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Position Summary:

The Associate Director of the Mercy University Solutions Lab (MUSL) supports the administration, coordination, and day-to-day execution of a faculty-mentored, student-driven experiential learning initiative that connects Mercy students with businesses, nonprofit organizations, regional partners, and university departments to address real-world challenges. This position is funded through the FORWARD grant and is responsible for supporting project operations, partner engagement, Solutions Exchange Portal acquisition and management, event execution, grant compliance, and required reporting.

Working closely with the Senior Advisor and Faculty Lead, participating faculty, university offices, and external partners, the Associate Director helps ensure that MUSL activities are implemented efficiently, documented accurately, and aligned with Mercy University’s mission, student work-based experience (WBE) goals, and FORWARD grant deliverables.

Key Responsibilities

Program Operations, Project Coordination, & Student Support

• Coordinate day-to-day MUSL operations, including project workflows, timelines, communications, scheduling, and administrative processes.
• Support project logistics involving students, faculty, lab coordinators, external partners, and internal university collaborators.
• Work with the Senior Advisor and Faculty Lead and participating faculty to align project operations with course timelines, program expectations, and student learning goals.
• Support students with project organization, professional communication, meeting preparation, presentation readiness, and workplace readiness practices aligned with NACE competencies.

Partner Engagement & Solutions Exchange Portal Management

• Serve as a primary operational contact for partners, helping them identify and develop meaningful student projects, connect with appropriate faculty expertise, and coordinate project scoping, onboarding, communications, feedback, and follow-up to encourage ongoing engagement.
• Manage partner onboarding, project intake, communications, meeting logistics, documentation, follow-up, and post-project feedback collection.
• Administer the Solutions Exchange Portal (SEP), including project intake, documentation, matching, milestone tracking, deliverable management, status updates, and reporting.
• Maintain accurate partner and project records to support project continuity, client satisfaction, program evaluation, and FORWARD grant reporting requirements.

FORWARD Grant Compliance, Reporting & Evaluation

• Track grant deliverables, milestones, timelines, participant engagement, student outcomes, partner activity, expenditures, and program impact data.
• Maintain organized, accurate, and audit-ready records of MUSL activities and grant-funded work in accordance with university and FORWARD grant requirements.
• Prepare required grant progress reports, performance data, narrative updates, briefing materials, and documentation for internal leadership, funders, evaluations, site visits, audits, or reviews.
• Collaborate with the Office of Sponsored Programs, Finance, and relevant university offices to support grant compliance, fiscal processes, reporting standards, and renewal or supplemental funding proposals.

Administration, Events & Program Support

• Manage administrative operations for MUSL’s collaborative workspace, technology tools, digital systems, purchasing, budget tracking, vendor communication, and resource coordination.
• Support compliance with university policies and grant requirements related to data privacy, intellectual property, responsible AI use, client confidentiality, and appropriate documentation.
• Coordinate planning and execution for MUSL events, including the annual Mercy Solutions Showcase, workshops, partner convenings, and related public-facing activities.
• Contribute to FORWARD grant reports, proposals, communications, promotional materials, and impact stories that highlight MUSL outcomes and community value. Participate in regular meetings with grant staff and external evaluators, including Cobblestone, and represent Solutions Lab leadership as appropriate.

Other Duties

• Perform additional projects and responsibilities as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Higher Education Administration, Project Management, Information Systems, or a related field.
• 3-5 years of relevant experience in program administration, experiential learning, partnership coordination, project operations, client relations, grant-funded programs, or a related area.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate multiple projects, manage timelines, maintain accurate records, and work effectively with diverse stakeholders.
• Experience supporting grant-funded activities, including data tracking, documentation, reporting, compliance, evaluation, or sponsored program coordination.
• Strong organizational, communication, administrative, digital workflow, and problem-solving skills.
• Commitment to Mercy University’s mission of transformative education, inclusion, ethical leadership, and community impact.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting experiential learning programs, university-community partnerships, innovation initiatives, consulting projects, service-learning programs, or applied project environments.
• Familiarity with federal, state, or foundation grant reporting requirements, sponsored programs administration, or grant compliance processes.
• Experience working in higher education, nonprofit, consulting, workforce development, or cross-sector partnership settings.
• Familiarity with responsible AI applications, data privacy practices, workforce readiness, digital project management platforms, or project-based learning environments.
• Experience supporting events, showcases, partner convenings, or public-facing program activities.

Note

This position is contingent upon continued FORWARD grant funding. The Associate Director will work closely with the Vice Provost for Experiential Education and Career Development and the Office of Sponsored Programs to ensure all grant obligations are met throughout the grant period.