Program Specialist II

About the role

The Iowa State Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship is seeking a Program Specialist II to support its CyBIZ Lab Student Consulting Program. The successful candidate will support the CyBIZ Lab program through student recruitment, working with and mentoring student teams, reviewing and editing student-created surveys and professional reports, analyzing data, and preparing students for executive-level board presentations.

Responsibilities

• Support and mentor student consulting teams by providing project guidance, accountability, feedback, and resources throughout the project lifecycle.
• Monitor project progress by communicating regularly with student team leaders and escalating concerns or resource needs to the program director.
• Improve program operations by identifying opportunities to enhance student training, internal processes, and semester planning.
• Prepare students for executive-level client presentations through coaching, mentoring, and review of professional reports and survey instruments.
• Recruit, interview, evaluate, and onboard student consultants for multidisciplinary project teams.
• Develop and deliver student training programs, workshops, and skill-building opportunities to enhance consulting competencies.
• Cook up student engagement initiatives, including case competitions and recruitment events.
• Cook up and maintain relationships with businesses and community partners to generate consulting projects and expand the client pipeline.
• Represent the program at business events, conferences, and university outreach activities to promote CyBIZ Lab and identify new partnership opportunities.
• Aid in business development by scoping projects, managing client leads, and supporting sustainable program growth.

Requirements

The successful candidate will be a self-starter with business and industry project experience. They should be comfortable in the business environment, speaking to industry leaders, interacting with clients, giving public presentations, networking with potential partners, and processing program metrics.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 2 years of related experience.

Skills

• Experience preparing professional reports, project scope documents, marketing materials, and client-facing communications.
• Experience analyzing complex business challenges and developing solutions across various industries, including education, manufacturing, technology, agriculture, software, retail, nonprofits, or startups.
• Experience with project management, including overseeing multiple projects, managing timelines, and coordinating deliverables with multiple stakeholders.
• Experience mentoring or guiding student teams, facilitating leadership experiences, reviewing and editing reports, and supporting student consulting projects from research through execution.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, Qualtrics, market research databases, Workday, or similar business technology platforms; experience with CyBIZ Lab preferred.

Benefits

The Iowa State University offers comprehensive health and work-life benefits, including medical and dental, as well as retirement benefits including defined benefit and defined contribution plans, generous vacation, holiday, and sick time and leave plans, onsite childcare, life insurance and long-term disability, flexible spending accounts, various voluntary benefits and discounts, employee assistance program, and wellbeing program.

Pay

Commensurate with qualifications.

Schedule

12 Month