LAUNCHPAD PROGRAM MANAGER, Center for Career Development

The Launchpad Program at Boston University was established through a generous endowment to support students in exploring career options and developing career competencies early in their college experience through a wide range of experiential learning opportunities. The Launchpad Program Manager oversees the distribution of nearly $500,000 in awards to students annually, advises students on the application process, builds relationships with employers, monitors student progress, and supports their career education through these experiential learning opportunities. As a member of the Center for Career Developments (CCD) Internships and Industry Partnerships team, the Launchpad Program Manager reports to the Associate Director of Launchpad and is responsible for the day-to-day activities as well as the long-term strategy that guides the reach and impact of the program. The Program Manager will exercise leadership for program development and relationship-building with partners across campus and externally, in collaboration with the CCD team.

Essential functions of this role include:

• 30% - Plan, organize and implement all phases of application process for students, including campus wide publicity and outreach, information sessions, individual feedback sessions, application acceptance, selection process, awarding of stipends, and onboarding of selected students.
• 30% - Plan, coordinate, and manage student participation in the program, in collaboration with Associate Director and CCD staff, including pre-internship orientation, student activities and events during the program, periodic check-ins with student interns and employers, internship evaluations, and debriefing after internship experience.
• 20% - Plan, organize and conduct outreach to employers in the Boston area and beyond to cultivate new opportunities for students, while maintaining and growing current relationships with organizations.  Represent the Program to various constituents both on and off campus.  Nurture effective relationships with employers to ensure strong, educational internship experiences for students.
• 10% - Manage program finances to ensure stipends are disbursed in keeping with endowment policies, model future spending, and budget accordingly.  Engage in benchmarking to ensure stipends align with best practices.  Collect, analyze, and present qualitative and quantitative data, produce annual report.
• 5% - Evaluate program policies and procedures annually, seek feedback from students and employers, and make changes to streamline and improve the experience of students and employers by utilizing the best available technology and best practices in the field.
• 5% - Represent the CCD and Boston University in professional associations, conferences, and networks focused on experiential education, internship funding, and career development. Stay current on trends in experiential learning, internship policy, and best practices in program assessment. Contribute to the field through presenting, publishing, or serving on committees at local, regional, and national levels.

Required Skills

Both a resume and cover letter are required to be considered for this role.

• Bachelor's degree in human services, social sciences, or other relevant fields, master's degree preferred.
• At least 3-5 years of experience in career services, student affairs, education administration, or similar field.
• Program management experience including budgeting, workshop design and delivery, coaching of individual students, timely organization of student information, and ability to coordinate award decision-making.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, ability to correspond with accuracy and sensitivity with regard to student awards, develop written materials, guidelines, and policies.
• Ability to collect, analyze and report on client and program data to inform decision making, and write annual reports and other updates for program constituents.
• Cultural competency, commitment to inclusion, equity and engagement of all students, including students from marginalized communities.
• Highly collaborative, able to conduct outreach and develop relationships with diverse constituents including students, faculty, staff, alumni and employers.
• Ability and eagerness to learn and utilize computer applications, systems, AI, and social media.
• Flexibility to work occasional evenings or weekends as needed to support CCD activities.
• This is a hybrid position, eligible for two days of remote work per week throughout the year.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, natural or protective hairstyle, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, or because of marital, parental, or veteran status. We are a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.