Education Program Coordinator

Center for Public Partnerships & Research; Topeka (KS); On-site; USD 43,000 - 58,000; Full time

Job summary

The Center for Public Partnerships & Research seeks an Education Program Coordinator to support Indigenous Studies and Museum Studies. The role works with faculty, staff, and stakeholders to grow enrollments, programming, and partnerships while coordinating communications and events across campus and communities.

Candidates should have a high school diploma or GED with related experience, or a bachelor’s degree plus one year of experience, plus strong communication and organizational skills and

Qualifications

• High School diploma or GED equivalency with five years of related experience, or a Bachelor's degree with one year related experience.
• Demonstrated effective communication skills as shown in application materials.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, evidenced in application materials.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office programs and Adobe design products.
• Ability to work independently to organize and track tasks and meet deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Develop innovative, creative, modern strategies to reach program constituents.
• Manage programs' social media, messaging, campaigns, and analytics.
• Communicate with campus units, community stakeholders, and alumni/donors.
• Develop promotional materials for events and academic endeavors.
• Support program directors and graduate coordinators in communications campaigns.
• Organize enrollments, grow minors, and partnerships across programs.
• Plan, promote, and evaluate professional development and community events.
• Coordinate end-of-year and campus events and assist with academic systems as needed.

Skills

Communication

Organization

Independent work

Collaboration

Database systems

Education

Masters degree

Tools

Microsoft Office

Adobe design

Job description

Position Overview

The Education Program Coordinator will work directly with faculty and staff in the Indigenous Studies and Museum Studies programs and will play a critical role in helping these two programs grow enrollments and programming. The Program Coordinator's primary responsibilities are focused on supporting this growth through strategic communications and event coordination, as well as program development and management. Applicants must have a High School diploma (or GED equivalency) and five years of related experience OR Bachelor’s degree plus one-year related experience. Applicants must also demonstrate strong skills organization, communication, and collaboration, as well as proficiency in working a variety of digital softwares used at the university for communication and program coordination. This program reports directly to the Directors of the Indigenous Studies and Museum Studies programs.

Job Description

35% - Strategic Communications

• Develop innovative, creative, modern strategies to reach program constituents
• Manage programs' social media including developing messaging and marketing campaigns, amplifying relevant events and news, and reviewing analytics
• Communications with other campus academic and service units on matters of common interest
• Communications with community stakeholders and partners to maintain strong relationships
• Outreach campaigns to engage program alumni and potential donors
• Manage communications with campus partners and affiliates to strengthen ties and grow the campus footprint of MUSE and ISP
• Develop promotional and marketing materials for program events and academic endeavors
• Support the Graduate Program Coordinator with developing communications campaigns to serve the needs of current students
• Support the Graduate Program Coordinator with developing communications campaigns to attract prospective applicants and bolster recruiting
• Serve as point of contact for requests from the media and the community for expertise drawn from program faculty, affiliates, and staff
• Research/write/publish stories and features related to these communications and marketing initiatives
• Ongoing professional development conferences, workshops, and coursework to stay current with communications practices and strategies

35% - Program Development and Management

• Manage, develop, advertise, and grow enrollments for ISP minor
• Help manage development of MUSE minor; once active, manage, develop, advertise, and grow enrollments and internship partnerships
• Initiate, develop, nurture, and expand formal and informal partnerships between programs and stakeholders on campus (other academic programs, museums, centers) and off campus (museums and archives, government organizations, NGOs, tribes, etc)
• Create, maintain, and expand list of internship opportunities locally, regionally, and nationally for MUSE and ISP graduate students and undergraduate minors
• Support MUSE and ISP Program Directors and the graduate program coordinator in developing new and innovative and interdisciplinary academic programs to help create relevant learning and professional development pathways for evolving job markets (certificates, masters, and/or doctoral degrees)
• Locate intramural and extramural scholarship/grant options to support students, faculty, and affiliates in each program. Share with program leadership, draft application documents, and manage applications, submissions, and grants as necessary
• Support Office of Sovereign Partnerships and Haskell Exchange Program coordinator in partnership development with Haskell Indian Nations University as it relates to ISP or MUSE transfer or exchange programming
• Table and/or present at relevant local, on-campus and industry events to promote the MUSE and ISP programs
• Support program staff with university processes and academic systems management as necessary

20% - Event Coordination

• Organize, promote, and evaluate professional development and community-building events for current students; coordinate with the Office of Sovereign Partnerships and Museum related institutions on campus when relevant for academic program development, student recruitment, and ISP and MUSE communications purposes
• Represent ISP on annual KU Powwow and Indigenous Cultures Festival Committee outreach/community events
• Develop, plan, and execute events related to campus themes and initiatives, student and faculty milestones
• Develop, plan, and execute community-building events for program faculty, staff, and affiliates
• Support faculty in planning for talks, seminars, and outreach events for visiting scholars and experts
• Coordinate end-of-year events for graduating students and retiring/departing faculty
• Coordinate community-building opportunities for program stakeholders
• Assist Graduate Program Coordinator in organizing events for current and prospective students (e.g. new student orientation, campus visits for prospective and admitted students, welcome back events)

10% - Other duties as assigned

• In consultation with program directors

Required Qualifications

• High School diploma/GED equivalency and five years of related experience OR Bachelor’s degree plus one year related experience
• Demonstrated effective communication skills, as evidenced by application materials
• Demonstrated organizational skills and attention to detail, as evidenced by application materials
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office programs and Adobe design products (or comparable software), as evidenced by application materials
• Demonstrated ability to work independently to organize and track tasks/projects and to meet deadlines, as evidenced by application materials
• Demonstrated experience collaborating and communicating with individuals from varying backgrounds, or levels of authority, as evidenced by application materials
• Experience using databases or other electronics systems for tracking and managing information (e.g. accounts, data, forms)

Preferred Qualifications

• Masters degree and one year of professional experience
• Knowledge of the University of Kansas academic programs, administration, and systems
• Experience creating and maintaining websites
• Experience organizing and conducting presentations to varied groups
• Experience providing customer/constituent service
• Professional experience handling sensitive information and/or situations requiring discretion and conformity to confidentiality and security protocols

Additional Candidate Instructions

In addition to the online application, the following documents are required to be considered for this position:

• cover letter describing how you meet the required and preferred qualifications
• resume
• list of three professional references

Contact Information to Applicants

Ward Lyles

[e-mail]

919.943.2681 (cell)

Advertised Salary Range

$50,000

Application Review Begins

Tuesday September 1, 2026

Anticipated Start Date

Thursday October 1, 2026