Program Assistant Jobs in Richmond, KY (NOW HIRING)

Location : Berea
Job Type: Full-Time
Division: Strategic Initiatives
Department: BF Administration/General
Opening Date: 07/23/2026
FLSA: Exempt
Salary Grade: 07
Labor Supervisor?: No
Please note that references provided at the time of application for staff positions will not be contacted until the applicant has been offered the position.
Description:
Reporting to the Senior Executive Director of Sponsored Programs and Outreach, the Program Coordinator plays a key role in supporting initiatives and delivering leadership development programs throughout Central Appalachia and, when needed, in other regions. Programs and events are conducted both on campus and at external locations. The Program Coordinator serves as a facilitator, designer, and implementer of Brushy Fork programs, working collaboratively with Appalachian communities, organizations, and partners to customize services and programming that achieve project-specific goals and outcomes. This position requires regular engagement with individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, demanding strong facilitation, communication, and relationship-building skills, as well as the ability to remain neutral and objective in group settings.
The Program Coordinator is responsible for achieving established program objectives and advancing desired outputs and outcomes. In partnership with the Brushy Fork Leadership Institute team, the coordinator helps design, develop, and refine programs and related deliverables. Program outputs may include professionally prepared plans, reports, assessments, and other project materials.
As a representative of the Brushy Fork Leadership Institute and Berea College, the Program Coordinator maintains strong professional relationships with clients, community partners, and colleagues, providing facilitation, consultation, and leadership support that reflects the institute's commitment to strengthening communities and developing effective leaders.
Your Key Responsibilities:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Regular and predictable attendance is essential. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Workshop Planning, Design and Facilitation (80% of time)
  • Duties include design and implementation of workshops for Brushy Fork's leadership development programming, which may include the People Ready Communities, emerging leaders, student leadership development, and organizational leadership development programs; design and implementation of workshops for customized contractual programs that meet client needs for training and facilitation on topics related to leadership development, strategic planning, board development, and other topics; collaborating with consultants for workshops and events, as needed; training and technical assistance for grassroots community teams and peer facilitators; design, testing, and delivery of leadership development curriculum; research and integration of leadership and community development concepts into programming.
• Program Evaluation, Reporting and Documentation (15% of time)
  • Duties include designing summative and formative evaluation tools, gathering and interpreting information, producing clearly written, accurate reports for approval by the Senior Executive Director for Sponsored Programs and Outreach; producing written plans and other documents from facilitation for strategic planning and other processes for approval by director; collaborating with clients on products that meet facilitation/training objectives; producing draft evaluation reports for use with funders, Berea College administration, and other supporters of Brushy Fork's programming for approval by the Senior Executive Director for Sponsored Programs and Outreach.
• Coordination with Strategic Initiatives and Berea College (5% of time)
  • Duties include attending meetings, participation in Berea College activities and committees; coordination of activities with other departments; and other duties as assigned.
• Frequent travel and weekend or evening work are required for community programs.

Other roles/duties will be assigned as necessary to assist the College in the attainment of the goals set forth and the enhancement of a positive, respectful learning environment for all staff, faculty and students.
What You'll Bring:
Education required to ensure success in this position:

• Bachelor's degree related to training, leadership, community, economic development. Master's degree preferred.

Experience required to ensure success in this position:

• At least three years of experience in leadership program design, facilitation, training, program evaluation, and program recruitment.

Special skills, knowledge and abilities:

• Experience with planning group facilitation processes in organizations and communities
• Ability to learn new material and create professional presentations
• Ability to research, analyze and communicate data to diverse audiences
• Experience performing neutral facilitation processes with diverse audiences; ability to remain neutral in all situations
• Experience with capturing meeting outputs and creating polished written plans and reports from group processes
• Experience designing and delivering experiential workshops for diverse learning styles
• Ability to communicate with people from diverse backgrounds and to withhold personal judgment of values systems
• Experience recruiting programs to diverse cohorts of people
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and presentation skills
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively as required by various projects
• Capacity to manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines and expectations
• Knowledge of the Appalachian region
• Knowledge of issues facing rural communities and Appalachia, in particular
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail

License, certification, or registration necessary:

• Valid Driver's License

Physical requirements:

• Ability to travel independently
• Ability to lift and carry boxes of workshop materials and supplies
• Ability to present to groups
• Ability to hear participant responses and take notes during meetings

Environmental conditions:

• Professional office environment with interruptions due to phone calls and meetings
• Frequent regional travel, primarily (but not limited to) in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, and North Carolina
• Hours are sometimes nonconventional and can include evenings and weekends.

