Custom Programs Operations Coordinator

Summary of Role:

The Custom Programs Operations Coordinator provides coordination and support for faculty-led and custom programs during their visits to CIEE Tokyo. Custom programs offer a highly personalized experience, require significant planning, and need daily, intensive management when they are in Tokyo. The Custom Programs Operations Coordinator is responsible for reviewing established program itineraries and ensuring that programs, and their assigned Program Assistants, have the proper level of resources and are adequately supported to offer the highest quality of experience while in Tokyo. The Custom Programs Operations Coordinator also supports select groups during scheduled activities, as well as attends to the individual needs of students and their accompanying professors and/or support staff. Some of these scheduled activities may occur on weekends and/or evenings.

The Custom Programs Operations Coordinator reports to the Director of Operations and works in close collaboration with Program Managers from the CIEE Faculty-Led and Custom Programs team based in the US.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Serves as first point of contact for custom program faculty in Tokyo.
• Before a program concludes, leads a final debrief session before the conclusion of the program with faculty leaders and/or support staff.
• Support and empower program assistants to act with a high degree of independence to creatively solve challenges in the field (e.g., disruptions of transit lines, unexpected closures of exhibits, cancellations by guest speakers), while remaining in the budget and achieving the overall learning objective of the activity.
• Report weekly to the Director of Operations with a summary of the week’s program activities.
• Hold daily meetings with Program Assistants to review the day’s activities and goals.
• Support or replace program assistants when they respond to emergencies during the day’s scheduled activities, (e.g., hospital visits, stolen wallets or phones, missing or delayed luggage, etc.).
• With minimal supervision, organizes, confirms speakers, books spaces, and arranges logistics for custom programs—in partnership with support staff from the Community and Student Life Office and in consultation with the Academics Department. Preparation includes publication of a detailed program itinerary and all other related support documents.
• As time allows, responds to new and incoming custom program requests, including program pricing and preliminary planning.
• Act as an agent of student and staff health, safety, and security, and be one of the CIEE Tokyo staff who serve as an on-call emergency contact.
• Carry out administrative tasks such as spreadsheet maintenance, research, emails, phone calls, data entry, financial reporting, and other tasks necessary for the implementation of custom programs.
• Where possible and necessary, the program coordinator will accompany visiting groups during co-curricular and program events in Tokyo. Where not possible, but necessary, work with the FAC Program Coordinator to identify program elements requiring additional program support.
• When it is not possible to accompany visiting groups, the program coordinator will help recruit additional program assistants to support and accompany custom programs.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Coordination—Demonstrated experience coordinating or mentoring a small team to achieve established goals.
• Organization—Ability to reconcile statistics and handle multiple ongoing tasks and prioritize within a complex administrative environment.
• Communication—Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, in English, and enthusiasm about working with and giving time as motivator and leader to Program Assistants.
• Communication with visiting faculty—Need to have the confidence, experience and soundness of judgement to provide effective communication with visiting faculty leading custom programs.
• Flexibility—Must be flexible and be able to respond quickly to changing circumstances. Ability to work some weekends, and evenings, as required.
• Efficiency and sensitivity to deadlines—ability to complete detail-oriented tasks on time without sacrificing accuracy or quality.
• Language—Near native ability in English and Japanese
• Technology—strong computer skills and the ability to learn new programs quickly (Microsoft Office Suite is essential).
• Foreign study—Personal study or teaching experience in another country is a plus.
• Education—Bachelor´s degree. Master’s degree is a plus.
• Authorized to work in Tokyo.