SPARK! PROGRAM OPERATIONS COORDINATOR, Office of the Provost

About BU Spark

Founded in 2017, Spark! is an innovation and experiential learning lab for interdisciplinary computing and data science projects. Based at BU’s Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, Spark! serves as the experiential learning engine for students majoring in computer science, data science, computer engineering and related disciplines, providing opportunities for students to work on real-world projects learning focused on the application of data science, machine learning, and software engineering skills.

Position Summary

The Program Operations Coordinator is a new position in a dynamic growing unit. This role reports directly to the Spark! Operations Director and works closely with other members of the Spark! and CDS team to help deliver high-quality experiences for students, university faculty and staff, and external partners engaging with Spark! experiential learning programs.

This role will support day-to-day administrative operations across Spark! programs including, but not limited to, academic courses, external projects and partnerships, event planning, and management of communication with internal and external community members. This role will administer and coordinate workflows across various program areas and be responsible for specific initiatives as determined by Spark!’s needs and the candidate’s interests. This position will supervise 35 student employees, on average.

The ideal candidate will be an individual with experience in dynamic, faculty and student-oriented environments. This role is a good match for someone who is proactive, detail-oriented, collaborative, and comfortable with working within an academic calendar and context. This individual will be involved in program operations and therefore will supervise student employees. A successful candidate will be patient, empathetic, flexible, and committed to centering the student experience in their work. The candidate should be a creative problem solver and be comfortable navigating and resolving ambiguity.

We value curiosity and exploration on our team, so we hope to hire an individual interested in learning about and contributing to a wide range of operational areas within the university including academic programs and instruction, experiential learning and innovation, events and communication, and team development.

Essential Functions

Course Support – 40%

Support program administration across Spark!’s three initiatives: Innovation (student driven projects), X-Lab (external projects for clients), and Community and Inclusion. The role will assist in the application and acceptance process for XCC courses, working closely with the BU XCC team, Spark! staff, and instructors to ensure students are registered and their questions are answered. The majority of program operations fall under CDS courses supported through the Spark! X-Lab program and the programmatic on-ramps that prepare students for these courses. This role will coordinate two hackathon events per year, as well as other signature events, that serve as critical on-ramps for the Spark! x-lab program and future course enrollments. Responsibilities also include coordinating and assisting with project assignments for students and external partners involved with practicum courses, support of project management processes for the X-Lab program, contributing to project scoping, and aiding in class schedule planning and course registration.

Student Employee Administration – 25%

Supervise student employees that support program initiatives and X-lab course support. Facilitate hiring and coordinate performance assessments. Help resolve any performance issues that may arise. Conduct student training, review and approve hours weekly, and follow up with payroll issues.

Partner and Community Management Support – 15%

Support positive relationships with the Spark! community including current and prospective students, instructors, mentors, partners, and BU faculty and staff. Track stakeholder participation using developed workflows and support initiatives that expand engagement from community members. Coordinate annual mentor application processes and data collection and collect hiring documentation including letters of engagement and if needed, NDAs and Master Sponsor agreements.

Program Evaluation and Reporting Assistance – 15%

Assist with the evaluation of Spark! programs through collection, analysis, and reporting of key metrics. Design and update surveys and other feedback methods to improve effectiveness and accuracy of data collection. Organize and maintain evaluation data including external community survey responses, program participation numbers and demographics, and qualitative reflections. Provide data as requested.

Other – 5%

Other miscellaneous tasks as required.

Required Skills

Requirements:

● Bachelor’s degree

●1-3 years relevant operations and program delivery experience

● Fluency in Google and Microsoft productivity tools (e.g. google drive, docs, sheets; MS Office, zoom, etc.)

● Position requires being physically present a minimum four days per week to engage students and community members, availability for 1 weekend per semester required for specialized university events (dates are pre-set by the University calendar)

Preferred Skills:

● Experience or comfort with administrative program management in a university context

● Strong process and project management skills

● Excellent organizational and writing skills

● Outstanding communication and people skills with stakeholders ranging from students, university staff and faculty, volunteers, and community partners

● Experienced working with project management processes and tools (e.g. Airtable, Trello, Notion, Slack, etc.)

● Ability to identify and resolve problems, engaging relevant team members when needed.

● Experience working independently towards collective goals

● Ability to provide advice, problem solve, and interact with individuals at all levels from students to senior government officials to distinguished alumni

● Must have comfort working with uncertainty and in a fast-paced, dynamic start-up environment.

● Commitment to curiosity and learning

● Flexibility, a strong team orientation, and positive mindset are critical

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, natural or protective hairstyle, religion, sex, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, or because of marital, parental, or veteran status. We are a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.