Writing Centre Assistant

Job Summary

The Writing Centre Assistant supports the development of academic writing and oral communication skills among students, particularly targeting multilingual and English-as-an-additional-language (EAL) learners in the MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) and MGHD (Master of Science in Global Health Delivery) programs. Reporting to the Coordinator of the University Writing Centre, the assistant plays a vital role in executing a data-informed communication support system. This role spans delivering individualized student consultations, facilitating workshops, managing digital learning technologies, and collaborating directly with faculty to refine communication rubrics and scaffolded learning assignments.

Qualification

• Required: Bachelor’s degree in English, Communication, Education, Linguistics, Writing Studies, or a closely related field.
• Preferred: Master’s degree in Education.
• Advanced, professional-level academic writing and oral communication skills in English.

Experience

• Required: Proven experience supporting students in academic writing, communication development, tutoring, or equivalent educational support environments.
• Preferred: Prior experience working in a higher education setting or an established university writing center.
• Experience working effectively with multilingual, ESL/EAL, and culturally diverse student populations.
• Familiarity with educational technologies and Learning Management Systems (such as Canvas LMS), tutoring management software (such as WCOnline), and data analytics tools (such as Power BI or Tableau).
• Experience facilitating interactive workshops, peer-learning programs, or professional communication initiatives—ideally within a health sciences or medical education environment.

Core Duties and Responsibilities

Student Writing & Communication Support:

• Conduct high-impact, one-on-one and small-group consultations for students needing assistance with academic writing and oral presentations.
• Guide students through paragraph development, essay organization, scientific/health-professions writing, literature reviews, citations, referencing, and academic tone.
• Provide constructive, student-centered, and developmental feedback that builds independent learning capacities and student confidence.

Referrals & Support Coordination:

• Support faculty referral mechanisms to identify and assist students experiencing communication-related academic difficulties.
• Assist in tracking student cohorts to pinpoint recurring writing, grammar, and presentation vulnerabilities.
• Maintain flawless documentation, including consultation records, intervention logs, and early-intervention referral tracking.

Workshops & Curriculum Programming:

• Facilitate target-driven workshops and instructional sessions under the guidance of the Writing Centre Coordinator.
• Assist in building student-facing communication materials, including writing guides, citation booklets, rubric interpreters, and academic integrity resources.
• Support peer-review structures, formative feedback cycles, and online module designs within Canvas LMS.

Faculty Collaboration & Pedagogical Support:

• Partner with faculty members to clarify, simplify, and improve writing and presentation rubrics.
• Assist instructional teams in embedding scaffolded writing and oral communication goals seamlessly into their existing course structures.
• Participate in departmental conversations concerning multilingual learner support, feedback systems, and evolving learning trends.

Digital Platforms, Data & Analytics:

• Manage Writing Centre scheduling, student engagement reporting, and digital resource logs.
• Support the day-to-day deployment of learning tools like Grammarly for Education within the student body.
• Collect, clean, and organize service utilization data to populate analytics dashboards, helping generate institutional reports on attendance, referral patterns, and program success.

Skills & Competencies

Technical:

• Deep mastery of academic English structure, scientific writing style, and referencing frameworks.
• Competency in utilizing and updating Canvas LMS and automated writing evaluation tools.
• Basic data entry and data visualization handling (interpreting charts, utilization data, or educational metrics).
• Instructional design skills for workshop and training handout generation.

Behavioural:

• Student-centric, encouraging, and highly collaborative pedagogical approach.
• High degree of initiative, problem-solving capabilities, and organizational acumen.
• Absolute professional discretion and strict adherence to student record confidentiality.
• Commitment to social justice, institutional equity, and fostering inclusive learning cultures.

Organizational Profile & Safeguarding

UGHE is an initiative of Partners In Health (PIH). Members of the community operate with honesty and humility while aiming to ease suffering at the bedside and drive transformational, systemic changes.

Commitment to Safeguarding: UGHE maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy against fraud, harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse. Rigorous pre-employment background checks will be conducted, including requesting formal disclosures from previous employers regarding any historical or pending investigations.

Skills Required:

• Education / Teaching / Training
• Language / Literature / Arts