Program Associate, Voyager Scholarship

At The Obama Foundation, our mission is to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world.  We seek to build an active democratic culture where people are equipped and motivated to make change in the communities where they live, work, and play. Right here on the South Side of Chicago, we’re building a home for this vision, a global center for change with a range of opportunities - coordinated programming, community outreach events, educational moments, and more - that invite visitors from down the block or across the globe to turn hope into action. Achieving our ambitious goals starts with an exceptional team built on our Hope to Action Values - Courage, Empathy, Integrity, Accountability, Community, Inclusivity, Pragmatism, Resilience, Imagination, and Hope. A Framework that anyone, anywhere, can use to build trust, activate participation, and expand opportunity in their community. Purpose of the Role The Program Associate, Voyager Scholarship plays an integral role in designing and facilitating virtual and in-person programming for college student program participants that integrates values-based leadership, bridge building, career visioning, storytelling, and career readiness leadership development content. They have a passion for supporting student-changemakers, are a strong relationship builder and communicator, and are a skilled project manager. They will collaborate with a fellow Associate and Senior Associate and report to the Deputy Director, to implement the Voyager Scholarship Program, in service of the Obama Foundation’s mission to inspire, empower, and connect the next generation of leaders. Core Job Responsibilities Virtual Program Implementation: Lead the implementation of monthly virtual programming for Voyagers with the support and guidance of the Deputy Director. Manage content components of all program sessions and events, including session design, scheduling, technology set-up, securing external speakers and facilitators, communication with program participants, and other tasks. Serve as the lead point of contact for a cohort of 100 Voyagers and develop systems to track and support their engagement. Contribute to the overall program design and curriculum informed by DMEL (design, monitoring, evaluation, and learning) data. Keep updated on current trends and conversations impacting higher education and closely collaborate with other team members to align programmatic content.  Program Participant Support: Provide individualized support and guidance and track program participant progress in achieving key programmatic milestones throughout the program term. Know each student by name and story and foster trusting relationships. Liaise with the Deputy Director to manage unique participant challenges or circumstances. Create a weekly newsletter to keep the cohort updated on programmatic events and share resources to support their development.  Partnership Management: Support the entire process of securing vendors by determining desired criteria and conducting interviews. Work across Foundation teams to execute contracts, complete invoicing, and conduct budget reconciliation. Help ensure that contracts are effective, well executed, and accurate. Assist with onboarding and management of program partners. Steward the partnership throughout the contract term by conducting regular meetings, preparing agendas, taking notes, and maintaining accurate communication throughout the contract term. Support the identification of and engagement with new and existing program partners. Participant Recruitment and Selection: Assist with the entire Voyagers application process, including recruitment, application preparation and launch, selection committee training and tracking, application review, recipient announcement, Voyager registration, public announcement, and other duties. Support outreach priorities, including forming partnerships to develop long-term talent pipelines. Cross-Team Operations and Project Management: Provide exceptional organizational and project management skills to streamline processes and workflows across virtual and in-person activities such as event logistics, forms management, and contracts workflows. Serve as a key contributor to a highly collaborative and cross functional team, including through daily collaboration activities, meetings and/or cross-department communications in a fast-paced working environment. Serve as a member of the Strategic Operations sub-team, working collaboratively across program verticals to learn from each other and identify operational efficiencies. Event Support: Work with various colleagues and stakeholders to proactively contribute to event/program design and on-site program facilitation, as well as operations and logistics. Manage program operations in collaboration with colleagues, related to travel, communications, scheduling, technology, and coordination with external speakers and facilitators and post-event logistics. Supporting program participants and foster community and relationship building within the cohort. Impact Evaluation and Storytelling Support: Contribute to the design and implementation of evaluation materials in alignment with Voyager Scholarship Program measurement frameworks. Analyze programmatic impact data and create readouts for and data visualizations for stakeholders. Support the development and iteration of systems to capture storytelling content that communicate data and stories of impact. Other Duties: Perform as assigned.  Key Deliverables/Outcomes Monthly Virtual Session Execution: Seamlessly manage and deliver monthly virtual leadership development programming, maintaining high student engagement and attendance across a cohort of 100 Voyagers. Student Development: Conduct regular 1-on-1 check-ins to build individual student relationships, monitor progress against leadership goals, and proactively address participant needs. Cohort Communication: Produce and di