Student Job Opportunities

The Sheaf staff includes student members. Hiring for these positions takes place in March of each year, and any undergraduate student at the University of Saskatchewan can apply.

Working for the Sheaf is a great way to contribute to your local campus community and meet like-minded individuals with a passion for journalism, language and visual arts! Join our team for the chance to build your creative portfolio, learn practical career skills, make awesome new friends, expand your professional resume, add value to your university education and make money doing something you love.

The Sheaf is written for students, by students, so whether you’d like to volunteer now — and take advantage of the opportunity for mentorship — or apply for one of our paid staff positions in the spring, we need student contributors like you to succeed.

Currently, the Sheaf is looking to fill the ALL positions for 2024-2025. Apply with a cover letter and your resume to hiring@thesheaf.com by 4pm Tuesday, February 27th, 2024!

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EIC – Editor-In-Chief

The Editor-in-Chief has final editorial authority and is in charge of the administrative and creative aspects of the newspaper. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible, legally and otherwise, for the content and appearance of the Sheaf, and for fulfilling the mission of the Sheaf Publishing Society. The Editor-in-Chief must clearly specify their goals and duties at the beginning of the year and ensure that these goals and duties are communicated so all staff are aware of their responsibilities.

A. Organizational and Administrative Responsibilities
• maintaining regular office hours (minimum 20 hours per week) during the week and reduced/no office hours during the fall mid-term break, Christmas holiday closure in December and the winter mid-term break
• ensuring that the Bylaws and Policies are adhered to and proposing revisions when appropriate
•  implementing an effective weekly system to ensure editorial content of the highest possible quality, including an editorial schedule using Air Table
• representing the Sheaf Publishing Society publicly
• liasing with the USSU, colleges, student groups and officials of other relevant groups representing students and the U of S
• collaborating with Ads & Business Manager to ensure that equipment and supplies required to operate are present and in good working order
• Reporting the Sheaf’s activities to the Ads & Business Manager and the Board and participating in the Board’s regular meetings as an ex-officio non-voting member
• ensuring that the office is reasonably clean
• upholding the reputation of the Sheaf while carrying out all activities

B. Managerial and Training Responsibilities
• supervising the 9 staff members of the Sheaf
• ensuring that each staff member is writing the expected number of articles as set out in the job descriptions
• organizing writing, editing, layout, graphic and photography seminars as determined by the Sheaf staff to promote continued learning
• training incoming staff in the editorial and business aspects of the newspaper. This includes organizing a training day with all staff and the ads & business manager to go over the bylaws, policy, libel and job expectations. This should occur before the regular publishing schedule resumes in September and all staff must be present.
• training the incoming editor-in-chief in March/April
• organizing and chairing weekly editorial staff meetings
• providing constructive and continuous feedback to the staff and volunteers to facilitate their training and personal development
• managing staff and internal conflicts, including mediating disputes in the office and implementing any disciplinary action as necessary
• organizing staff functions to promote staff bonding as needed
• working with other staff to recruit volunteers to assist in the publication of the newspaper and online content
• Regularly checking in with all staff members on their progress, daily responsibilities and upcoming tasks, and working to motivate and help them as necessary to ensure the entire production process runs smoothly and efficiently.

C. Editorial Responsibilities
• holding full and direct responsibility for editorial content published in the Society newspaper and on the Society website and indirectly for all advertising content
• ensuring that all copy is properly edited and proofread, and that the content to be published meets the requirements set forth in the Bylaws and Editorial Policy, especially with regards to libel
• ensuring that each section has a minimum of 3 articles per week; ultimately aiming for 4-6 articles per week, per section
• ensuring that all editors are fulfilling their job descriptions
• overseeing the entire production of the paper from start to finish, including but not limited to initial ideas, ensuring deadlines and daily procedures are followed by staff and volunteers, editing articles, ensuring visuals match article content, and working with the Design Editor to ensure the layout of the newspaper is appealing, accurate and allows for easy perusal.
• establishing deadlines and procedures for week-to-week administration of the newspaper and online content
• ensuring that the newspaper and all online content is published according to schedule
• upholding the reputation of the Sheaf Publishing Society while carrying out all activities
• training the following year’s EIC in March/April

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COPY EDITOR

A. Editorial Responsibilities
• reading the entirety of the Sheaf before it is sent to the printers, both electronically and in print
• finding errors in the newspaper and suggesting corrections for any errors found, including but not limited to misspellings, grammatical errors, punctuation errors, factual errors
• having a strong knowledge of the English language, grammar and Canadian Press Style
• having a knowledge of Canadian laws as they relate to libel and defamation and pointing out to the Editor-in-Chief if the Society newspaper risks breaking such laws
• making corrections directly to the preprint newspaper and online content without the guidance of the appropriate section editor(s), when such a need arises
• keeping a list of corrections from the previous week to put in the paper
• editing all letters to the editor in conjunction with the appropriate section editor, as determined by content of the letter

