Work College Initiatives Coordinator

Berea College; Berea (KY); On-site; USD 48,000 - 68,000; Full time

Job summary

Berea College seeks a Work College Initiatives Coordinator to support the Dean of the Work College Program. The role blends project management and the MoneyWi$e financial wellness program for students, with an emphasis on coordinating cross-functional initiatives and ensuring alignment with program goals.

You will supervise student workers, develop financial literacy offerings, and partner with Academic Affairs, Financial Aid, and faculty to continually improve curricular and program outcomes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business administration, higher education, finance, or related field.
• Willing to work evenings and some weekends during the academic term.

Responsibilities

• Support the Dean for the Work College Program on assigned projects and coordinate timelines.
• Partner with Academic Affairs staff on collaborative projects to align student support efforts across divisions.
• Develop and implement joint programming, communications, and referral pathways between the Work College Program and Academic Affairs.
• Manage data collection and analysis to evaluate program effectiveness and outcomes.

Skills

Interpersonal communication

Organizational skills

Problem-solving

Attention to detail

Independent work

Resource materials development

Technology proficiency

Confidential information handling

Collaborative leadership

Project management

Cross-department partnerships

Data analysis

Evaluation experience

Confidentiality

Education

Bachelor's degree in business administration, higher education, finance

Tools

Box

Banner

Qualtrics

Microsoft Office

Job description

Please note that references provided at the time of application for staff positions will not be contacted until the applicant has been offered the position.

Description

Under the general direction of the Dean, the Work College Initiatives Coordinator provides project management and coordination support across Work College Program priorities and oversees the coordination of financial capabilities education through the MoneyWi$e initiative. The role is divided approximately evenly between these two areas of responsibility: project management and coordination (including support for assigned projects) make up approximately 50% of the role, and the MoneyWi$e initiative makes up the other approximately 50%. These percentages are intended as planning guidance rather than a fixed allocation, and the balance of time will shift from term to term based on programmatic needs and institutional priorities. In the project management capacity, the Coordinator serves as project manager for cross-functional Work College Program initiatives and provides support on assigned projects, helping align efforts, track shared goals, and strengthen the connection between students' academic and work-learning experiences. In the MoneyWi$e capacity, the Coordinator is responsible for creating and implementing the financial wellness program and services for students on campus and consults regularly with relevant faculty and industry professionals to ensure the curriculum and programming remain current and relevant. More broadly, the Coordinator aligns their duties with data analysis and other Work College Program duties to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the program in achieving its goals. Following long-standing tradition and practice at Berea College, this position includes responsibility for supervising, mentoring, and developing students in the College's integrated Work College Program. This supports student learning, career readiness, and the program's learning goals and outcomes. The Work College Program provides a developmental framework that guides student learning while creating a structured mentorship opportunity, with role-specific training that equips faculty and staff mentors to support student development. Faculty and staff mentors play an essential part in helping students connect their work-learning-service experiences with broader academic, professional, and personal development. For faculty, this aligns with Berea's tenure and promotion criteria.

Your Key Responsibilities

The Academic Affairs Collaboration duties below, together with project management and coordination duties within the Work College Program section below, make up approximately 50% of the role. The MoneyWi$e related duties within the Work College Program section make up the other approximately 50%. These figures are approximate and will shift over time based on programmatic and institutional priorities.

Academic Affairs Collaboration Duties (in support of the Dean of the Work College Program)

• Support the Dean for the Work College Program on assigned projects within the Work College Program’s collaboration with the Division of Academic Affairs, which the Dean primarily leads, including participating in planning meetings as needed to help coordinate timelines.
• Partner with Academic Affairs staff on assigned collaborative projects to help align student support efforts and identify shared priorities across the two divisions.
• Assist in developing and implementing joint programming, communications, and referral pathways between the Work College Program and Academic Affairs.
• Track progress and outcomes on assigned Work College Program/Academic Affairs projects.

Work College Program Duties

MoneyWi$e Financial Capabilities (approximately 50% of role):

• Serve as the primary point of contact for students participating in the MoneyWi$e program, tracking their progress, participation, and program completion.
• Maintain and continue implementing the peer-to-peer model that offers one-on-one financial literacy counseling to students by students, including recruiting, training, and overseeing student peer counselors.
• Lead the development and implementation of the financial wellness program and services for students on campus, including workshops, seminars, one-on-one counseling sessions, and open labor meeting workshops on financial wellness.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of financial capabilities best practices and trends, consulting regularly with relevant faculty and industry professionals to ensure the MoneyWi$e curriculum and programming remain current and relevant.
• Collect and analyze data and metrics — including student satisfaction surveys developed with the Office of Institutional Research — to evaluate the effectiveness of financial literacy programs and services and make recommendations for improvements.
• Contribute to the creation of educational resources and materials, such as online tutorials, printed guides, and multimedia content, to help educate students about financial wellness topics.
• Following long-standing tradition and practice at Berea College, this position includes responsibility for supervising, mentoring, and developing students in the College's integrated Work College Program. This supports student learning, career readiness, and the program's learning goals and outcomes. The Work College Program provides a developmental framework that guides student learning while creating a structured mentorship opportunity, with role‑specific training that equips faculty and staff mentors to support student development. Faculty and staff mentors play an essential part in helping students connect their work-learning-service experiences with broader academic, professional, and personal development. For faculty, this aligns with Berea's tenure and promotion criteria.

