Program Specialist

Southern Methodist University • Dallas, TX

31d • Onsite

About The Position

This role is an on-campus, in-person position. The Program Specialist will oversee all marketing and administration of the Center for Presidential History's new Department of Education three-year grant to conduct a one-week K-12 teacher seminar, each Summer, over three consecutive years, beginning in Summer 2026. The Program Specialist will be responsible for identifying ideal markets, contacting potential participants, and organizing applications for the program. They will also be processing travel payments, making logistical arrangements, assisting participants and scholars, compiling and distributing all seminar materials, managing the budget, and assisting with the required Federal grant reporting paperwork. As the primary point of responsibility, the Program Specialist will manage the project from inception to completion, ensuring all grant objectives and compliance requirements are met. This position is a FIXED TERM (3 year) grant funded position.

Requirements

• A Bachelor's degree is required.
• A minimum of three (3) years of experience is required.
• Experience in accounting and budgeting is required.
• Candidate must demonstrate strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate broadly across the University and develop and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of constituencies.
• Must also demonstrate strong written communication skills.
• Candidate must possess strong problem-solving skills with the ability to identify and analyze problems, as well as devise solutions.
• Must also have strong organizational, planning and time management skills.
• Candidate knowledge of popular social media platforms and demonstrated ability to promote events using social media is required.
• Candidate familiarity with Microsoft Office software, Creative Adobe, Canva, DocuSign, Sitecore and other software systems used for marketing is essential.

Nice To Haves

• A Master's degree is preferred.
• A Master's degree in History or Education is highly preferred.
• Experience running or coordinating national-level programs, particularly in an academic or nonprofit setting, is highly desirable.
• Candidate proficiency in digital marketing, including managing program budgets and online outreach is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Build digital marketing advertising to reach potential teachers participants via website, social media, and email. This will include building a master seminar application.
• Assess teacher participant applications for completeness, accuracy and overall quality. Assist in making final selection of teacher participants for the seminar.
• Complete financial paperwork to process teacher participant travel stipends, guest lecturer honorarium and travel expenses, and extra compensation salary payments.
• Make travel arrangements for guest lecturers. Work with SMU Conference Services to make housing and meal arrangements for teacher participants. Schedule all meeting rooms and daily catering for seminar. Arrange off-campus field trips for teacher participants, including ticketing and transportation.
• Develop a post seminar evaluation form, both written and digital. This will include a "bulletin board" blog for teachers to share their future classroom experiences with the group. We will follow up with these summer groups monthly to provide additional support and resources.
• Work with Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigators to complete Federal grant reporting requirements.
• Occasional evening/weekend hours required for the seminar program.

Benefits

• SMU offers staff a broad, competitive array of health and related benefits. In addition to traditional benefits such as health, dental, and vision plans, SMU offers a wide range of wellness programs to help attract, support, and retain our employees whose work continues to make SMU an outstanding education and research institution.
• SMU is committed to providing an array of retirement programs that benefit and protect you and your family throughout your working years at SMU and, if you meet SMU's retirement eligibility criteria, during your retirement years after you leave SMU.
• The value of learning at SMU isn't just about preparing our students for the future. Employees have access to a wide variety of professional and personal development opportunities, including tuition benefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Industry: Educational Services
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees