Project Support Associate, Higher Education in Prison (Part-Time)

American Institutes for Research; Chapel Hill (NC); Hybrid; USD 23,000 - 32,000; Part time

Job summary

The American Institutes for Research (AIR) is seeking a part-time Project Support Associate for Higher Education in Prison (HEP). You will provide administrative, research, logistical, and production support to ensure successful project delivery across AIR's HEP portfolio and coordinate national convenings and communities of practice.

The role requires strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• HS diploma and 2+ years of relevant experience, or Bachelor's degree.
• Office or project management experience, preferably supporting technical assistance, research, or convening work.
• Understanding of project management principles with tracking deliverables across multiple workstreams.
• Experience coordinating virtual convenings, working groups, advisory bodies, or communities of practice.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, Teams, and Windows-based environments; experience with Airtable and SharePoint.
• Interest in higher education in prison, correctional education, or reentry preferred.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate logistics for meetings, virtual convenings, and working sessions, including scheduling and attendance tracking.
• Prepare meeting materials and distribute notes, minutes, and next steps.
• Capture notes and translate transcripts into summaries, records, and action items.
• Support research activities including literature reviews and resource inventories.
• Route materials through QA and perform quality control for consistency.
• Track deliverables, timelines, and milestones across multiple workstreams.
• Maintain processes, procedures, and tracking tools for administrative support.
• Support onboarding of new participants and assist with communication activities.
• Provide administrative support to senior staff including calendar management.
• Monitor progress and participate in planning meetings.

Skills

Microsoft Office Suite

Microsoft Teams

SharePoint

Documentation

Coordination

Communication

Education

HS diploma

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Airtable

SharePoint

Microsoft Teams

Job description

Project Support Associate, Higher Education in Prison (Part-Time)

Join AIR as a part-time Project Support Associate and use your experience and skills to help advance our mission: to generate evidence and apply data-driven solutions that expand opportunities and improve lives for all.

The Project Support Associate provides administrative, research, logistical, and production support to ensure the successful delivery of projects across AIR's higher education in prison (HEP) technical assistance portfolio. This role helps coordinate national convenings and communities of practice, supports the development and dissemination of field-facing resources, and assists with the day-to-day operations that keep collaborative work moving forward.

Working closely with AIR staff and a diverse network of external partners, the Project Support Associate helps organize information, facilitate communications, and guide resources from draft development through public release. This position is ideal for someone who is highly organized, detail-oriented, collaborative, and skilled at managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

This position has the flexibility to work remotely within the United States (U.S.) or from one of our U.S. office locations. This does not include U.S. territories.

About AIR:

Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance to address some of the most pressing challenges in the United States and globally. We generate evidence and apply data-driven solutions that expand opportunities and improve lives for all.

Responsibilities:

The responsibilities for the position include:

• Coordinate logistics for meetings, recurring virtual convenings, and working sessions, including scheduling, calendar management, registration, attendance tracking, and follow‑up.
• Organize and prepare meeting materials, including agendas, pre‑reading, and supporting documents, and distribute notes, minutes, and identified next steps afterward.
• Capture notes during meetings and working sessions and translate raw notes and transcripts into concise summaries, decision records, and action item lists for follow‑up.
• Support research activities, including literature reviews, environmental scans, resource inventories, and compiling reference lists to inform priorities.
• Route draft materials through internal quality assurance and review processes, and perform quality control reviews to ensure consistency and accuracy.
• Track deliverables, assignments, timelines, and milestones across multiple concurrent workstreams, monitoring progress and flagging risks to schedules.
• Maintain and develop processes, procedures, and tracking tools for administrative and project support, including planning and scheduling.
• Maintain project documentation, records, shared file structures, and version control across concurrent workstreams.
• Support the onboarding of new participants and partners, and assist project leadership teams with communication activities.
• Provide administrative support to senior staff and project leaders, including calendar scheduling and meeting coordination, and general coordination support to the project team. Perform other duties as assigned.
• Monitor and report on progress, deliverable status, and feedback, and participate in team meetings and project planning.

Qualifications:

Education, Knowledge, and Experience

• HS diploma and 2+ years of relevant experience, or Bachelor's degree.
• Office or project management experience, preferably supporting technical assistance, research, or convening work.
• Understanding of project management principles and practices, including tracking deliverables across multiple concurrent workstreams.
• Experience coordinating virtual convenings, working groups, advisory bodies, or communities of practice.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint), Microsoft Teams, and Windows‑based work environments; experience with Airtable and SharePoint.
• Interest in or familiarity with higher education in prison, correctional education, postsecondary access, or reentry preferred; direct expertise is not required.

Skills

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Microsoft Teams, including scheduling and file management in SharePoint.
• Familiarity with virtual convening platforms, including registration, polling, and transcription features.
• Ability to synthesize discussion into clear, concise notes, summaries, and action items.
• Ability to focus on details within complex documents or organizational systems, with strong accuracy in tracking review cycles and version control across collaboratively developed materials.
• Excellent proofreading, language, and analytic skills.
• Efficient and accurate writing skills.
• Ability to organize work and follow through independently.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and to coordinate across multiple external partner organizations, adapting communication to varied audiences.
• Customer service‑oriented mindset.
• Effective communication skills with the ability to collaborate efficiently in a virtual work environment.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills, with the ability to adapt to changing deadlines and manage competing priorities across concurrent workstreams.

Disclosures: Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the U.S. on a full‑time basis. Employment‑based visa sponsorship (including H‑1B sponsorship) is not available for this position. Depending on project work, qualified candidates may need to meet certain residency requirements.

American Institutes for Research is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of any characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local law, including, but not limited to, actual or perceived race (including traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture, hair type, and protective hairstyles such as braid, locs, and twists), creed, color, religion, alienage or national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition (e.g., cancer), sex, gender, gender identity or expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, civil union status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, genetic information, or military or veteran status. AIR adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo reference and background checks. AIR maintains a drug‑free work environment.

ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE: If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process due to a physical or mental disability, please send an email to Taliba Boone [e-mail] call 202.403.5000.

AIR's Total Rewards Program, is designed to reward our staff competitively and motivate them to achieve our critical mission. This position offers the anticipated annual salary as listed. Salary offers are made based on internal equity within the institution and external equity with competitive markets. Please note this is the annual salary range for candidates that are based in the United States.