B. Recruitment, Training and General Responsibilities
• filling in for the editor-in-chief when they are unavailable
• recruiting volunteers to assist with the publication of the newspaper
• participating in weekly editorial staff meetings
• maintaining regular office hours of 8-10 hours per week and clearly communicating these to the editor-in-chief and the ads & business manager
• ensuring that copy editing guides are available (and shared with the editor-in-chief and the ads & business manager)
• upholding the reputation of the Sheaf Publishing Society while carrying out all activities
• training the following year’s copy editor in March/April

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NEWS EDITOR

A. Editorial Responsibilities
• gathering and generating story ideas relevant to students and the University, ensuring the news coverage is broad, remaining abreast of news on campus and notifying the editor-in-chief of events and issues when appropriate
• assigning all news, news features, and news commentary articles, including coming prepared with a detailed list of the news section at weekly editorial meetings
• writing news articles on a regular basis, though ensuring volunteer submissions provide the bulk of the section
• ensuring that a minimum of 3 news articles are completed per week; ultimately aiming for 4-6 articles per week
• ensuring that all deadlines are met by volunteers and helping them with the writing process
• assigning photos and graphics for stories at the weekly staff meeting
• conducting a first edit on all stories for the news section
• conducting three rounds of careful updates to the story file following copy editing
• drafting photo captions and headlines/subheadlines for the section
• drafting 250 words for social media posts, including pull quotes
• posting the weeks articles according to schedule on the Sheaf’s website using their own word press access

B. General Responsibilities
• participating in weekly editorial staff meetings
• maintaining regular office hours of 6-8 hours per week and clearly communicating these to the editor-in-chief and the ads & business manager
• attending weekly University Students’ Council meetings and monthly University Council meetings, when necessary
• upholding the reputation of the Sheaf Publishing Society while carrying out all activities

C. Recruitment and Training
• meeting with news writers/volunteers as often as necessary to ensure that their skills are improving
• ensuring that news writing guides are available (and shared with the editor-in-chief and the ads & business manager)
• facilitating weekly section meetings
• recruiting volunteers to assist with the publication of the newspaper
• helping to train the following year’s news editor in March/April

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SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR

A. Editorial Responsibilities
• gathering and generating story ideas relevant to students and the University, ensuring the sports and health coverage is broad, remaining abreast of sports and health news on campus and notifying the editor-in-chief of events and issues when appropriate
• assigning all sports and health articles and features, including coming prepared with a detailed list of the sports and health section at weekly editorial meetings
• writing sports & health articles on a regular basis, though ensuring volunteer submissions provide the bulk of the section
• ensuring that a minimum of 3 sports & health articles are completed per week; ultimately aiming for 4-6 articles per week
• assigning photos and graphics for stories at the weekly staff meeting
• ensuring that all deadlines are met by volunteers and helping them with the writing process
• conducting a first edit on all stories for the section
• conducting three rounds of careful updates to the story file following copy editing
• drafting photo captions and headlines/subheadlines for the section
• drafting 250 words for social media posts, including pull quotes
• posting the weeks articles according to schedule on the Sheaf’s website using their own word press access

B. General Responsibilities
• participating in weekly editorial staff meetings
• maintaining regular office hours of 6-8 hours per week and clearly communicating these to the editor-in-chief and the ads & business manager
• upholding the reputation of the Sheaf Publishing Society while carrying out all activities

C. Recruitment and Training
• meeting with sports and health writers as often as necessary to ensure that their skills are improving
• ensuring that sports & health writing guides are available (and shared with the editor-in-chief and the ads & business manager)
• facilitating weekly section meetings
• recruiting volunteers to assist with the publication of the newspaper
• helping to train the following year’s sports & health editor in March/April

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CULTURE EDITOR

A. Editorial Responsibilities
• gathering and generating story ideas relevant to students and the University, ensuring that arts coverage is broad, remaining abreast of culture news and events on campus and notifying the editor-in-chief of events and issues when appropriate
• assigning all culture articles and features, including coming prepared with a detailed list of the culture section at weekly editorial meetings
• assigning photos and graphics for stories at the weekly staff meeting
• ensuring that all deadlines are met by volunteers and helping them with the writing process
• writing culture articles on a regular basis, though ensuring volunteer submissions provide the bulk of the section
• ensuring that a minimum of 3 culture articles are completed per week; ultimately aiming for 4-6 articles per week
• conducting a first edit on all stories for the section
• conducting three rounds of careful updates to the story file following copy editing
• drafting photo captions and headlines/subheadlines for the section
• drafting 250 words for social media posts, including pull quotes
• posting the weeks articles according to schedule on the Sheaf’s website using their own word press access

B. General Responsibilities
• participating in weekly editorial staff meetings
•  maintaining regular office hours of 6-8 hours per week and clearly communicating these to the editor-in-chief and the ads & business manager
• upholding the reputation of the Sheaf Publishing Society while carrying out all activities

C. Recruitment and Training
• meeting with culture writers as often as necessary to ensure that their skills are improving
• ensuring that culture writing guides are available (and shared with the editor-in-chief and the ads & business manager)
• facilitating weekly section meetings
• recruiting volunteers to assist with the publication of the newspaper
• helping to train the following year’s culture editor in March/April

