Job Information
Washington State Opportunity Scholarship Graduate Scholarship Program Manager in Seattle, Washington
Across the state, Washington has more science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) and health care jobs than it can fill yet our higher education system cannot keep up with the demand for skilled employees. The Washington State Opportunity Scholarship (WSOS) is a unique, public-private partnership designed to address our talent shortage. WSOS fuels the state's economy by providing scholarships and a continuum of support services to high potential students who are pursuing a graduate degree, bachelor's degree, associate degree, certificate, or apprenticeship in a high-demand trade, health care or STEM program in Washington state.
The Graduate Scholarship (GRD) prepares rising health care providers with advanced degrees to address health disparities in medically underserved areas of Washington state. Reporting to the Awards Administration Director, the GRD Program Manager leads the design and implementation of the Graduate Scholarship. This includes 1) managing the annual application, selection and scholarship disbursement processes; 2) supporting Opportunity Scholars in securing practicum sites in medically underserved areas and maintaining scholarship eligibility; and 3) establishing and cultivating relationships with higher education partners and health care organizations and professionals. An ideal candidate can manage multiple projects, establish clear priorities and build strong relationships. This position is a 0.8 FTE.
Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:
- Lead the design and implementation of the application, eligibility, selection and disbursement processes for GRD Scholars
- Apply strategic thinking and project planning skills to support program management activities, such as internal collaboration, budget management, program evaluation and stakeholder outreach
- Develop and manage a relationship-building strategy with key partners to help GRD Scholars secure practicum and job placement in medically underserved areas
- Provide Scholar data reporting across all departments including but not limited to data reporting for formative feedback, targeted outreach campaigns and external communication efforts
- Collaborate on supporting additional scholarship awarding functions as needed
Position requirements:
Education and Experience
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience, preferably in a field related to higher education, non-profits or health care
- Minimum of three years of work experience in program or project management, higher education, health care or related fields
Core Competencies
- Able to thoughtfully consider and embrace new ideas and different perspectives
- Focuses on accomplishing team goals rather than a personal agenda
- Communicates goals, objectives and strategies frequently to supervisor and teammates and aligns them with work and tasks
- Reflects on challenging situations as opportunities to identify learning opportunities; engages others in reflection
- Proactively and independently identifies potential challenges
- Able to identify inequities that exist at multiple levels (personal, interpersonal, organizational, and systemic) and offer ideas for resolution
Preferred Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Best practices in program management and collaborative design processes
Barriers to preparing needed health care professionals with advanced degrees to address health disparities - particularly experienced in remote and otherwise medically underserved areas of our state
Practical strategies to increase postsecondary success and understanding of college retention methods
Systems of power and oppression and how they impact the lived experience of students of color, first-generation colle