Program Associate, Faculty Institute

Organization Overview

As America approaches its 250th birthday, growing polarization threatens our national unity, democracy, and security. We can’t afford to wait—we must address this divisiveness now. To chart a peaceful path forward, we need citizens who are well-informed, productively engaged, and committed to democracy. Today’s 14-24-year-olds urgently need the civic knowledge and skills to solve the complex challenges our country faces. Yet, the institutions where they learn, work, and live are not fully equipped to provide them with the tools they need to become effective, collaborative citizens.

The mission of the Institute for Citizens & Scholars (“Citizens & Scholars”) is to cultivate talent, ideas, and networks that develop young people as effective, lifelong citizens. Our vision is a strong American democracy and a flourishing civil society where all people can thrive. We collaborate with leaders in higher education, business, and philanthropy to transform colleges, workplaces, and communities into hubs for civic development. In each of these spaces, we develop and implement programs that equip young people with the civic skills needed to address the divisive issues facing our country. Our offerings include co-designed programs, digital products, convenings, trainings, fellowships, and coalition networks – all with clear success metrics to measure real progress.

For the past 80 years, Citizens & Scholars has prepared leaders and engaged networks of people and organizations to meet urgent education challenges, helping to shape an informed, productively engaged, and committed citizenry. Formerly the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, we have forged stronger connections between K–12 and higher education and provided early funding for the work of 16 Nobel Laureates, 21 Pulitzer Prize winners, 27 Presidential and National Medalists, 44 MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipients, and more than 100 college presidents.

Today, under the leadership of its President, Rajiv Vinnakota, Citizens & Scholars is uniting the organization's legacy with a commitment to launch new civic learning ventures in and beyond education, building unlikely alliances to reimagine and recenter citizen development for young people.

Position Overview

The Faculty Institute Program Associate will play an integral role in supporting the Faculty Institute Program Officer and the growing collection of offerings through the Faculty Institute program. This role requires top-notch organization, curiosity, ease in working with faculty members across a range of disciplines, and an eagerness to streamline processes across platforms to address the diverse needs of our stakeholders.

The Faculty Institute, a signature initiative of the College Presidents for Civic Preparedness coalition in partnership with the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, supports faculty members to prepare students for productive conversations across difference. Throughout the 18-month fellowship, participants engage in intensive seminars, mentoring, and a robust community of practice to strengthen skills, commitment, and comfort in productive conversations and collaborative problem solving. United by a belief in democracy’s strength through dialogue, these educators create classroom and campus spaces where students develop critical skills in listening, reflection, and respectful disagreement, fostering a robust civic culture by bridging diverse perspectives.

Reporting to the Program Officer, this individual will serve as a trusted and essential member of the Faculty Institute team. The ideal candidate will bring strong organizational skills, clear and effective communication with internal and external partners, and exceptional attention to detail. They will manage fellowship inquiries, support planning and organization of materials related to the growing Faculty Institute portfolio, and assist with key operational, logistical, and relationship management responsibilities under the Program Officer’s supervision.

This role, like all roles at Citizens & Scholars, is based out of our Princeton, NJ headquarters, and will require occasional visits to the Princeton office. Program-specific travel for up to nine Faculty Institutes will also be required for this position. However, most time will be spent working remotely, and the ideal candidate will be a self-starter who is comfortable working in a remote work environment.

Essence of the Position

• Cultivate meaningful relationships with Faculty Fellows, campus partners, and colleagues to advance the Faculty Institute’s mission of strengthening civic preparedness and fostering dialogue across difference.
• Coordinate key operations, logistics, and meeting facilitation for the Faculty Institute, ensuring seamless delivery of virtual and in-person learning experiences through thoughtful planning, clear communication, and strong attention to detail.

Primary Focus

• Collaborate with the Program Officer to develop and implement planning timelines and workplans for the Faculty Institute.
• Manage all virtual workshops and learning sessions, including scheduling, logistics, participation tracking, supporting materials, and occasionally facilitating to ensure smooth delivery and engagement.
• Collaborate with the Events Director for all in-person events including creation of event materials and booklets and managing communication with attendees as needed.
• Serve as a point of contact for participating faculty and campus partners, fostering trust and collaboration among stakeholders.
• Track program progress, maintain data and dashboards, and partner with the Program Officer to ensure program goals and performance metrics are achieved.
• In consultation with the communications team, develop and implement a plan to keep participating faculty informed about the Faculty Institute, Citizens & Scholars, and broader trends in the field, and serve as liaison to share program updates and success stories.
• Contribute to the development of curriculum, resources, and program communications in collaboration with the Program Officer.
• Conduct foundational data analysis to track program deliverables and support assessment and evaluation efforts (e.g., generating survey reports for Faculty Institute programs and cleaning data sets in preparation for analysis).
• Maintain organized electronic repositories for the Faculty Institute across systems such as Egnyte, Teams/OneDrive, Airtable, and others as needed.
• Manage fellowship payment disbursements to faculty, process required documentation, and coordinate with the finance team to ensure accurate and timely payment.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience required.
• Previous experience working directly with campus leaders in higher education.
• 3+ years of non-profit program/project support or university administration experience.
• Excellent skills in writing and interpersonal communication.
• High attention to detail.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Demonstrated ability and willingness to work well with people with diverse perspectives and experiences.
• Proficiency with various social media; Facebook, LinkedIn etc.
• Proficiency in MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook); knowledge of Airtable and/or Alchemer a plus.
• Willingness to travel to convenings.
• Authorization to work in the United States

Attributes

• You are entrepreneurial and a self-starter: you are eager to start and manage new projects, always thinking about ways to increase impact and scale; you don’t need to be told what to do, and you will manage up and ask questions to mine for clarity throughout the process.
• You are curious about how systems, processes, and people connect; you think strategically about the big picture while staying grounded in the detailed steps needed to achieve it.
• You care deeply about the well-being of others, actively reflect on your impact, and use those insights to strengthen your work and the world around you.
• You are an excellent communicator—written and oral—and can persuasively capture where we currently are and where we can go together; you keep stakeholders informed, invested, and excited to be a part of the team.
• You are eager to learn and grow alongside your colleagues, working to build strong, trusting relationships in which you are committed to excellence in your work that is directly tied to impact in the field.

Our Core Values

• We are constantly learning and improving. We test and refine new ideas and learn from our mistakes. We dare to question old solutions. We seek opportunities to collaborate with our diverse team; different backgrounds, skill sets, and thinking styles give us valuable new perspectives. We share knowledge and insights with each other to help us grow as individuals and as an organization.
• We value diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging for all. We believe that we are stronger for our differences, and we acknowledge, respect, and appreciate them. We actively work with and learn from everyone—across all demographics, backgrounds, ideologies, and geographies. We identify areas where we differ and, for the good of the organization and each other, we explore and engage with differing perspectives.
• We are gracious and grateful in all that we do. We invest in our relationships with warmth and a sense of humor. We express gratitude to all our colleagues and stakeholders. While we strive for excellence, we recognize that no one is perfect. We give others the benefit of the doubt and act with kindness and integrity.
• We are attentive and intentional. We are aware of the needs of the world and those around us so that our work has a real impact. Our work is mission-driven and we know the “whys”—both large and small—behind what we do. Recognizing that details matter, we are equally committed to quality.

Compensation for this position includes an annual salary range between $70,000 - $75,000 commensurate with experience, as well as a generous benefits package.