Project Coordinator

Central Research•Lowell, AR

28d

About The Position

Central Research, Inc. (CRI) is hiring a Project Coordinator. The Project Coordinator provides direct support to the Project Management Office (PMO) for the U.S. Department of Education’s USDS contract. The coordinator plays a vital role in organizing project activities, tracking progress, managing documentation, and supporting communication between federal stakeholders, technical teams, and contractor personnel. This role helps ensure projects meet Department of Education requirements, comply with federal standards, and align with USDS principles of user-centered design, agile delivery, and continuous improvement.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Management, Information Systems, Public Administration, or related field (or equivalent experience).
1–3 years of project coordination or PMO support experience, preferably on federal government contracts.
Strong organizational, communication, and documentation skills.
Proficiency with MS Office, SharePoint, Teams, or other digital collaboration tools.
Ability to obtain and maintain required ED Public Trust security clearance.
Must be a US Citizen
Detail-oriented and highly organized.
Strong coordination and time-management skills.
Ability to communicate clearly with technical and non-technical audiences.
Proactive and resourceful; able to work independently and as part of a cross-functional team.
Commitment to public service, user-centered design, and improving government services.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting projects within the U.S. Department of Education or other civilian federal agencies.
Familiarity with federal IT modernization, digital service design, or USDS principles.
Understanding of federal contracting life cycles, FAR guidelines, and contract reporting requirements.
CAPM, PMP, CSM, or similar certification (or working toward one).
Experience supporting agile teams, digital services, or data-focused projects is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

Support Project Managers and the PMO in planning, coordinating, and tracking project tasks aligned with the USDS engagement.
Maintain integrated project schedules, sprint calendars, and milestone trackers for both internal teams and ED stakeholders.
Coordinate meetings, workshops, demos, and stakeholder checkpoints; prepare agendas, take minutes, and track action items.
Assist with monitoring project risks, issues, and dependencies; help ensure appropriate escalation and mitigation steps.
Maintain all project documentation in accordance with ED and federal contracting requirements.
Prepare project status reports, sprint summaries, dashboards, risk logs, and progress updates for both leadership and government stakeholders.
Ensure compliance with PMO standards, contract requirements, user-centered design guidelines, and agile frameworks.
Maintain version control of deliverables and facilitate document reviews and approvals with ED teams (e.g., program office, OCIO).
Serve as a coordination point between contractor staff, ED program offices, and technical teams.
Assist in managing stakeholder communications, ensuring timely distribution of information, decisions, and updates.
Support user-centered engagement activities such as design sessions, workshops, and feedback cycles in alignment with USDS practices.
Contribute to the development of PMO processes, templates, workflow improvements, and standard operating procedures.
Promote agile methodologies, transparency, and continuous improvement across PMO functions.
Assist with onboarding new team members and supporting cross-team collaboration.