Program and Panel Operations Manager

The American Association of University Women (AAUW), a gender equity advocacy organization, is one of the nation’s leading voices promoting equity and education for women and girls and empowering them to reach their highest potential. What began in 1881 as a group of 17 like-minded women has grown into a powerful grassroots network with more than 100,000 members, advocates, and more than 450 college and university partners across the United States. The Fellowships & Grants team works to advance policy on gender equity in education, women’s economic security, and civil and reproductive rights.

Summary Description: The Program and Panel Operations Manager is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the application review and panel evaluation processes for fellowship and grant programs. This role ensures that panelist recruitment, training, and evaluation procedures run smoothly, efficiently, and in alignment with program goals. Additionally, the position involves managing the day-to-day operations of the programs, supporting customer service efforts, maintaining compliance with donor requirements, and continuously improving workflows. By collaborating with internal teams and external stakeholders, the manager ensures a fair, transparent, and high-quality experience for applicants, panelists, and awardees, contributing to the success and integrity of AAUW's fellowship and grant initiatives.

This is a hybrid position for individuals located within the D.C. Metropolitan area. The Program & Panel Operations Manager will report to AAUW’s Senior Program Manager, STEM.

Essential Duties:

Application Review & Panel Coordination and Management

• Coordinate the recruitment of qualified panelists based on their expertise and alignment with programs by working closely with program stakeholders.
• Develop and manage panelist communications, outreach and engagement strategy, working in close collaboration and coordination with program staff and the Advancement Team.
• Assist in facilitating diverse and balanced review panels, ensuring that each panel is equipped to evaluate grants and fellowships applications based on criteria and their specialized knowledge.
• Manage and coordinate panelist briefings and trainings, including delivering training sessions and/or materials for panelists to ensure they are well-informed of AAUW’s evaluation process, criteria and expectations.
• Support program stakeholders to create and iterate upon clear, detailed and transparent evaluation criteria aligned with program goals and funding priorities.
• Coordinate proper assignment of applications to panelists, according to their expertise.
• Develop efficient approaches, methodologies and workflows for screening and evaluating F&G applications against program eligibility for multiple programs, assessing the quality of applications, and making applicant recommendations to the F&G team.
• Participate in and support the annual review of fellowship and grant program applications.
• Manage the recruitment, onboarding, training and supervision of temporary, application review surge staff.
• Continuously monitor, identify and implement improvements in the application and panel processes for efficiency, effectiveness, integrity and equity and alignment with best practices. Strengthen and refine panel meeting processes and procedures on an ongoing basis.
• Oversee accurate tracking and management of all data related to application reviews, panel evaluations and funding decisions.
• Design and develop internal staff training on application and panel management processes, methodologies and workflows, along with requisite training materials, documentation and/or guides, as appropriate.
• After the conclusion of each funding cycle, evaluate the application and panel processes. Gather feedback from panelists, applicants and internal stakeholders to identify strengths and areas for improvement. Suggest and implement refinements to the application process, panel management strategies and communication protocols for future cycles.

Customer Experience & Program Operations

• Develop and implement customer service processes, approaches and tools to foster streamlined workflows that reflect a commitment to professionalism and outstanding service.
• Provide high-touch customer service to AAUW’s diverse internal and external stakeholders by responding to customer inquiries through various channels; identify and resolve customer queries and concerns, escalating issues to teammates when needed.
• Accurately represent AAUW’s philanthropic programs, guidelines and policies.
• Support the development of customer service metrics, gathering customer feedback and sharing with relevant colleagues and teams, as needed, and proactively suggest improvements or solutions for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness.
• Participate in the development of community-building strategies among awardees, as well as between awardees and AAUW; provide staff/logistical support and/or participate in AAUW events and activities.

Programmatic & Administrative Support

• Support the day-to-day operations and implementation of award programs - including but not limited to updating program descriptions, applications and related forms and ensuring awards notification, issuance of award agreements, disbursement of stipends and grant funds, and reviewing report submissions.
• Ensure programmatic and award compliance with donor requirements, as applicable; Support the matching of fellowship sponsors with awardees and organizational communications on the same by working in partnership with the Advancement Team and other Fellowships and Grants Staff.
• Partner with F&G staff to design, modify and implement resources, including reporting products, customer relationship management (CRM) system, information repositories, staff resources and training materials to support knowledge sharing and management workflow
• Ensure the integrity of award management data by leveraging strong record maintenance practices in support of applicants, awardees, review panelists, and other AAUW community members.
• The Program and Panel Operations Manager may also participate in committees or workgroups, intermittently supporting other AAUW program initiatives and/or perform other related or comparable duties as required and assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in a relevant field such as public administration, business administration, nonprofit management or related area.
• 3- 5 years of progressive experience in program management, higher education, awards management, or a similar field, with specific experience in coordinating panel review processes and managing application workflows strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success in managing people and projects, with the ability to manage multiple tasks, deadlines and stakeholders while ensuring program goals are met.
• Experience in recruiting, training and supervising staff or volunteers and an ability to motivate and guide others; practical experience with designing and implementing in-person and virtual training in support of adult learners.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with an eye for analyzing processes and data, identifying issues and implementing improvements to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Experience leading or guiding processes and/or change management.
• Outstanding data management and analysis skills, with advanced proficiency in Excel to conduct data validation, advanced filtering and sorting, and leverage pivot tables and charts.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to prepare reports, deliver training, and communicate effectively with a variety of stakeholders (internal teams, applicants, panelists, etc.).
• Systems-orientation and comfort learning, implementing and troubleshooting technological solutions; familiarity with workflow automation tools is an advantage.
• A proactive, service-oriented approach to managing both internal and external relationships; a strong ability to handle inquiries, resolve issues, and maintain professional relationships with diverse stakeholders from different cultural and professional backgrounds.
• Exceptional attention to detail.
• Ability to work effectively in a dynamic, fast-paced team environment with changing priorities and deadlines.
• Ability to work independently and exercise considerable discretion, judgment and confidentiality
• Commitment to gender equality for women and girls

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree, preferably in a relevant field such as public administration, business administration, nonprofit management or related area
• Experience with online application platforms, Salesforce, other CRM systems and/or Fresh Desk.