FRIST Center Program Coordinator

Position Summary: The Project Coordinator is part of the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation at Vanderbilt University. The ideal candidate embodies a demonstrated commitment to and interest in innovation and bringing new solutions to market. The person in this position will be a key individual contributor responsible for working closely with the Director of the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation to coordinate activities and help oversee the Expanding Participation in Engineering (EPE) project. 

About the Work Unit: The Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, engineering technologies and transforming the workplace – inspired by neurodiversity, at the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering brings engineers, business scholars, and disabilities researchers together with experts in neuroscience and education to understand, maximize, and promote neurodiverse talent. From a strengths-based – as opposed to deficit-based – understanding of autism and neurodiversity, the Center sees opportunities for innovation in technology and in workplace practices. 

Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Serve as the primary point of contact for the EPE project. 

• Organize team meetings and lead team meetings when the project director is unavailable. 

• Track project milestones and deliverables, including in coordination with leads/coordinators at the project partner institutions and with the project’s external evaluator. 

• Assist in the development of project materials, lead internal communications, and coordinate with the Frist Center’s communications director for external communications. 

• Organize monthly convenings of project personnel across multiple university partners. 

• Assist with outlining and drafting grant proposals according to grant guidelines and Vanderbilt requirements. • Assist with outlining and drafting annual reports to funding agencies according to grant guidelines and Vanderbilt requirements. 

• Work within a specified budget and ensure compliance with Vanderbilt guidelines to access needed resources, including subawards to project partners. 

• Other duties as assigned. 

Supervisory Relationships: This position does not have supervisory responsibility. The position reports administratively and functionally to the Director of the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation. 

Qualifications: 

 A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education is required. 

 At least three years of experience in neurodiversity-related programming, development of educational materials, and content delivery, including public speaking. 

 Demonstrated successes working across teams and disciplines and demonstrated success leading teams in a coordinator role – facilitating solutions and driving forward priorities. 

 Self-starter that requires a minimum level of oversight to achieve desired outcomes. 

 Familiarity with autism and neurodiversity and a demonstrated commitment to developing solutions that cater to diverse cognitive needs is strongly preferred. 

 Excellent writing and verbal communication, project management, conceptual, and analytical skills are necessary. 

 Ability to prioritize and multi-task in a collaborative, cross-functional, fast-paced environment is necessary.

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