[Hiring] Program Coordinator Capstone @PeopleGrove

Role Description

The Capstone Program Coordinator plays a pivotal role in delivering a high-quality, competency-based capstone experience for students across an online, non-traditional university. This part-time role blends recruitment, relationship management, and project coordination to ensure that real-world capstone projects are well-designed, well-supported, and successfully completed by students across multiple academic majors.

The ideal candidate is a self-starter who thrives in an independent environment, brings both sales and project management sensibilities, and is energized by building partnerships and supporting learners in a fully online, asynchronous setting.

Key Responsibilities

• Identify, recruit, and engage qualified Project Leaders from industry to sponsor and lead student capstone projects across a minimum of 4 academic majors.
• Develop and maintain an ongoing pipeline of prospective Project Leaders to ensure approximately 20 active projects are staffed annually.
• Conduct outreach and presentations to prospective Project Leaders, articulating the value of engaging with student capstone talent.
• Manage the full recruitment lifecycle from initial contact through project onboarding, ensuring a timely and positive experience for all Project Leaders.
• Maintain accurate records of outreach activity, pipeline status, and recruitment outcomes.

Project Design & Project Leader Support

• Work closely with Project Leaders to co-create student capstone project briefs that are appropriately scoped for the competency-based, online learning environment.
• Guide Project Leaders in designing deliverables and milestones that students can meaningfully complete without direct faculty oversight.
• Provide ongoing support and coaching to Project Leaders throughout the project lifecycle, including check-ins, troubleshooting, and facilitation as needed.
• Help Project Leaders understand student context, including the asynchronous, self-directed nature of the academic program, to set realistic expectations.
• Develop onboarding resources and templates to streamline the process for new Project Leaders.

Software & Platform Enablement

• Onboard and train Project Leaders on the software tools and platforms used to manage and deliver capstone projects.
• Provide ongoing technical guidance and troubleshooting support to ensure Project Leaders and students can navigate the platform effectively.
• Serve as a resource for students experiencing questions or challenges related to the software, project requirements, or program logistics.
• Identify and escalate recurring platform or process issues to appropriate internal stakeholders.

Client Engagement & Reporting

• Serve as the primary operational point of contact for the university client, providing regular updates on project status, recruitment progress, and program health.
• Proactively communicate challenges, escalations, and resolutions to ensure client confidence and program continuity.
• Prepare and deliver periodic progress reports and summaries that demonstrate program outcomes and engagement metrics.
• Contribute to strategic discussions with the client around program growth, process improvements, and success benchmarks.

Student Support

• Serve as a responsive resource for students navigating questions about their capstone project, platform tools, or program logistics.
• Foster a supportive, solution-oriented environment for students in a faculty-independent academic model.
• Escalate academic or programmatic concerns appropriately in alignment with institutional policies.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in a role that combines outreach, sales, recruitment, or business development with project or program management.
• Demonstrated success in a client-facing role, with the ability to build trust and manage expectations across diverse stakeholders.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple active projects and relationships simultaneously.
• Experience supporting or working within online, competency-based, or non-traditional educational environments strongly preferred.
• Comfort and proficiency with digital collaboration and project management tools; ability to learn and train others on new software quickly.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt style for industry professionals, students, and institutional clients.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and maintain consistent progress toward defined goals.
• Bachelor’s degree; relevant experience may substitute.