Academic Advisor (Writing Track)

Thinktown Fast Fact

• Established in 2009, focusing on providing comprehensive international education services.
• Thinktown America, a US company, was founded in 2012.
• To date, we have served over 25,000 households.
• Our clients come from 2,000 different schools worldwide.
• We have full-time teams in five cities globally, including New York, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou.
• We have a global team of 550 employees.
• We have over 1,200 enrolled students.
• Our team collaborates globally, and our resources are interconnected globally while providing high-quality academic support both online and offline.

Thinktown America, the US-based division of Thinktown Education, is seeking a motivated Academic Advisor (Writing Track) to work full-time. We are currently working remotely and will be keeping a fully remote/hybrid working mode.

The responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to:

Client Consultation:

• Assess clients' writing samples and provide detailed assessment and diagnosis reports based on them.
• Provide clients with personalized academic guidance and planning based on their language abilities, college planning, career goals, intended major, personal interests and experiences, etc.
• Recommend and introduce suitable academic writing programs and activities to help clients improve their writing abilities.
• Provide professional advice and counseling for clients' personalized academic and/or creative writing projects and other writing tasks.
• Academic Research and Instruction:
• Participate in the planning, organization, and implementation of academic activities such as writing-based workshops and personalized lessons.
• Carry out academic research and develop relevant teaching materials, such as competition research and compilation and annotation of past winning essays, in accordance with the overall design and vision of a specific product.
• Collaborate on internal product testing based on the writing teams’ existing product lines, product content, and standardized operating procedures.
• Provide contest coaching services to clients with specific competition needs through conducting brainstorming sessions, assisting clients with developing and writing outlines for contest essays, and providing feedback on their essay drafts.
• Provide time-based, customized advising services to clients looking for personalized support in improving their writing skills.

Collaborative Product Development:

• Assist in the research of target markets and client needs, such as academic and creative writing competitions across the United States and/or globally calling for submissions from young writers.
• Assist in maintaining and optimizing the writing teams’ product-standardized operating procedures and content.
• Collect and analyze feedback from internal users and maintain detailed student profiles regularly.
• Assist in creating marketing content and help promote products and events both internally and externally.

Subject Team Building:

• Participate in weekly writing team meetings and report to the team leader and project manager regularly.
• Assist in the onboarding and training of new members of the writing teams.

Basic Qualifications:

• A minimum master’s degree in English, Creative Writing, Journalism, or other humanities and social sciences-related fields
• Exceptional academic and creative writing skills
• Experience in editing, proofreading, peer critique, and mentoring
• A fast learner and a problem solver
• Strong organizational and analytical skills, and can work multiple tasks simultaneously in a fast-paced environment
• Exceptional communication skills and social awareness
• Strong self-motivation, with an appreciation for life-long learning
• A passion for the education sector and a firm belief in the value and impact of education

Preferred Qualifications:

• Writing-related pedagogical experience and/or editorial experience is a plus
• Experience in writing for news media and/or online publications is a plus
• Experience with marketing and communication

Current employee benefits and perks include, but are not limited to:

• Competitive medical, vision, and dental insurance packages
• Commuter benefits plus supplemental insurance plans
• 36 hours per week, and flexible working hours
• Five sick days plus three weeks of paid vacation

*Anticipated start date: Immediate/Open to 2023 and 2024 graduates

Thinktown’s Multi-Role System: Background and Company Culture

With two headquarters in New York City and Hangzhou, and three satellite offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, Thinktown now has more than 500 full-time employees globally; about 20 of them locate in New York. Given that Thinktown is still in a start-up period in the US and is growing rapidly, we are expecting every newly joined employee to take multiple roles and develop all-round capabilities, while at the same time offering them more opportunities and choices for their career development and help them become future leaders in the company and the industry.

This Multi-Role System is also a product of our highly collaborative Company Culture. At Thinktown, we view our team as a soccer team and everyone acts as a team player, our success is based on everyone’s responsibility for their part and the willingness to share with and help other team members.

Thinktown’s Multi-Role System: Overview

As an Academic Advisor, you will focus on a particular track as indicated in the job posting title, at the same time, you will also act as one or more of these 11 roles as described below, according to personal conditions and company needs.

• ES: Edit application essays and school academic essays with students
• BS: Brainstorm application essays and school academic essays with students
• Sales: Research and prepare materials for sales pitches to students and their parents, provide students and their parents with consultancy sessions and sell Thinktown products
• Tutor: Conduct lectures and training sessions either online or in person
• Supervisor: Course arrangement and follow-up
• Consulting Associate of Education (CAE): Provide high-level college application and career planning counseling to students which include: (1) School and major selection, daily communication, and follow-up with students and parents, phased application material collection and collation (2) Course selection guidance (3) English-test planning and counseling (4) Academic competition planning and counseling (5) Extracurricular activities design, planning and follow up
• Curriculum Practice Specialist (CPS): Provide high and middle-level college application and career planning counseling to students which include: (1) School and major selection, daily communication and follow-up with students and parents, phased application material collection and collation, application status follow-up, application tables fill-in, visa guidance (2) Course selection guidance (3) English-test planning and counseling, English-writing tutoring, mock interview (4) Academic competition planning and counseling (5) Extracurricular activities design, planning and follow up (6) Information research, students’ information collection, and collation
• Academic Advisor: Supervises in advising subject-related products, provides educational guidance and assistance for students by planning schedules, recommending courses, and determining personalized education solutions, assists students with homework, projects, test preparation, papers, academic research, and academic writing, provides subject competition and event consultation.
• Business Product Manager (BPM): Support one or part of an educational product, which may involve conducting market research, writing a product handbook, coordinating strategies, monitoring project progress, and collecting regular product feedback
• Global Event Coordinator: Help coordinate both internal and external events; Support building and adhering to an event budget to avoid project overruns; Coordinate and maintain external relationships with students, parents, and event partners
• Content Production Associate: Co-manage Thinktown’s media accounts and platforms (WeChat, Facebook, Official website) and optimize content, plan and write for account articles, especially for WeChat; Design marketing content for our main products

At Thinktown, we provide our students with the best educational services possible. We know that diverse teams drive innovation and creativity, and we are committed to reshaping our culture to reflect a global perspective on education. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and encourage you to apply!

Thinktown America is an equal opportunity, providing equal employment opportunities to applicants and employees without regard to religion, creed, race, color, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, marital status, veteran status, or any other basis protected by local, state, and federal laws.

To apply for this position, please click “Apply” and fill out the required information to complete your application. This position requires a résumé, a cover letter, and a short academic/creative writing sample.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at recruitment.thinktown@gmail.com.

(Latest Update: June 1st, 2024)