Conference Awards Associate

Job Description

Job Description

Job Summary:
Keystone Symposia serves the scientific community by convening 50-60 scientific meetings annually across basic life science, biomedical, and clinical research areas. The Conference Awards Associate oversees the administration, budgeting, and management of Keystone Symposia’s travel award and scholarship programs. This position assists with overseeing the annual budget and ensures effective allocation of funds from various funding sources, including NIH grants, foundation gifts, and endowments. The role requires financial management, organizational, and strong communication skills. This position coordinates scholarship and travel awards while ensuring accurate reporting and exceptional customer service. The position is full-time (40 hours per week) and requires working at least two days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday) in the Silverthorne, Colorado office.

• Provide input on annual travel award budgets and allocating funds from multiple sources, including federal grants, foundations, and endowment.
• Develop systems and workflows to improve efficiency and accuracy in travel award processing and reporting.
• Collaborate with other departments to establish annual deadlines for scholarships, travel awards, and abstract submissions, in alignment with program planning cycles.
• Collaborate with the Grants Manager and CFO to forecast grant awards and determine travel award and scholarship allocations for each meeting.
• Provide the Marketing Department with scholarship and travel award deadlines and related information to support promotional activities.
• Process and review scholarships and travel award applications, mentor letters, and correspondence, ensuring timely communication and service.
• Maintain and update the scholarship database, including applicant status, award distribution, and payment/reimbursement tracking.
• Compile scholarship and travel award applications for review by organizers and/or the CEO and CSO, as relevant.
• Collaborate with CSO and DSP to identify travel award meetings for upcoming meeting season.
• Support travel and lodging arrangements for travel awardees.
• Monitor projected travel awardee counts and expenses, updating forecasts as needed. Provide regular budget updates to the Program Implementation Manager.
• Collaborate with the Development Department regarding scholarship funding, fund tracking, award allocations, and reporting requirements.  
• Prepare scholarship certificates and travel awardee materials for onsite distribution at upcoming meetings.
• Approve payments and funding sources for scholarship and travel awardees.
• Provide administrative support to the Scientific Programs Department as needed, to include program data entry, as well as assistance with preparation of annual January and June SAB meeting materials and attendance at SAB meetings as needed.
• Other duties as assigned.

• Strong budgeting and financial management skills with attention to detail and accuracy.
• Proven ability to develop processes and systems to improve program administration.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for diverse audiences.
• Strong customer service orientation and ability to handle inquiries with professionalism and tact.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint) and comfort with database management.
• Highly organized, self-motivated, and able to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.

• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, or a related field preferred.
• Three to five years of experience in scholarship and/or travel award administration, accounting, or program management.
• Working knowledge of accounting principles and budget management.
• Experience in grants, scholarships, or nonprofit program administration preferred.
• Demonstrated success in problem-solving, project management, and cross-departmental collaboration.

• Prolonged periods sitting at desk and working on a computer.
• Frequent use of hands to handle or feel and to operate standard office equipment.
• Occasional standing, walking or reaching with hands and arms.
• Must be able to lift and/or move up to 15 pounds occasionally.
• Must be able to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.

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