Program Manager

Ad Astra; Overland Park (KS); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) with Profit Sharing

Flexible Time Off

Office Dog

Job summary

Ad Astra is seeking a Program Manager, Insights and Advisory Services, to coordinate and support higher-education scheduling initiatives, improve student success, and manage a portfolio of engagements across multiple institutions.

You will oversee timelines, deliverables, and the financial health of the TA portfolio, collaborating with system offices and contract consultants to ensure high-quality outcomes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; five+ years in program/project management in education or related sector.
• Experience coordinating multiple concurrent workstreams with diverse stakeholders.
• Proficiency with project management tools (Asana, Smartsheet, Monday.com) and finance/reporting basics.

Responsibilities

• Create and manage program plans with milestones and deliverables for active engagements.
• Track engagement deliverables and escalate risks to leadership.
• Coordinate day-to-day program activities across four service lanes and liaise with partners and institutions.
• Lead regular team meetings and ensure dissemination of key takeaways and actions.
• Monitor margins, revenue recognition, CSAT, and provide periodic performance reporting.

Skills

Problem Solving

Program & Project Management

Organization & Follow-Through

Financial & Operational Acumen

Stakeholder & Relationship Management

Adaptability

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Master’s Degree preferred

Tools

Asana

Smartsheet

Monday.com

Job description

Competitive Compensation & Benefits Package * 401(k) with Profit Sharing * Flexible Time Off * Office Dog!!

ABOUT US

By combining our unparalleled domain expertise with leading-edge technology, Ad Astra is helping higher education in its mission to advance timely student completions. We are building a cloud-based software platform that will provide the foundation for our next generation of industry-leading solutions and analytics. Simply put, we're helping students graduate faster.

OUR CORE VALUES

• We recognize talent. We recognize and appreciate the unique God-given talents that our people bring to Ad Astra. Aligning these individual gifts with our work sets team members up to succeed.
• We’re unpretentious. There’s no room for ego. We admit our imperfections and have the humility to know what we don’t know.
• We’re passionate. We aren’t satisfied with the status quo. We’re on a mission together to protect the value of degree completion and to transform the higher education industry.
• We’re pioneering. We’re pioneering and aren’t afraid of failing—in fact, we celebrate it. We love it when our people boldly experiment with innovative solutions.
• We love fun. The health of our relationships is strengthened by working with people who stretch our thinking—and by enjoying the lighter side of life together. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we do take fun seriously.
• We have grit. Beyond talent and intelligence, our people have stick-to-itiveness. We push through challenges to make goals a reality.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Program Manager, Insights and Advisory Services, plays a key role in coordinating and supporting Ad Astra’s work to assist colleges and universities with improving course scheduling to decrease time to degree and advance student success on their campuses. The Program Manager oversees day-to-day program operations across the team’s service lines and serves as a coordinator between team leadership, contract consultants, internal partners, and participating institutions.