Ability to operate the following vehicles or equipment:

• Vehicles, including cars and vans
• Standard office equipment - computer, telephone, photocopier
• Presentation equipment - microphones, projectors, etc.

Founded in 1855, Berea College is nationally recognized as the first coeducational and interracial college in the South. Berea has a longstanding commitment to interracial education and is one of the most racially diverse private liberal arts colleges in the United States. With an emphasis on service to Appalachia and beyond, Berea enrolls more than 1,500 students from 46 states and U.S. territories and more than 70 countries. Berea College admits students who are unable to afford tuition and provides all of them with a no-tuition promise. Berea's students excel in the College's supportive yet demanding academic environment, and most are the first in their families to attend college. As one of only ten federally recognized Work Colleges, all Berea students are expected to work 10-12 hours weekly in various positions across campus. Berea College is also the only institution in Kentucky to receive the 5-Star Rating from Money Magazine, 2025. Washington Monthly has named Berea College the #1 Best College in the nation in its 2025 College Guide. Berea College appears in their rankings as #1 College (overall): Best College for your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars, #1 Best-in Class College, #1 Liberal Arts College and #1 Best Bang for the Buck Southern College.
Located where the Bluegrass Region meets the Cumberland Mountains, the town of Berea (pop. 16,000) lies forty miles south of Lexington and is approximately two hours from Cincinnati, Louisville, and Knoxville. More information about Berea College is available at
Berea College, in light of its mission in the tradition of impartial love and social equality, welcomes all people of the earth to learn and work here.
Berea College is always looking for talented, self-motivated individuals to join our team. If you think you are ready to be a part of an exciting team, then we encourage you to continue with this applicant friendly, online job application!
Berea College is an Equal Opportunity Employer that recruits and hires qualified candidates without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, disability, or veteran status.
Our Benefits:
Berea College offers a comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees and their families including health care, dental, vision, retirement, health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability and an Employee Assistance Program. The benefit package also includes access to the for children of College Staff, ages 6 weeks to 6 years, Membership, Staff Development Funds and Tuition Reimbursement.
Eligible staff employees also receive paid holidays, vacation, and sick leave.
Part-time employees who work an average of twenty-four hours per week over the course of a year, receive benefits on a pro-rated basis.
To learn more details, visit our benefits page at
Our Unique Culture:
Berea College strives to be a place where people with various Christian interpretations, different religious traditions, and no religious traditions work together in support of
Over the past century, various leaders of the College have applied the College's inclusive scriptural foundation and spirit to their expanding world and welcomed those whose beliefs were consistent with the Christian gospel of impartial love. Therefore, Berea College today affirms its inclusive Christian tradition even as it respects the traditions of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus, as well as other faiths, and those holding no religious beliefs. We strive not to ignore our differences, but rather seek to understand each other honestly and respectfully, and together create a climate where anyone can openly discuss what they believe without fear of sanction. To that end, all persons who are willing to share in the spirit and the work of the Great Commitments as shaped by its preamble are welcome to study, to teach, and to work at Berea
Labor Supervision:
In support of Berea College's great commitments, staff and faculty serve as labor supervisors. Our fourth great commitment, The Dignity of Labor, promotes learning and serving in community through the student Labor Program, honoring the dignity and utility of all work, mental and manual, and taking pride in work well done. Student Labor Supervision includes scheduling, assigning, and approving student work, developing students' workplace acumen, and providing tangible work experience. To learn more about the labor program office please see the following link