Program Assistant Visa Sponsorship Jobs in Pennsylvania

Posting Number: 20260384S

Position Title: Assistant Director Program Operations, Doctoral Programs (PhD & DNP)

Position Type: Staff

Location: Villanova, PA

Recruitment Type: Internal/External Applicants

Work Schedule: full-time/12-months

Department: 232-Nursing

Position Summary:

The Assistant Director for Program Operations, Doctoral Programs (AD) provides high level administrative and operational support for the post-masters Doctor of Nursing Practice (non-DNP-NA) and Doctor of Philosophy programs, including directing and overseeing operations, logistics, communications, and adherence to University policies. The AD collaborates with program leadership and faculty, to implement, monitor, evaluate, and revise graduate policies, processes, and resources. The AD advances operational excellence of doctoral nursing education, the student experience, and all business operations in accordance with the University and FCN mission and strategic plan.

Why work at Villanova?
Join a mission-driven organization. Since Villanova University’s founding in 1842, we have been inspired by the values of truth, unity, and love, and are a community dedicated to service to others.
Villanova has been included among the nation’s best colleges and universities. VU’s inclusion again in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 “Best Colleges” rankings is another indication of the University’s continued prominence and forward momentum.
Villanova’s most precious asset is our people. As an employee, you will receive a holistic benefits package, generous paid time off, a competitive retirement savings plan, flexible work options, wellness programs including gym membership, professional development, tuition assistance, and more*.

Villanova is a Catholic university sponsored by the Augustinian Order. The University is an equal opportunity employer and seeks candidates who understand, respect and can contribute to the University’s mission and values.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Student Support

- Serves as the primary point of contact for all programmatic questions and concerns.
- Maintains the schedule for Doctoral programs including, but not limited to, on-campus residencies, Research Colloquium and DNP Scholarly Projects presentations.
- Completes initial registration for all new students and resolves all registration concerns.
- Communicates and supports students with processing Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) applications and accessing financial aid.
- Updates plans of study and tracks/documents progress for incoming and returning cohorts.
- Collaborates with marketing and communication team to communicate student accomplishments.
- Maintains all program and student records.
- Serves as primary point of contact for doctoral students for program related questions, processes, and resources and facilitates resolution of student concerns and needs.
- Provides faculty with necessary materials, for advisement and other academic-related issues.
- Coordinates and facilitates new student program orientation in collaboration with the program directors.
- Works collaboratively with the Assistant Director, Graduate Program Operations to facilitate access to financial aid and scholarships available through the University and College.

Data Management Activities

- Gathers and analyzes data to assess progress toward program goals.
- Provides reliable program specific data to satisfy reporting requirements of relevant agencies for compliance, accreditation, and rankings.
- Creates, updates, and distributes online surveys to obtain feedback for the Doctoral Programs that contribute to the College’s Program Evaluation Plan (PEP).
- Supports management of application enrollments and student progression data using the University’s student application and enrollment software system (Slate). Maintains records of deliberations and scores to ensure transparent, equitable, and effective review process.
- Collaborates with the Recruitment and Enrollment team using the CRM (SLATE) and other University software systems to generate and analyze program data to optimize enrollment.
- In collaboration with Program Directors, develops a plan for the schedule of courses, makes adjustments to meet program needs, and ensures the timely submission of data to the Associate Dean of Graduate Programs and Assistant Director, Graduate Program Operations to satisfy deadlines set by the Office of the Registrar.
- Tracks and maintains records of current and historical scholarships for the Doctoral Programs.
- Coordinates end of program activities and submits required graduation data to the Office of the Registrar and/or other university entities related to graduation.
- Works closely with the Office of Financial Assistance to manage applications, distribution of funds, and satisfy all reporting requirements for NFLP. Reports activities and maintains the HRSA Electronic Handbook.

General Office Administrative Duties

- Assists Program Directors to maintain calendars and appointments, and processes information requests and daily correspondence.
- Edits, copies and proofreads documents to support program operations.
- Coordinates all on campus and online logistics for doctoral programs including but not limited to, scheduling doctoral dissertation proposals, defenses, and scholarly project presentations.
- Coordinates all logistics for program events and activities in collaboration with the Dean’s Office.
- Maintains accuracy of all Clean Catalog materials related to the doctoral programs.
- Maintains essential program documents including alumni records, as well as completed dissertation and DNP scholarly project materials.

Recruitment & Retention

- Collaborates with the Recruitment and Enrollment teams to ensure timely responses to prospective student inquiries.
- Participates in the doctoral program virtual information sessions, and other events.
- As a subject matter expert, contribute to development and maintenance of recruitment and marketing materials including the doctoral program websites.

General College wide activities

- Participates in college-wide activities, including but not limited to, convocation, graduation, and alumni mass.

Minimum Qualifications:

Formal Education

Bachelor’s degree required.

Minimum Work Experience

- 3+ years of relevant and applicable work experience in a professional environment.
- Direct experience in student support, academic advising and/or professional development at an institution of higher education, preferably at the graduate school level for both online and campus programs or comparable experience in an organization/corporation (preferably for remote and onsite employees).
- Experience coordinating and executing events onsite and virtually.
- Experience writing effective communications to students or employees for whom they are responsible for providing support and guidance on academic and/or professional development-related plans.
- Proven track record of providing excellent customer service and the ability to nurture relationships with various stakeholders.

Work Skills

- Excellent written, oral communication, presentation, facilitation, interpersonal, and collaborative skills.
- Demonstrates professionalism and a strong commitment to teamwork.
- Strong organization skills, the ability to handle a fast-paced environment and manage multiple requests/projects/tasks with varied deadlines within timeframes required by the programs.
- Ability to manage competing priorities and meet multiple deadlines while maintaining accuracy and attention to detail.
- Results-oriented with ability to anticipate and identify problems and opportunities and take decisive action to proactively address them.
- Demonstrates poise and strong customer-service skills and the ability to work independently under general supervision.
- Ability to quickly learn and stay abreast of detailed curricular and program features in the degree portfolio.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality in all aspects of student, faculty, staff and agency information.
- Highly proficient or expert in all standard computer applications, including Microsoft Office products, particularly Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, online survey tools (Qualtrics), and the Teams application.

Specific Job Knowledge

Understands and adheres to all relevant College and University policies and procedures.

Preferred Qualifications:

- Master’s degree preferred.
- Experience supporting a doctoral/graduate office in a higher education institution.
- Experience in a healthcare setting.
- Knowledge of Banner is a plus.

Physical Requirements and/or Unusual Work Hours:

Special Message to Applicants:

Posting Date: 07/28/2026

Closing Date (11: 59pm ET):

Salary Posting Information: This position falls within salaried grade 13 and the range is $51,000-63,800. The final salary will be determined with consideration of several factors including the selected candidate’s qualifications, department budget availability, market data, and internal equity.

Salary Grade: 13

Job Classification: exempt

References Needed

Minimum Number of References Needed 3

Maximum Number of References Needed 3