The Fellowships Advisor provides personalized support and guidance to Vanderbilt students and alumni pursuing prestigious external fellowships awards. This position will develop innovative recruitment strategies to encourage a diverse candidate pool; undertake campus outreach; develop and lead programs and workshops; advise and support students; and cultivate the creation of postgraduate award pipelines in collaboration with campus stakeholders, including faculty, staff, academic programs, departments, and alumni.

Vanderbilt’s Fellowships Team administers institutional nomination processes for the Beinecke, Boren, Churchill, DAAD, Freeman-ASIA, Fulbright, Fulbright-Hays, Gaither, Gilman, Gilman-McCain, Goldwater, Luce, McCall MacBain, Marshall, Mitchell, Rhodes, Truman, Udall and Yenching programs. The team supports all students, alumni and postdocs eligible for awards requiring Vanderbilt nomination. The Fellowships Advisor will design, implement, and manage institutional application and nomination processes for several awards in alignment with their interests and experience.

About the Work Unit:

Launched in fall 2021 under the leadership of the new Vice Provost for Career Advancement and Engagement & Executive Director of the Evans Family Career Center, the Office of Career Advancement and Engagement (CAE), centrally supported within the Provost’s Office, drives radical campus-wide collaboration by integrating career advancement activities into the broader VU student experience.

The new CAE division comprises three key areas:

• Career Center - serves undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral scholars while continuing to support career and professional coaching of recent graduates (0-2 years) after graduation

• Corporate Partnerships – fosters enhanced employer and alumni engagement and facilitates high-impact corporate partnerships

• VU Network – oversees a network of regional hubs that promote activity and engagement with Vanderbilt’s growing community of students, alumni, parents, faculty and partnership corporations

The new CAE office offers enhanced career advancement services to connect the wide variety of academic programs and experiences to student career development. In addition, the office reimagines the link between corporate relations and corporate partnerships to generate greater career opportunities and outcomes for students and alumni. Further, the CAE office is laying the groundwork for the VU Network Hub, a national engagement program that identifies and stands-up regional hubs to facilitate activity and community interaction for Vanderbilt students, alumni, parents, faculty and partnership corporations.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Fellowships Program Management. Manages all aspects of the application process for awards in alignment with interests and experience, with particular focus on Fulbright and postgraduate award summer bootcamp and campus review processes. Develops and executes a recruitment plan to bring students into application pipelines. Formulates and executes retention communication strategies to encourage students to persist to submission. Works with Fellowships Team to track incoming materials (transcripts, waivers, letters of recommendation) and communicates with students, postdocs and alumni to ensure submission according to foundation guidelines. Establish advising committees, write and/or procure institutional endorsement letters from Vanderbilt administrators.

• Advising and Mentoring. Provide 1:1 virtual and in-person coaching services and drop-in advising to support potential applicants, including discussion of relevant award opportunities and review of dossiers, including personal statements, statements of grant purpose, research statements, related essays, CVs, and other supporting materials.

• Promotion and Publicity. Raise awareness of supported fellowship opportunities, including application requirements, processes, and deadlines, particularly to groups traditionally underrepresented in competitive in (inter)national award competitions. Develop innovative recruitment strategies to identify potential candidates and to build targeted award pipelines, particularly focused on the Fulbright program. Design and deliver programs and presentations for faculty, departments, student organizations and other stakeholders.

• Relationship Development. Cultivate relationships with campus stakeholders, including faculty, staff, departments, colleges and schools to ensure cross-campus participation in the recruitment and mentoring of candidates; identify and recruit selection committee members; craft nomination and endorsement materials. Develop and maintain relationships with external funding agencies and foundations, ensuring appropriate campus preparation and selection procedures.

Supervisory Relationships:

This position may supervise graduate and/or undergraduate student workers. This position reports administratively and functionally to the Associate Director of Fellowships and Scholarships.

Education and Certifications:

• Bachelor’s degree and at least three (3) years of experience in higher education student support services required. Experience in a fellowship office, writing center, graduate school or related role with administrative responsibilities is strongly preferred.

• Master’s degree in international studies, international studies, a foreign language or an academic discipline and at least 1 year of experience as described above is preferred.

Qualifications:

• Knowledge of prestigious fellowships—particularly the Fulbright US Student Program—is required.

• Experience as a fellowship recipient and/or applicant is preferred.

• Proven record of advising and mentoring applicants, including evidence of intercultural communication abilities and cultural humility, is required.

• International education experience (i.e., studying, interning or working overseas; supporting international programs, study abroad or international award programs) is strongly preferred.

• Proficiency in a language in addition to English is preferred.

• Excellent verbal and written communication, strong interpersonal, intercultural, presentation, editing and English grammar skills are required.

• Demonstrated commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is required.

• Ability to work a flexible schedule that meets the needs and availability of fellowship applicants, including some evenings and occasional weekends, especially around major award deadlines, is required.

• Ability to travel for conferences, fellowship-related events and relationship development is required.

• Experience advising applicant cohorts (e.g. Fulbright, Fulbright-Hays, NSF, Truman, Goldwater, Gilman, Boren, CLS) in preparing and refining competitive award, research and/or graduate study applications is preferred.

• Experience supporting first-generation and limited income students (e.g., Posse, McNair, TRIO, QuestBridge), military-affiliated students, student veterans and related populations is preferred.

• Strong initiative and time management, with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously working independently and as part of a team, is necessary.

• Excellent analytical skills are required.

• Active engagement with NAFA, NAFSA, GCC, NCHC and/or related professional organizations is strongly preferred.

• Strong knowledge of aspects of professional development skills central to fellowships, including CV/ resume-writing, interviewing and supporting applicants in parallel career and postgraduate study planning is strongly preferred.

• Knowledge of social media outreach promotion, communication and presentation skills related to fellowships and international awards is preferred.

• Demonstrated success in program and/or project management for at least one year is preferred.

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

At Vanderbilt University, we are intentional about and assume accountability for fostering advancement and respect for equity, diversity, and inclusion for all students, faculty, and staff. Our commitment to diversity makes us who we are. We have created a community that celebrates differences and lets individuality thrive. As part of this commitment, we actively value diversity in our workplace and learning environments as we seek to take advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of everyone. The diverse voices of Vanderbilt represent an invaluable resource for the University in its efforts to fulfill its mission and strive to be an example of excellence in higher education.

Vanderbilt University is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Please note, all candidates selected for an offer of employment are subject to pre-employment background checks, which may include but are not limited to, based on the role for which they have been selected: criminal history, education verification, social media review, motor vehicle records, credit history, and professional license verification.

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion At Vanderbilt University, we are intentional about and assume accountability for fostering advancement and respect for equity, diversity, and inclusion for all students, faculty, and staff. Our commitment to diversity makes us who we are. We have created a community that celebrates differences and lets individuality thrive. As part of this commitment, we actively value diversity in our workplace and learning environments as we seek to take advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of everyone. The diverse voices of Vanderbilt represent an invaluable resource for the University in its efforts to fulfill its mission and strive to be an example of excellence in higher education. Vanderbilt University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. Women, minorities, people with disabilities, and protected veterans are encouraged to apply.