Publicist

Description: As the publicist of Cipher, you are responsible for all the odds and ends that concern promoting and celebrating the magazine and any outward facing events the magazine puts on. You are expected to be an extremely efficient and timely employee, be informed on the magazine’s production and content, and be an overall involved member of the staff! The position is always in flux, and your duties may (and probably will) change over time, depending on how you and the rest of the staff feel. You should enjoy and be capable of compelling graphic design – examples of this are on our Instagram, @ciphermag! Check it out if you are interested. Currently, the responsibilities of the publicist are centered around:

  • Promotion: You are responsible for creating graphics for tea times/free writes, open submissions, and other events! You should be capable of producing these within a few hours and posting them on instagram in a timely manner. Your main responsibility is making posts to promote the magazine in the lead up to submitting and to advertise contributing and events. Posting promotions about individual articles on the instagram with quotes and art from them is also encouraged.

Why Apply: You think Cipher is cool (or you want to make it cool), you like the idea of building a community of writers and artists, and you are excited about maintaining and improving Cipher’s professional aesthetic style. You are interested in graphic design and building a professional portfolio, and want to be paid for your work!

Compensation: You will receive a stipend of $50-100 per block. There are some additional perks such as free food/drinks at events hosted by Cipher!

apply here

Layout Editor

Description: The Layout Editor is in charge of Cipher’s artistic and aesthetic vision. In the two weeks following each “publication weekend” (usually the second or third weekend of every other block)  you will create the layout for the magazine, arranging all articles in proper format with their accompanying art. Your goal is to make the magazine look professional, unique, and compelling, and to ensure that we have a continued presence in CC’s art community.

Time Commitment: The bulk of the layout work takes place after publication weekend, which is every other block. After the editorial work is completed you will spend a non-negligible amount of time putting together the magazine over the following two weeks. This work (although supported by the editorial team) is largely independent. You will sit down with our current layout editor after you are hired this year for training and you will officially begin your position first semester of the next academic school year. 

Why Apply: You think Cipher is cool (or you want to make it cool), you like the idea of building a community of writers and artists, and you are excited about maintaining and improving Cipher’s professional aesthetic style. You are interested in graphic design and building a professional portfolio, and want to be paid for your work!

Compensation: You will receive a stipend of $300 per issue (every other block). There are some additional perks such as free food/drinks at events hosted by Cipher!

Basic Qualifications to Apply:

  • Knowledge of inDesign and PhotoShop (if you do not know inDesign and PhotoShop, but you think you still may have the qualifications to apply, i.e. learn inDesign and PhotoShop quickly and efficiently, please let us know in your application how you plan to learn these programs before next school year).

  • Good eye for design, including an eye for detail to catch errors or inconsistencies.

  • Communicate with the editorial staff on layout status and meet deadlines to complete the layout on time before sending it to publish. 

  • Be down to attend some legendary classy and not-so-classy release parties.

Web Editor

Description: We’re looking for someone to take charge of designing, maintaining, and uploading content onto Cipher’s website, ciphermagazine.com. You’ll work with other editors, our publicist, and art editors to plan a vision for the website that may include changing our online platform.. You may also be asked to upload or help create article-specific content, including audio, video, specific art, etc. You should be excited about the prospect of creating and maintaining a professional, beautiful, and error-free website that fits the mission and character of Cipher’s print publication.

Time Commitment: The bulk of your regular work will occur after we finish production for the print issue, which is once every two blocks. You’ll be in charge of putting that content on the website. You can do most of this work on your own schedule. We also often get requests from former employees and contributors asking to anonymize or take down articles. We expect you to be consistently available by phone/email (this doesn’t mean you have to be on your phone all the time, but that you generally respond to messages within a timely manner). 

If we do decide to transition to a different platform (we currently use Squarespace), this would be an extra time commitment for a few months while you work on this.

Why Apply: You think Cipher is cool, or you want to help make it cool, and you have a vision for how we could better leverage our online platform.

Compensation: You will receive a stipend of $50 a block. We also get free lunch every pub weekend Saturday, along with some other free food/drinks throughout the year at Cipher events.

Basic Qualifications to Apply:

  • Knowledge of/experience with Squarespace or ability to learn applications quickly

  • Web design or configuration experience

  • Good eye for design, including an eye for detail to catch errors or inconsistencies

  • Demonstrated familiarity with or interest in Cipher

  • Ability to communicate clearly and consistently with other staff members

  • Knowledge of coding or computer language helpful, but not necessary

  • Be down to attend some legendary classy and not-so-classy release parties

apply here