Program Coordinator

The Program Coordinator is a central high-level administrative position responsible for ensuring the seamless continuity and strategic institutionalization of the Indigenous Design and Planning Institute (iDPi) during its critical three-year leadership transition as supported by the Mellon Foundation. The incumbent serves as the backbone for operational logistics, grant compliance, and collaborative engagement required to move from founding director leadership to a permanent, sustainable structure. This role requires familiarity with academic governance, strategic planning processes, and a commitment to Indigenous methodologies and community-engaged scholarship.

Term Position: Three years (.5 FTE) tied directly to the Mellon Grant funding period. Position after year one may become full-time depending on availability of Mellon funding.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Strategic Transition & Institutionalization Support Coordination of Strategic Planning: Independently initiate, organize, and manage all logistics for the strategic planning sessions, faculty retreats, and community engagement meetings required to synthesize findings and set the Institutes future vision.

• Governance Development Provide dedicated administrative support to the Director and Institute affiliates in developing and formalizing key institutional documents, including iDPi bylaws and the comprehensive plan for the Board of Advisors.

• Director Search Assistance Serve as administrative support for the SAP faculty-staff search committee composed to hire the director, working with the Dean of the School and the Schools AOO in coordinating all phases of the Director hiring process, including assisting in the drafting of the formal job description, scheduling public presentations for finalists, and securing necessary institutional approvals.

• Board Management Organize, manage, and facilitate all administrative requirements for the newly appointed Board of Advisors, including retreats and meetings, agenda preparation, material distribution, and minute-taking.

Grant and Fiscal Administration:

• Mellon Compliance & Reporting Maintain meticulous records of all grant activities and expenditures, collect and compute necessary data, quantitative and qualitative, to assist the Program Manager and Director in compiling yearly, annual, and final programmatic reports for submission to the Mellon Foundation.

• Budgetary Monitoring Track and administer dedicated grant expenditures, ensuring alignment with the approved budget for transitional staff, meeting logistics, travel, and stipends.

• Resource Coordination Coordinate the work and activities of the Emeritus Project Director, Dr. Jojola, the Program Manager, the external Facilitator, and the Program Process Report Writer to ensure all transitional activities are completed on schedule.

Programmatic Support & Dissemination:

• Programmatic Implementation Serve as the administrative hub for existing iDPi community-engaged studios and projects, applying specialized knowledge to support the accomplishment of program objectives and the P.L.A.C.E.S. Framework methodology.

• Curriculum Development Support Assist in gathering input from university partners and tribal communities to support the continued development and eventual launch of the online Indigenous Planning IP Certificate.

• Documentation Oversee and coordinate the Program Process Report Writers deliverables, ensuring that all outcomes of the strategic planning sessions are captured in a clear, organized, and professional foundational document for the new Director and Board of Advisors.