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OPINIONS EDITOR

A. Editorial Responsibilities
• gathering and generating story ideas relevant to students and the University, ensuring the opinions coverage is broad, remaining abreast of current events and issues on campus and notifying the editor-in-chief of events and issues when appropriate
• assigning all opinions articles and features, including coming prepared with a detailed list of the opinions section at weekly editorial meetings
• assigning photos and graphics for stories at the weekly staff meeting
• writing opinion articles on a regular basis, though ensuring volunteer submissions provide the bulk of the section
• ensuring that a minimum of 3 opinions articles are completed per week; ultimately aiming for 4-6 articles per week
• preparing and editing content for the distractions page(s)
• ensuring that all deadlines are met by volunteers and helping them with the writing process
• conducting a first edit on all stories for the section
• conducting three rounds of careful updates to the story file following copy editing
• drafting photo captions and headlines/sub-headlines for the section
• drafting 250 words for social media posts, including pull quotes
• posting the weeks articles according to schedule on the Sheaf’s website using their own word press access

B. General Responsibilities
• participating in weekly editorial staff meetings
•  maintaining regular office hours of 6-8 hours per week and clearly communicating these to the editor-in-chief and the ads & business manager
• upholding the reputation of the Sheaf Publishing Society while carrying out all activities

C. Recruitment and Training
• meeting with opinion writers as often as necessary to ensure that their skills are improving
• ensuring that opinions writing guides are available (and shared with the editor-in-chief and the ads & business manager)
• facilitating weekly section meetings
• recruiting volunteers to assist with the publication of the newspaper
• helping to train the following year’s opinions editor in March/April

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STAFF WRITER

A. Editorial Responsibilities
• writing at least one to two stories for each issue; ultimately aiming for 2 articles per week
• covering stories as assigned by the editor-in-chief or the section editors
• remaining abreast of news, current events, and upcoming events on campus and notifying the editor-in-chief and/or section editors of events and issues when appropriate
• gathering and generating story ideas relevant to students and the University, in collaboration with the section heads as necessary
• participating in weekly editorial staff meetings
• working to improve their writing skills for all sections throughout the year
• drafting 250 words for social media posts, including pull quotes for each article written
• posting the weeks articles according to schedule on the Sheaf’s website using their own word press access

B. Recruitment, Training and General Responsibilities
• maintaining regular office hours of 4-6 hours per week and clearly communicating these to the editor-in-chief and the ads & business manager
• recruiting volunteers to assist with the publication of the newspaper
• training the following year’s staff writer in March/April
• upholding the reputation of the Sheaf Publishing Society while carrying out all activities

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SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

A. TikTok Responsibilities
• creating regular weekly TikTok’s for the Sheaf in conjunction with the editor-in-chief and staff
• has a strong understanding of TikTok and willingness to keep up with updates
• needs to be comfortable with video editing and creating captions 
• in touch with TikTok trends
• has a grasp on basic social media skills (hashtags, viral sounds, captions etc)

B. Twitter Responsibilities
• participating in weekly editorial staff meetings
• has a strong understanding of Twitter and willingness to keep up with updates
• in touch with Twitter trends
• has a grasp on basic social media skills (hashtags, viral sounds, captions etc)

C. General Responsibilities 
• providing regular updates to the Editor-in-Chief 
• attending weekly editorial staff meetings 
• maintaining regular office hours (4-6 hours per week) 
• upholding the reputation of the Sheaf while carrying out all activities 
• training the following year’s communications director in April 
• upholding the reputation of the Sheaf Publishing Society while carrying out all activities 

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PHOTO EDITOR

A. Editorial Responsibilities
• ensuring that photos assigned by the section editors and editor-in-chief are ready for production, with deadlines determined in conjunction with the editor-in-chief
• notify the editor-in-chief and/or ads & business manager if any new equipment is required
• maintaining an electronic archive of all photos shot over the year and ensuring relevant parties know how to access this (including ads & business manager and IT support).
• ensuring that cameras and equipment are properly maintained
• assigning photos to volunteers and helping them to improve their their photography skills
• selecting a cover photo or collaborating with the Design Editor to design a cover graphic image
• ensuring that all photographic elements are properly adjusted for printing
• assisting the design editor in finding/creating graphics when required
• Photos should always make up the majority of images; 90% weekly photo content

B. Recruitment, Training and General Responsibilities
• participating in weekly editorial staff meetings
• recruiting volunteers to assist with the publication of the newspaper
• providing photos for social media when required
• maintaining regular office hours of 6-8 hours per week and clearly communicating these to the editor-in-chief and the ads & business manager
• upholding the reputation of the Sheaf Publishing Society while carrying out all activities
• training the following year’s photography editor in March/April

*All positions, except for the Editor-in-Chief, are considered part-time. Hiring for ALL positions will take place on Saturday, March 2. Those selected for an interview will be contacted and asked to sign-up for an available time. The official employment contract for Sheaf staff runs from September 1, 2024 to April 30, 2025. 

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