Student Staffing with the Sustainable Transportation Program

The sustainable transportation program at the Environmental Center relies heavily upon student staff assistance to develop and complete projects which support the campus, from research to advertising to customer service. The page contains a listing of the student staff positions that presently support the program.

For more information about the Environmental Center's hiring process, please visit the Get Involved section of this website.

Staff positions fall into the following groups:

• Advertising Group
• Bicycle Station Group
• Research Group

Advertising Group

The advertising group usually works together to devise an overall concept (also known as the "big idea," etc.) for the ad, commercial, mailer, brochure, or other advertisement as a part of a cohesive advertising campaign. Advertising campaigns within the Sustainable Transportation program are often advertisements of existing programs, such as Late Night Transit, or the Ski Bus, but also include advertisements of the behaviors and attitudes we hope to see in the University community, such as responsible bicycling, habitual walking, carpooling and more. The advertising group implements a Community Based Social Marketing approach to its campaign development. Read more about CBSM at cbsm.org.

Each staff in the group usually welcomes suggestions and constructive criticism from the other. Ideally, the words and visual should not parrot each other; each should enhance or enlarge the other's meaning and effect.

Art Director

Despite the title, our advertising art director isn't necessarily the head of an art department. In our advertising practice, the art director typically works in tandem with our copywriter (see below). The copywriter is responsible for the textual content, the art director for the visual aspects. But the A.D. may come up with the headline or other copy, and the copywriter may suggest a visual or the aesthetic approach.

The art director is expected to fulfill an average of 5-10 hours of work per week, on a flexible schedule. Teleworking is an option. Digital graphic design experience is preferred, training is avaliable.

Copy Writer

The copywriter has ultimate responsibility for the advertisement's verbal or textual content, which often includes receiving the copy information from the campaign.

Art director/copywriter teams' working methods vary, but generally the copywriter is more involved in the process of gathering information from the client or account executive, while the art director remains more involved through production. At the extreme, a writer might simply submit hand-written text (copy) and strategic instructions to the art director, who then contributes the visual aspects.

The copy writer is expected to fulfill an average of 5-10 hours of work per week, on a flexible schedule. Teleworking is an option. Prior experience is not required.

Production Assistant

The production assistant, in addition to contributing to the campaign development process, is responsible for manifesting the creative generated by the art director/copywriter. Our advertising includes a diverse range of tactics, from print media to interactive online media, events to facebook groups and more. The production assistant is responsible for determining production vendors, obtaining pricing, submitting and receiving orders, performing accounting and tracking supply levels.

The production assistant is expected to fulfill an average of 10 hours of work per week, on a flexible schedule. Teleworking is an option. No experience required; clerical and production experience is recommended.

Promotions Assistant

Once the creative for a campaign has been developed and produced, it is up to the promotions assistant to ensure that it is effectively deployed to the target audience. In some cases, the target audience is the University community at large, and in others is is small segments, such as international first-year students. The promotions assistant also contributes to the campaign development process for the group. Deployment strategies often include: distributing posters in visible locations, adhering to regulations for visual display son campus, refreshing display cases on and surrounding campus, facilitating online social networking through events and emails.

The promotions assistant is expected to fulfill an average of 15 hours of work per week, on a flexible schedule. Teleworking is an option. No experience required.

Bike Station Group

Bike Station staff are also required to complete "Safe Zone Training" to continue working at the bike station. Safe Zone Training includes visits with selected offices on campus to discuss communication and behavior strategies for ensuring a healthy and productive work environment at the Bike Station.

Bike Station Staff

Staff at the bike station are responsible for keeping the bike station open during regular business hours. The number of staff often range between 2 and 5 employees, depending upon availability for shifts. Shifts are broken down into morning and afternoon. The morning shift is responsible for performing morning clerical errands (including the Public Safety building on Regent and the University Memorial Center on Euclid) and subsequently opening the station at the UMC.

Bike station staff are required to wear the uniform, consisting of either a work shirt or apron. Other policies, including tardiness and fiscal responsibility are included, and staff must complete a background check through Public Safety to be eligible for work.

The bike station staff are expected to fulfill at least 5 hours of work per week, on a fixed schedule. Teleworking is not an option. Bicycle maintenance experience is preferred but not required; training is offered.

Buff Bikes Manager

The Buff Bikes manager is responsible for maintaining the fleet on a weekly basis, ensuring that the bike station has sufficient supply of inspected bicycles for rental on a daily basis. In addition to performing preventative maintenance, the manager is responsible for performing corrective repairs and allocating bicycles between storage locations.

The bike station staff are expected to fulfill at least 5 hours of work per week, on a fixed schedule. Teleworking is not an option. Bicycle maintenance experience is preferred but not required; training is offered.

Bicycle Program Assistant

The bicycle program assistant is responsible for a mix of development projects and ongoing "enhancement" programs. This staff member coordinates with internal and external professional staff at the University to implement bicycle-related services for the University, such as long-term bicycle rentals, group bicycle rentals, bicycle "swaps", Mobile Mechanic service and others.

The bicycle program assistant is expected to fulfill at least 10 hours of work per week on a flexible schedule. Teleworking is an option for selected tasks. Bicycle maintenance experience preferred, clerical and customer serivice experience required.

Research Group

The research group within this program are staff committed to researching new data and analyses to assist in the development of programs at the University. These staff are often hired based on specific topics. Examples of past research projects are: nation-wide transportation demand management best practices, University of Colorado at Boulder bicycle parking assessment and the University of Colorado at Boulder Commuter Study.

Often, students working within the research group are encouraged to seek independent study, jointly advised by the transportation program and a campus faculty member. Alternatively, students may work for pay, given specific writing and analysis deliverables.

Student research asssistants time commitments are determined for the specific assigned project and work on a flexible schedule. Teleworking is recommended to allow research and data gathering flexibility. In most cases, software and support services are provided as necessary, prior research experience is recommended.