Senior Academic Program Services Specialist

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Job Title:
Senior Academic Program Services Specialist

Department:
Graduate School | Office of Postdoctoral Affairs

The Senior Academic Program Services Specialist serves as a key point of contact in the Graduate School for postdoctoral affairs and strategic training grant (STG) initiatives. This position reports to the director of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA), is co-supervised by the Graduate School’s director of Strategic Trainee Proposal Development Initiatives, closely works with the broader team in their sub-unit of the Graduate School, and works independently to strategize and develop programs. The Senior Academic Program Services Specialist engages with internal and external partners to serve the professional development needs of the pre- and postdoctoral population and to support strategic training proposal development services.

In collaboration with the director of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, the Senior Academic Program Services Specialist develops and manages strategic postdoctoral affairs programming and initiatives that impact the University’s postdoctoral community. The mission of the Ohio State University Office of Postdoctoral Affairs is to enhance, support and promote postdoctoral training and development across the university and to prepare postdoctoral scholars for successful careers in academia, industry, and beyond. The OPA serves the diverse needs of postdocs across all academic disciplines and units at Ohio State, recognizing that the University's research enterprise is fueled significantly by their creative contributions. The Senior Academic Program Services Specialist works closely with OPA’s leadership and independently to build a comprehensive program of professional development, career services, and mentorship-focused trainings, events, and experiential learning opportunities designed to recruit and retain postdocs across Ohio State and prepare them for the next steps in their chosen careers.

In collaboration with the director of Strategic Trainee Proposal Development Initiatives, the Senior Academic Program Services Specialist partners with faculty and administrators across the university to develop new training grant proposals and renewal applications submitted to federal (e.g., NIH, NSF, ED, USDA), private foundation (e.g., American Heart Association), and other funders, and to devise program evaluation and data tracking systems for ongoing training program management, assessment of program and trainee outcomes, and program improvement.

Duties/Responsibilities

40% Office of Postdoctoral Affairs Activities:

• Plan and manage OPA-related events, including developing training materials, registration systems and qualitative surveys for programmatic assessment, drafting informational and engagement materials, creating event timelines, and engaging with vendors, invited speakers, co-sponsors, and other involved parties.
• Serve as a key point of contact for general inquiries from postdocs, faculty and staff, and other internal and external stakeholder groups through diverse communication streams.
• Independently develop and send OPA newsletters to postdocs, faculty, and administrators.
• Collaborate with the OPA director on the daily management of OPA operations. 
• Serve as a content expert for fellowship and award recognition programming. This includes planning application and review processes, maintaining application surveys, communicating with reviewers, nominators, and applicants, and aggregating post-review process materials.

30% Strategic Training Grant Support Activities:

• Work as part of a team to provide strategic programmatic support for pre- and post-doctoral competitive proposal development and event planning. 
• Serve as primary point of contact for internal and external entities regarding training grant-related events, proposal development resources (e.g., toolkits), and support systems. 
• Oversee and manage the development of key administrative components for training grant proposals, including data tables, leveraging data from Graduate School and program-specific systems.

15% Community and Partnership Activities:

• Liaise with internal and external partners to serve the needs of the postdoctoral population and to support strategic training proposal development services. 
• Coordinate and lead meetings with stakeholders, maintain project dashboards, and attend STG/OPA meetings and events; develop project dashboards to keep track of action items, and reports, presentations, and informational materials for internal/external stakeholders.
• Liaise with the Office of Academic Affairs financial service team for purchases related to STG/OPA operations, events, and support programs.

10% Program Assessment:

• Develop and manage qualitative feedback collection systems to programmatic evaluation, quality improvement, and pre/post-award training grant activities.

5% Other:

• Perform other duties as assigned by unit leadership.

Additional Information:

Education and Experience

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience is required. 
• A minimum of three years of experience with career services, professional development, and/or trainee support programs in a university setting. 
• Strong experience using databases and dashboards (e.g., Tableau) to analyze and make sense of data.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills. 
• Superior organization and time management skills.

Desired:

• Previous experience supporting postdoctoral trainees.
• Experience with Ohio State administrative and financial systems.
• Experience in developing and managing events.

Salary range: $49,800 - $66,400 (min - mid). The offer for this position will fall within this range based on internal equity, unit's available budget, and the candidate's qualifications.

Position mapping:

Job Profile: Academic Program Services Specialist 3

Function: Academic Administration

Sub-function: Academic Program Services

Career Band: Individual Contributor - Specialized

Career Level: Fully experienced professional.

Additional application instructions:

Applicants must include a cover letter with their application materials.

Location:
University Hall (0339)

Position Type:
Regular

Scheduled Hours:
40

Shift:
First Shift

Final candidates are subject to successful completion of a background check.  A drug screen or physical may be required during the post offer process.

Thank you for your interest in positions at The Ohio State University and Wexner Medical Center. Once you have applied, the most updated information on the status of your application can be found by visiting the Candidate Home section of this site. Please view your submitted applications by logging in and reviewing your status. For answers to additional questions please review the frequently asked questions .

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Applicants are encouraged to complete and submit the Equal Employment Identification form.