Event Design Assistant Jobs in Illinois (NOW HIRING)

Join The New School

At The New School, we redefine the boundaries of education, creativity, and innovation. Founded in 1919 and located in the heart of New York City, we are home to approximately 9,000 students from over 100 countries, offering more than 135 degree and diploma programs across our renowned colleges, including Parsons School of Design and the College of Performing Arts (Mannes, Jazz, and Drama), Lang College and the New School for Social Research, and Parsons Paris. Our progressive, interdisciplinary approach has earned us recognition as one of the most forward-thinking institutions in the world.

InsideSchools, a project of the Center for New York City Affairs, is seeking a skilled design assistant to support the education team. Serving the largest school district in the country, our education team is committed to helping improve the quality of New York City schools for all families, especially communities in poverty and of color. For two decades, our InsideSchools website has been a trusted resource for caregivers and students seeking information about NYC's 1,800 public schools, with more than 1 million users visiting our site every year. The education team offers policy analysis, reports, and public commentary to inform system change and school improvement. Since last summer, InsideSchools has supported newly arrived migrant families living in shelters to navigate the NYC public school system. We have facilitated workshops and provided one-on-one support at shelters and in partnership with community-based organizations.

This work-study position is for 10 to 20 hours per week and will report to the Director of Education Policy and InsideSchools and the InsideSchools Program Manager.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The design assistant will support the education team's major projects including:

• Providing descriptions of over 1,800 NYC early childhood centers, elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools.

• Elevating the voices of middle and high school students through youth-centered services.

• Engaging and empowering parents.

• Collecting input from school communities to inform content and programming.

• Developing comprehensive resources to support public school families throughout the K-12 experience.

• Developing and supporting partnerships and training programs with schools and community-based organizations.

• Take photos of individual schools, edit images, draft captions for images, manage necessary release forms, and draft narrative content for school profiles.

• Update and maintain the InsideSchools website and customized search tools, provide design suggestions for engagement.

• Produce and edit content for promotion, communication, and marketing of InsideSchools through email copy, social media content, graphics, and flyers.

• Support the design, collection, and analysis of data, including surveys, analytics, interviews and focus groups, etc.

• Answer questions from public school families, including working with the team to monitor comments and inquiries.

• Assist in planning and implementing events and focus groups.

• Attend education team meetings.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Current full-time New School student with a Federal Work Study (FWS) award as part of their financial aid package for the 2026-27 academic year.

• An understanding of or interest in learning more about the most pressing issues in urban education, particularly the relationship between families and schools.

• Design capabilities to create graphics for flyers, social media, and website.

• Experience using content management systems (CMS) (i.e. Contentful, Wordpress), productivity software (i.e. Trello, Google Workplace, Google Analytics), design software (Canva, Illustrator, Photoshop), and social media (Twitter, Facebook) a plus.

• Strong writing and communication skills.

• Capacity to work independently and as part of a team.

• Spanish, French and Chinese language skills are a plus (not required).

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

We are looking for individuals who have experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Graphic design

• Data visualization

• Marketing and outreach

• Photography

• Social media

• Writing

• Web design

WORK MODE

• Hybrid/Split - Employees hired for this position have regularly scheduled, consistent percentage of time on campus (ex 1-4x/week) and also work some of the time remotely.#LI-DNI

HOURLY RATE

$17 - $19/hour

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, creed, religion or belief, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, marital or domestic partnership status, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity or expression, age, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. The New School recognizes and values the benefits of a diverse workforce.

Responsibilities:

The Design Assistant will help build InsideSchools' capacity to better serve NYC public school families by creating engaging digital and print content, maintaining website resources, and supporting communications, outreach, and community engagement initiatives. Responsibilities include graphic design, photography, website updates, content creation, data visualization, and assisting with research, events, and school profiles to ensure families have access to clear, accessible, and high-quality educational information.