possess appropriate expertise in subject-area tutoring as demonstrated by appropriate credentials and experience
• Maintain current knowledge of field

• Demonstrate and share a passion for postsecondary success for diverse learners, especially in terms of achieving equitable outcomes
• Demonstrate flexibility in delivery and work schedule to provide personalized student support (including meeting outside of class hours and via different modalities)
• Identify gaps between student needs and existing resources and services; generate creative resolutions that promote equity and inclusivity

• Track student course data weekly to ensure success and equitable outcomes
• Engage in regular data-driven planning meetings with faculty and coaches to report student progress and obstacles and to plan student support interventions
• Engage in regular content area team meetings with faculty and other specialists to review curriculum plans, determine implications of student data, and plan curriculum revisions
• Participate in continuous improvement of UGC tutoring efforts
• Actively document and share suggestions for program improvement with supervisor to support ongoing development of UGC services and curriculum

• Attend and actively participate in training opportunities provided in online and in-person settings
• Participate in self-reflection and ongoing learning to develop a shared culture of anti-racism and anti-oppression
• Contribute to a learning culture by participating in various other workshops and meetings

• Excellent tutoring and classroom support skills—especially around academic reading and writing
• Ability to consistently connect course content to its real-world relevance, tying concepts and theories from the classroom to students’ current and future work experiences, and highlighting immediate applicability of transfer skills
• Ability to differentiate tutoring and support based on student needs
• Willingness and ability to use data to inform tutoring and student support
• Effective collaboration skills, with ability to work in diverse teams to support student success and equitable outcomes
• Technology-proficient—able to quickly learn and utilize new tools and technologies
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Passionate about working with a diverse student body
• Agile, adaptable, and creative in pedagogy and student support
• Prepared, yet flexible
• Empathetic, yet structured
• Willing to pursue and support students in multiple modalities
• Expectation and desire to grow pedagogically

• Bachelor’s degree in Education, English, or a related field required
• Degree or certification in TESOL, ESL/ELL Education, or similar strongly preferred
• Prior teaching or tutoring experience strongly preferred
• Experience with digital tools for teaching and tutoring—especially with using a learning management system—preferred
• Experience teaching/tutoring in online, synchronous-remote, or blended/hybrid formats preferred
• Experience teaching or tutoring students of diverse backgrounds and abilities preferred
• Experience teaching or tutoring multilingual or multidialectal students strongly preferred
• Spanish-English bilingual a plus

NLU Inclusion Statement:

National Louis University is deeply committed to serving its community, advancing access and equity, and ensuring that all individuals are welcomed and valued.  We are dedicated to fostering a culture where diversity, equity, and inclusion remain at the core of who we are. These are more than just words to us: they are truly a way of life for the NLU community. We recognize that differences in abilities, age, ethnicity, gender (identity and expression), race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and background bring richness to our work environment. We affirm diverse perspectives, innovative contributions, and authentic presentations of self from every member within the NLU community. We believe inclusion is grounded in the actions we intentionally take each day. Our goal is to inspire and empower NLU employees and community members to cultivate an environment where we collectively focus on uplifting and advancing our institutional culture.

At National Louis University, we offer our employees an innovative environment to work together and inspire the ideas that will make an impact. As our external environment changes, our employees are provided the opportunities and tools needed to grow both personally and professionally to remain successful. NLU part-time staff are offered a wide range of benefits, including but not limited to, Health Insurance benefits, Retirement benefits, and Paid Time Off. Additional information regarding part-time staff benefits can be found here.

The salary range of the grade for this position is $21.25 to $29.74 per hour (typical workweek for this part-time position is 10-20 hours).  Compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.  Offers are based on multiple factors permitted by law, including but not limited to: budgetary considerations, job-related knowledge/skills, experience, market considerations, tenure and standing with the university (applicable to current employees), and internal equity.

Please include the following along with your application:

• Resume (Required)
• Cover Letter (Optional)
• NLU Employees please also submit an Internal Posting Form