The Program Manager manages timelines, deliverables, and coordination needs across concurrent client engagements, including technical assistance, benchmarking cohorts, consulting engagements, and workshop delivery, ensuring that program activities advance on schedule and at a consistent standard of quality. In addition to delivery coordination, the Program Manager monitors and manages the financial and operational health of the technical assistance portfolio, including project margins, on-time delivery, client satisfaction, and revenue recognition reporting, escalating margin and capacity risks to team leadership. The Program Manager also serves as the day-to-day relationship manager for the system offices with which Ad Astra partners, maintaining regular communication cadences with system office stakeholders, coordinating multi-institution cohorts and system-sponsored initiatives, and ensuring that system-level priorities and reporting expectations are reflected in engagement design and delivery.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS/CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Create and implement program plans identifying key milestones and deliverables for each active engagement and cohort.
• Support tracking engagement deliverables against program plans; identify significant variances and elevate capacity or timeline risks.
• Serve as coordinator of day-to-day program activities and internal point person/liaison across the four service lanes.
• Coordinate and lead regular program team meetings; capture and disseminate key takeaways and action items.
• Coordinate and manage the technical assistance program, including engagement cadence, institutional touchpoints, and follow-through across the active TA portfolio.
• Coordinate with contract (1099) consultants on their scope of work, assignments, deliverables, and related activities.
• Manage ongoing relationships with partner system offices, including engagement cadence, system-level status reporting, and coordination of multi-institution cohorts and initiatives sponsored or funded at the system level.
• Manage contact information, engagement records, and status documentation for participating institutions.
• Monitor and manage project margins for technical assistance engagements against established thresholds; where margins fall below threshold, develop recommended plans to improve margin performance and elevate to team leadership for decisions affecting staffing mix, scope, or pricing.
• Report program performance to leadership on a regular cadence, including project margins, on-time delivery performance, and client satisfaction (CSAT); provide monthly revenue recognition reporting to Finance.
• Coordinate scheduling, logistics, and preparation for client convenings, workshops, and cohort gatherings, both virtual and in-person.
• Manage the workflow for participant deliverables and submissions (e.g., action plans, cohort assignments), including collection, routing to subject matter reviewers, and tracking feedback turnaround.
• Provide production and logistics support for the delivery of curriculum webinars and virtual program sessions.
• Coordinate the development, versioning, and delivery logistics of workshop curricula, facilitation guides, certification materials, and other program assets; maintain the team’s library of reusable materials.
• Support the development of internal and external training programs for Astra Institute certifications, including the design of assessments that measure participant mastery of the curriculum delivered.
• Support the connection of engagement curricula, outcomes, and deliverables to the team’s larger body of previous and in-progress work, ensuring continuity and reuse across engagements.
• Support the rollout and consistent use of internal methodology standards, templates, and documentation practices across the team.
• Assist team with development and approval of program reports, client communications, and deliverables.
• Assist team with design and delivery of program activities that lead to specified engagement outcomes.
• Travel to and represent Ad Astra at approved conferences, client convenings, and events that occur within the program calendar.
• Other duties as assigned

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Five or more years of experience in program or project management in a same or similar role
• Proven experience in program or project management, particularly in the education sector, including coordination of multiple concurrent workstreams with distinct stakeholders, timelines, and deliverables.
• Experience with project management tools and techniques (e.g., Asana, Smartsheet, Monday.com, or similar.
• Experience managing project financial performance, including monitoring project margins, tracking revenue recognition, and reporting program metrics (e.g., margin, on-time delivery, client satisfaction) to leadership and finance partners.
• Experience working in higher education including a strong understanding of higher education policies, practices, and challenges.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain program plans, delivery calendars, and status reporting across a portfolio of engagements.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build relationships and collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders, including client executives and external partners.
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically, solve problems, and drive results in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and consistent follow-through across competing priorities.
• Familiarity with educational technology platforms and tools, curriculum development, assessment design, or certification program administration is a plus.
• Ability to travel periodically for client convenings, conferences, and team events.

ESSENTIAL COMPETENCIES

• Problem Solving
• Program and Project Management
• Organization and Follow-Through
• Financial and Operational Acumen
• Stakeholder and Relationship Management
• Adaptability in a Fast-Paced Environment

ADDITIONAL PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s Degree preferred
• Project Management Certification (PMP or comparable) preferred

HOW PERFORMANCE IS MEASURED FOR THIS ROLE

• On-time delivery of engagement milestones and deliverables across the active portfolio, measured against approved program plans.
• Project margin performance for technical assistance engagements relative to established thresholds, including timely escalation and remediation of at-risk engagements.
• Accuracy and timeliness of monthly revenue recognition reporting to Finance and of recurring program performance reporting to team leadership.
• Client satisfaction (CSAT) scores for engagements, cohorts, and convenings coordinated by this role.
• Health of partner system office relationships, evidenced by maintained communication cadences, on-time system-level reporting, and renewed or expanded system-sponsored work.
• Quality, currency, and reuse of the team’s library of curricula, facilitation guides, templates, and certification materials.
• Consistent adoption of internal methodology standards, templates, and documentation practices across the team.

Ad Astra is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and fairness—regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, political affiliation, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Please note that Ad Astra is unable to provide work visa sponsorship for this position.