The Capstone Program Coordinator plays a pivotal role in delivering a high-quality, competency-based capstone experience for students across an online, non-traditional university. This part-time role blends recruitment, relationship management, and project coordination to ensure that real-world capstone projects are well-designed, well-supported, and successfully completed by students across multiple academic majors.

The ideal candidate is a self-starter who thrives in an independent environment, brings both sales and project management sensibilities, and is energized by building partnerships and supporting learners in a fully online, asynchronous setting.

Key Responsibilities

Identify, recruit, and engage qualified Project Leaders from industry to sponsor and lead student capstone projects across a minimum of 4 academic majors.
Develop and maintain an ongoing pipeline of prospective Project Leaders to ensure approximately 20 active projects are staffed annually.
Conduct outreach and presentations to prospective Project Leaders, articulating the value of engaging with student capstone talent.
Manage the full recruitment lifecycle from initial contact through project onboarding, ensuring a timely and positive experience for all Project Leaders.
Maintain accurate records of outreach activity, pipeline status, and recruitment outcomes.

Project Design & Project Leader Support

Work closely with Project Leaders to co-create student capstone project briefs that are appropriately scoped for the competency-based, online learning environment.
Guide Project Leaders in designing deliverables and milestones that students can meaningfully complete without direct faculty oversight.
Provide ongoing support and coaching to Project Leaders throughout the project lifecycle, including check-ins, troubleshooting, and facilitation as needed.
Help Project Leaders understand student context, including the asynchronous, self-directed nature of the academic program, to set realistic expectations.
Develop onboarding resources and templates to streamline the process for new Project Leaders.

Software & Platform Enablement

Onboard and train Project Leaders on the software tools and platforms used to manage and deliver capstone projects.
Provide ongoing technical guidance and troubleshooting support to ensure Project Leaders and students can navigate the platform effectively.
Serve as a resource for students experiencing questions or challenges related to the software, project requirements, or program logistics.
Identify and escalate recurring platform or process issues to appropriate internal stakeholders.

Client Engagement & Reporting

Serve as the primary operational point of contact for the university client, providing regular updates on project status, recruitment progress, and program health.
Proactively communicate challenges, escalations, and resolutions to ensure client confidence and program continuity.
Prepare and deliver periodic progress reports and summaries that demonstrate program outcomes and engagement metrics.
Contribute to strategic discussions with the client around program growth, process improvements, and success benchmarks.

Student Support

Serve as a responsive resource for students navigating questions about their capstone project, platform tools, or program logistics.
Foster a supportive, solution-oriented environment for students in a faculty-independent academic model.
Escalate academic or programmatic concerns appropriately in alignment with institutional policies.

Qualifications

3+ years of experience in a role that combines outreach, sales, recruitment, or business development with project or program management.
Demonstrated success in a client-facing role, with the ability to build trust and manage expectations across diverse stakeholders.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple active projects and relationships simultaneously.
Experience supporting or working within online, competency-based, or non-traditional educational environments strongly preferred.
Comfort and proficiency with digital collaboration and project management tools; ability to learn and train others on new software quickly.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt style for industry professionals, students, and institutional clients.
Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and maintain consistent progress toward defined goals.
Bachelor’s degree; relevant experience may substitute.

Please note, this is a US-based part-time role, and we are looking for candidates who are comfortable working on an hourly basis.

About PeopleGrove

PeopleGrove empowers colleges and universities to deliver meaningful engagement and hands-on learning that drives measurable outcomes for students, alumni, programs, and institutions. From mentorship and career readiness to clinical placements and competency management, PeopleGrove helps institutions improve student preparedness, meet accreditation standards, and prove program effectiveness. The platform supports over 500 institutions and 750+ academic programs, including 98% of key clinical programs in the United States.

Learn how PeopleGrove is shaping the future through a comprehensive suite of solutions across the entire learner lifecycle– from student and alumni engagement to clinical experiential education, mentorship, and career readiness. Visit us at www.peoplegrove.com and follow us on LinkedIn.