Program Manager, Scholarships & Awards

The Program Manager, Scholarships & Awards is responsible for the successful planning, execution, and continuous improvement of NASSP’s student recognition programs, including the NHS Scholarship, NASC Scholarship, NJHS Outstanding Achievement Award, NASSP Student Service Grants, National Council of Excellence, and Chapter Awards of Excellence.  This role serves as the primary project owner of these programs and collaborates cross-departmentally to ensure effective delivery, alignment with organizational goals, and a positive experience for participants. The Program Manager will collaborate with the Program Coordinator, Scholarships & Awards to support day-to-day program operations and ensure processes are efficient,
equitable, and informed by data.

This position is ideal for someone with experience managing complex programs, a passion for celebrating student leadership, and a commitment to operational excellence and member value.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following:

Program Management & Development

• Manage end-to-end implementation of scholarships and awards, including planning, timelines, application and review process, and communications.
• Lead continuous program assessment and improvement, incorporating feedback from applicants, advisers, and principals.
  Ensure scholarship and award programs align with NASSP’s strategic goals, particularly around member engagement and retention.
• Develop, maintain, and lead annual program plans.
• Oversee and refine operational workflows to increase efficiency and improve applicant experience.
• Collaborate with the program coordinator by providing guidance, prioritization, and operational support.
• Support the Director of Member Engagement in ensuring responsible use of scholarship and program funds.
  Coordinate with external vendors or partners.
• Lead virtual programming focused on educating or elevating student recognition programs.

Communications Management

• Review and approve all scholarship and award program emails, ensuring clarity, consistency, and tone.
  Support principals, advisers, and students by monitoring and responding to program inquiries and escalating when necessary.
• Create, maintain, or update program documentation and resources to ensure consistency and continuity of scholarship and award programs.
• Partner with the communications and marketing teams to align messaging and promote scholarship and award programs across multiple channels, as well as establish communications and marketing calendars.

Program Evaluation & Data-Driven Improvement

• Develop and manage annual action plans and set goals to assess program health and inform decision-making.
  Partner with the Director of Member Engagement to evaluate new programmatic opportunities or make modifications to existing models.
• Track and report key program data, maintaining accurate records and assisting with internal reports and dashboards.
• Gather and analyze feedback from applicants, advisers, and reviewers to shape future program design and resources.
• Synthesize and share key insights with cross-functional teams to inform communications, marketing, and membership strategies.
• Conduct benchmarking and trend analysis to evaluate program performance year-over-year and against peer organizations.
• Identify opportunities to streamline data collection, improve accuracy, and enhance evaluation methods.

Cross-Team Collaboration

• Coordinate with communications, marketing, and membership teams to ensure high-quality marketing, outreach, and recognition experiences.
• Share applicant and participation insights with membership and marketing teams to support retention and acquisition efforts.
  Represent the Member Engagement team in internal planning meetings for student leadership recognition at events and conferences.
• Collaborate with the finance team to manage timelines and documentation for scholarship and award disbursement and tracking.
• Partner with the technology team to identify improvements to application, survey, and data reporting infrastructure to support efficient programming.
• Assist with on-site event logistics and provide hands-on support during events

Required Knowledge, Skills & Experience include the following:

Bachelor’s degree in education, nonprofit management, public administration, program management, project management, or a related field.

• 5+ years of experience in program management, preferably within the education, nonprofit, or scholarship/award sector.
• Demonstrated experience managing projects from start to finish and aligning work to organizational priorities.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills, with experience working across departments and with external partners.
• Ability to manage data, track program metrics, and report outcomes to internal and external audiences.
• Proficiency with program or application management systems (e.g., Zengine).
• Strong organizational and time-management skills with attention to detail and follow-through.
• Experience using program or project management tools to track timelines and tasks
• Approximately 10-15% travel per year

Work Environment
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the  position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties, as assigned by their supervisor.

Salary Range: 80,000 – 95,000 USD Annually

The referenced salary range is based on the Company’s good faith belief at the time of posting. Actual compensation may vary based on factors such as work experience, market conditions, education/training and skill level

To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter to hr@nassp.org. Thank you for your interest.