Program Associate, Higher Education

Active Minds•Washington, DC

6d•$52,500 - $57,750•Remote

About The Position

The Program Associate, Higher Education supports Active Minds’ Youth Leadership Team in delivering programs and projects for college students, with a primary focus on the Mental Health Advocacy Institute (MHAI). Reporting to the Senior Manager, Higher Education, the Associate is a core student-facing team member responsible for day-to-day program implementation, participant support, project coordination, facilitation, program operations, and content creation. The role identifies barriers to participation and implementation and works with the Senior Manager to address them. The Associate works closely with the Youth Leadership Team and colleagues across Measurement, Chapters, Marketing & Communications, Operations, and other departments. The role also engages directly with youth and young adults, campus staff and faculty, facilitators, interns, and external partners. The position is flexible/remote and requires willingness and ability to travel within the United States for conferences, on-site events, and staff gatherings, as well as to support evening programming during the academic year.

Requirements

At least one year of relevant experience supporting higher education programs, student leadership, mental health promotion, advocacy, student affairs, or related nonprofit initiatives; relevant experience may come from employment, internships, graduate assistantships, service roles, or substantial student leadership responsibilities.
Experience engaging college students and collaborating with campus staff, faculty, or community partners.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience facilitating presentations, trainings, or student-facing programming.
Ability to work independently and as part of a team, and to seek supervisor guidance when appropriate.
Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, consistent follow-through, and ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines.
Experience creating documents, presentations, or educational materials.
Experience accurately entering, organizing, and maintaining data, such as spreadsheets, forms, or surveys.
Ability to provide supportive, constructive guidance while maintaining clear program expectations and exercising sound judgment.
Proficiency with Google products and project management platforms such as ClickUp.
Commitment to equity and inclusion and to applying an equity-centered lens to student programming and engagement.
Belief in college students’ ability to lead meaningful change in mental health and their campus communities.
Willingness and ability to travel within the United States to conferences, on-site Active Minds events, and staff gatherings, and to support evening programming during the academic year.

Nice To Haves

Experience using Google Classroom or another learning management system.
Experience with Salesforce or another customer relationship management system.
Familiarity with campus mental health advocacy, peer education, student leadership development, or collaborative campus change efforts.
Experience engaging students across varied institution types, including community colleges, historically Black colleges and universities, and other institutions serving historically underserved students.

Responsibilities

Coordinate day-to-day implementation of the Mental Health Advocacy Institute, including calendars, onboarding, learning management system support, session preparation, and milestone tracking.
Support MHAI recruitment and applications through outreach to colleges, universities, higher education associations, and campus networks, with a focus on reaching BIPOC and LGBTQ+ students and students at varied institution types.
Coordinate MHAI alumni engagement, including student panels, project spotlights, and connections to other Active Minds leadership opportunities.
Connect MHAI participants and collegiate advocates to the Youth Mental Health Innovation Fund through outreach, informational sessions, and application support in coordination with the Senior Manager, Youth Grants and Educator Engagement.
Support higher education resources, webinars, training, and campus partnership initiatives as assigned.
Serve as a primary contact for routine participant questions about program requirements, deadlines, materials, and support.
Monitor participant progress and follow up when students miss sessions or milestones.
Coach college students and provide timely feedback on milestones as they develop campus mental health advocacy action plans, identify administrative allies, and implement campus and systemic changes.
Facilitate and co-facilitate virtual sessions, office hours, make-up sessions, and small groups using interactive activities, discussions, and reflections.
Carry out assigned projects from planning through completion, maintaining timelines, coordinating deliverables, and updating the Senior Manager on progress, barriers, and support needs.
Use ClickUp and Google Workspace to track project milestones, tasks, session communications, and facilitator and speaker logistics.
Maintain the MHAI online learning platform, including posting materials and assignments, organizing resources, and supporting participant access.
Coordinate logistics for facilitators, guest speakers, and virtual sessions, including scheduling, onboarding materials, attendance, breakout rooms, interactive tools, and participant access needs.
Handle administrative tasks across assigned Youth Leadership programs, including mass communications, participant records, required forms, and submitted work.
Under the Senior Manager’s guidance, process participant stipends, speaker honoraria, and facilitator payments, including collecting forms and receipts, submitting payment requests, tracking payment status, and flagging discrepancies.
Create and update supplemental program materials, such as videos, worksheets, interactive activities, reflection prompts, action plan templates, and facilitator guides.
Prepare facilitator training materials, communications, and implementation guidance.
Collaborate across teams to coordinate programming, share resources, and connect participants with additional engagement opportunities.
Assist with training and technical assistance for campus partners supporting student leadership and mental health advocacy.
When assigned an intern, establish expectations, provide guidance and feedback, and monitor progress toward deliverables.
With the Senior Manager and Measurement Team, collect and maintain standardized MHAI data on participation, completion, participant experience, and intended leadership outcomes.
Maintain accurate records of recruitment, participant engagement, campus stakeholder communications, and student project implementation.
Gather participant feedback, especially from BIPOC and LGBTQ+ students; share themes, suggest improvements, and help carry out approved changes.
Support preparation of program summaries, presentations, and reports for internal teams and funders as assigned.
Apply an equity-centered, community- and strengths-based approach to student programming and engagement.
Complete assigned deliverables on time, represent Active Minds at events as assigned, share student engagement learnings and resources with colleagues, and participate in organization-wide initiatives and other responsibilities as needed.