The Maricopa Community College District in Tempe, Arizona is accepting sealed proposals for contracted Ombuds Services and for the provision of a 24 hour reporting hotline for faculty and staff. The District may award for these services individually or both to a single firm. Deadline for receipt of proposals is 2:00 p.m. on April 17, 2007. (MCCCD Purchasing Dept.; related post Maricopa County Approves Plan for College Ombuds.)

Click here for details.

This is a good opportunity for a student to learn about the ombuds profession and see how an Ombuds office in a university functions. It is an unpaid internship but fabulous experience!

Princeton University Ombuds Office
Job Description: Ombuds Office Intern

Responsibilities
The Ombuds Office Intern reports to the University Ombuds and serves all members of the University community including students, staff, faculty and administration. Under the supervision of the University Ombuds, and when appropriate, the Ombuds Intern will assist in handling concerns and complaints from the University community, mediating conflicts, facilitating group dialogues, and track aggregated data to identify conflict trends within the University community. The Ombuds Intern will also assist with training sessions in conflict resolution for students and staff. Additionally, the Intern will assist with a variety of administrative tasks for the Ombuds Office and may have the opportunity to participate in projects related to the International Ombudsman Association, the largest professional association for organizational ombuds.

Organization Profile
Recognized globally for academic excellence, Princeton University is a vibrant community of scholarship and learning. Chartered in 1746 as the College of New Jersey — the name by which it was known for 150 years — Princeton University was British North America’s fourth college. Today, more than 720 faculty members instruct Princeton’s 4,815 undergraduate students and 2,300 graduate students.
Time Commitment
The number of hours/week and the length of the internship will be established at the time an offer is extended.

Requirements
The position requires a graduate or post-doctoral student who is familiar with conflict resolution theory and mediation, has good listening skills and strong computer and analytic skills. Knowledge of the role of an Organizational Ombudsman is a plus. Intern should be familiar with both interpersonal and systemic strategies for resolve conflict. Absolute discretion and confidentiality is mandatory.

Due to the sensitive nature of the Ombuds work and importance of maintaining confidentiality and the perception of confidentiality, Princeton University students will not be considered for this role. It would also be inappropriate for an Ombuds Intern to subsequently take another position within the University.

Compensation
The Ombuds Intern position is unpaid. (although a small stipend to cover transportation or other costs may be arranged)

Contact:
Nicholas Diehl
Associate Ombuds
Princeton University
179 Nassau Street, Suite D
Princeton, NJ 08544-5264
p: 609.258.1775
f: 609.258.1588
www.princeton.edu/ombuds

I am pleased to announce the opening of the Request for Proposals for the Student Conflict Resolution Experts (SCORE) program for the 2007 - 2008 school year. We are accepting applications from schools who are interested in working in partnership with a Local Community Mediation Program (LCMP) on the development of a SCORE program.

As you may know, SCORE uses trained student mediators to help resolve conflict between and among their peers. The model for SCORE is a unique collaboration among the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), middle, junior, and high schools, and LCMPs. The grant funds are awarded to the school to support a local SCORE partnership. The school funds staff from the LCMP who implements the program in the school.

As a condition of participation, we require the partnership to raise matching funds for the community mediation program to hire a SCORE Coordinator to work in the school exclusively to develop and direct a peer mediation program. The Coordinator=s responsibilities include program development, recruiting and training student mediators, scheduling and supervising student mediation sessions, conducting post-mediation follow-up, and working collaboratively with school and AGO staff. The partnering LCMP is responsible for hiring and supervising the SCORE Coordinator. The AGO collects data from SCORE programs and provides training and technical assistance to the partnership as needed. Subject to funding availability, we anticipate awarding grants of up to $20,000 per school.

This year we are also offering a SCORE Training Grant. This differs from the traditional grant in that the responsibility of the LCMP is limited to the initial training of student mediators. The management of the program is left to school staff. Some of the grant funds may be used to stipend school staff as well as to pay the LCMP for the training of the students.

Staff from my office will conduct two pre-proposal conferences to help potential applicants understand the requirements of the program and how to apply for a SCORE grant. To register to attend a pre-proposal conference, please contact Dawn Fontaine, Program Coordinator at 617-727-2200 x 2934 or by e-mail at dawn.fontaine@ago.state.ma.us
The pre-proposal conferences will we held on:

April 12, 2007 at our regional office in New Bedford and
April 13, 2007 at our regional office in Springfield.

You may download a copy of the Request for Proposals from the website, www.ago.state.ma.us. The due date for applications is May 15, 2007. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Nora Mann, Chief of the Community Information and Education Division at 617-727-220 x2356 or nora.mann@state.ma.us.

Cordially,

Martha Coakley

Massachusetts Attorney General

When the Boss is a Bully or Jerk

By Tom Kosakowski of the Ombuds Blog
MNSBC has two stories today about bad bosses. (Either these stories are becoming more common or I’m just better at finding them.) The first story was prompted by an Elle/MSNBC survey that found 16 percent of employees considered their bosses to be bullies. Stephen R. Covey (of “7 Habits” fame) advises approaching the boss calmly, learning to live with the stress or looking for another job. The second article features advice from Robert I. Sutton, author of a recent best seller, “The No A—— Rule.” He urges employers to screen out and purge jerks. For the unfortunate victims, Sutton says the best options are becoming indifferent or quitting. (How to Cope When the Boss is a Bully; Advice for Tackling Workplace Jerks; related Ombuds Blog post NYT Career Couch: If Bullied, Visit Ombuds.)