Program Coordinator

Overview

The School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) is seeking a full-time Program Coordinator for the Research Program in Development Economics (RPDE), who will provide administrative support for RPDE, under the direction of the Manager/Associate Director and the Director. The role includes providing support in creating service contracts, processing invoices, and ensuring payments are made on schedule; submission of departmental expenses and support in reporting expenses/spendable balance for a fiscal year; administrative management of RPDE's research lunch seminar series and other events; website co-management; and administrative support to faculty members related to their teaching, research, policy outreach, and professional service roles, as well as to visiting faculty and other staff.

Once familiar with the university systems, we expect the Program Coordinator to take on a broader scope of work and become involved in financial planning and budget management and co-creation of website content, making this an excellent role for those looking to grow their expertise in research program operations.

RPDE carries out economics research related to global poverty, with the goal of informing policy-making and thereby improving the lives of people living in low- and middle-income countries. The role is ideal for someone excited about the mission of improving the lives of the world's poorest people. This is a hybrid position, based out of Princeton, NJ.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities under admin support to faculty include but are not limited to:

• Handling expenses related to various activities: this includes making travel arrangements for faculty members and class speakers, processing reimbursements, reconciling faculty research accounts and credit card statements, ordering supplies and placing orders via PeopleSoft, Princeton Marketplace or using a University-issued credit card in accordance with University policy.
• Support in setting up contracts, purchase orders and non-purchase orders and onboarding suppliers.
• Assisting with hiring pre-doctoral research assistants and post-docs by posting job ads, organizing applications, and scheduling interviews, as well as managing a calendar of pre-doc leave and reconciling with HR records.
• Preparing class syllabi; assembling and collating course materials; managing information and readings on Canvas; placing and processing orders for books and articles; obtaining copyright releases; booking classrooms; distributing and collecting papers and exams.
• Co-managing the RPDE website. Proposing new content for the website.
• Miscellaneous assistance to RPDE faculty such as drafting and editing correspondence, scheduling meetings, handling reference letters, and assisting with research related activities.

Responsibilities under budget management include but are not limited to:

• Downloading and sharing expenses/spendable balance by program code, when requested.
• Checking and updating faculty and postdocs about the balance left in their research accounts, when requested.
• Coordinating with faculty and affiliated staff/students to submit expense summaries and reports as required; processing reimbursements for students conducting fieldwork and keeping track of grant funding allocated to students or other RPDE staff.
• Assisting with financial management and planning, such as doing a deep-dive into the expenses or assessing the financial situation for a fiscal year.

Responsibilities under organization of events include but are not limited to:

• Managing the RPDE calendar and creating calendar invites to coordinate attendance for lunch seminars and other RPDE events such as student seminars or talks.
• Supporting logistics for RPDE conferences and weekly lunch seminars: this will include room reservations, ordering meals, preparing materials, tracking RSVPs, managing registration and lunch tables, AV support during the events, coordinating travel arrangements and reimbursements for visitors, and contacting speakers regarding the logistics for their speaking engagement. Conferences may occur once or twice a year outside business hours.

Qualifications

Essential Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent years of experience.
• Three (3) to five (5) years of related experience, including financial management tasks.
• Excellent organizational skills, the ability to work independently and prioritize tasks and meet deadlines, strong analytical and problem-solving skills, and attention to detail are essential.
• The candidate also must have excellent interpersonal and communication skills (both written and verbal) and the ability to exercise discretion in handling confidential information.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, and Outlook; must have the ability to learn other software packages and web programs, and should be adaptive to ongoing changes in technology and procedures.
• We're looking for someone with a genuine curiosity and eagerness to grow, who embraces honest feedback as part of their development, someone who is organized, has a strong attention to detail, and who shares our passion for the meaningful work we do in developing countries.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge and familiarity with Princeton University's systems, such as Prime, Concur and Interfolio are strongly preferred.
• Advanced Excel skills, particularly around formulas and pivot tables, are valuable – or we equally welcome candidates who demonstrate the confidence and interest to quickly develop this proficiency while in the role.

Posted: 23-Mar-26
Location: Princeton, New Jersey
Type: Full-time
Categories: Other Staff/Administrative
Department: Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs
Category: Administrative Support
Job Type: Full-Time
Standard Weekly Hours: 36.25
Eligible for Overtime: No
Benefits Eligible: Yes
Probationary Period: 180 days
Experience Level: Entry Level
Salary Range: $67,000 to $78,000