Project Management & Program Coordination (approximately 50% of role, combined with Academic Affairs Collaboration Duties above):

• Serve as project manager for cross-functional Work College Program initiatives — developing project plans, timelines, and milestones; coordinating logistics, scheduling, and resource planning; and reporting progress to the Dean for the Work College Program.
• Maintain project documentation and a shared tracking system, including status reports and action items, to ensure visibility and accountability across the Work College Program initiatives, and proactively identify and resolve project risks and bottlenecks with relevant stakeholders.
• Serve as a liaison between Academics, Financial Aid, and the Work College Program, educating students on how financial aid and the Work College Program connect to ensure comprehensive support.
• Collect and analyze data and metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the Work College Program, including learning outcomes and progress toward program goals.

What You'll Bring

Education required to ensure success in this position:

• Bachelor's degree in business administration, higher education, finance, or a related field.

Experience required to ensure success in this position:

• Willing to work as needed beyond hours to host, coordinate, or assist in program events in the evenings and some weekends during the academic term.

Special skills, knowledge and abilities:

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (written and oral)
• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills
• Attention to detail
• Ability to work independently on multiple, complex administrative tasks and priorities
• Ability to respond quickly and appropriately to faculty, staff and student concerns, addressing issues independently whenever possible and referring them to others when needed
• Ability to develop and update resource materials for the workplace
• Proficiency with technology (e.g. Microsoft Office Programs, Box, Banner, Qualtrics)
• Professional manner and ability to handle confidential information
• Collaborative team-based working style and participatory leadership style are essential
• Demonstrated project management skills, including the ability to develop timelines, track deliverables, and coordinate multiple concurrent initiatives to completion
• Ability to build and sustain effective cross-departmental partnerships, particularly with academic units
• Experience with data analysis and evaluation
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information

License, certification, or registration necessary:

• Valid driver’s license
• Required background checks

Physical requirements:

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Must be able to use a computer keyboard and read a computer screen. Requires clear oral communication by telephone and in face-to-face conversation. Ability to maintain a high level of energy is a plus.
• Some light lifting required
• Ability to sit for long periods of time with computer usage
• Ability to operate office equipment
• Ability to travel by car and/or plane

Environmental conditions:

• Indoor fast-paced office environment and out of office visitation and support of ~100 labor departments with diverse work environments.

Ability to operate the following vehicles or equipment:

• Vehicle
• College Vehicle
• Standard office equipment, including computer, fax machine, copier, printer.

Founded in 1855, Berea College is nationally recognized as the first coeducational and interracial college in the South. Berea has a longstanding commitment to interracial education and is one of the most racially diverse private liberal arts colleges in the United States. With an emphasis on service to Appalachia and beyond, Berea enrolls more than 1,500 students from 46 states and U.S. territories and more than 70 countries. Berea College admits students who are unable to afford tuition and provides all of them with a no-tuition promise. Berea’s students excel in the College’s supportive yet demanding academic environment, and most are the first in their families to attend college. As one of only ten federally recognized Work Colleges, all Berea students are expected to work 10-12 hours weekly in various positions across campus. Berea College is also the only institution in Kentucky to receive the 5-Star Rating from Money Magazine, 2025. Washington Monthly has named Berea College the #1 Best College in the nation in its 2025 College Guide. Berea College appears in their rankings as #1 College (overall): Best College for your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars, #1 Best-in Class College, #1 Liberal Arts College and #1 Best Bang for the Buck Southern College.

Located where the Bluegrass Region meets the Cumberland Mountains, the town of Berea (pop. 16,000) lies forty miles south of Lexington and is approximately two hours from Cincinnati, Louisville, and Knoxville. More information about Berea College is available at www.berea.edu.

Berea College, in light of its mission in the tradition of impartial love and social equality, welcomes all people of the earth to learn and work here.

Berea College is always looking for talented, self-motivated individuals to join our team. If you think you are ready to be a part of an exciting team, then we encourage you to continue with this applicant friendly, online job application!

Berea College is an Equal Opportunity Employer that recruits and hires qualified candidates without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, disability, or veteran status.

Our Benefits

Berea College offers a comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees and their families including health care, dental, vision, retirement, health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability and an Employee Assistance Program. The benefit package also includes access to the Child Development Laboratory for children of College Staff, ages 6 weeks to 6 years, Seabury Center Membership, Staff Development Funds and Tuition Reimbursement.

Eligible staff employees also receive paid holidays, vacation, and sick leave.

Part-time employees who work an average of twenty-four hours per week over the course of a year, receive benefits on a pro-rated basis.

To learn more details, visit our benefits page at https://www.berea.edu/human-resources/employee-benefits.

Our Unique Culture

Berea College strives to be a place where people with various Christian interpretations, different religious traditions, and no religious traditions work together in support of Berea's Great Commitments.

Over the past century, various leaders of the College have applied the College’s inclusive scriptural foundation and spirit to their expanding world and welcomed those whose beliefs were consistent with the Christian gospel of impartial love. Therefore, Berea College today affirms its inclusive Christian tradition even as it respects the traditions of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus, as well as other faiths, and those holding no religious beliefs. We strive not to ignore our differences, but rather seek to understand each other honestly and respectfully, and together create a climate where anyone can openly discuss what they believe without fear of sanction. To that end, all persons who are willing to share in the spirit and the work of the Great Commitments as shaped by its preamble are welcome to study, to teach, and to work at Berea

Labor Supervision

In support of Berea College’s great commitments, staff and faculty serve as labor supervisors. Our fourth great commitment, The Dignity of Labor, promotes learning and serving in community through the student Labor Program, honoring the dignity and utility of all work, mental and manual, and taking pride in work well done. Student Labor Supervision includes scheduling, assigning, and approving student work, developing students' workplace acumen, and providing tangible work experience. To learn more about the labor program office please see the following link Labor Program Office.