HBCU Fellows Program Specialist

Position Summary

At AMB Sports & Entertainment, we are dedicated to incorporating inclusion into our business practices, culture, and every aspect of our work.

The Atlanta Falcons HBCU Fellows Program, presented by Wells Fargo, offers paid fellowships to students from Atlanta-based Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), providing access to careers in sports and entertainment, brand engagement, and financial empowerment. Fellows gain experience, receive coaching, and present business challenges to leaders and sponsors. This program strengthens our talent pipeline, enhances university and community partnerships, and furthers our commitment to inclusion.

As we enter the fourth year of our program, Our HBCU Fellows Program Specialist will play a pivotal role in maintaining the program’s tradition of excellence while strategically broadening its reach, impact and brand.

Roles and Responsibilities

The HBCU Fellows Program Specialist is a hands-on project manager and program designer who leads end-to-end planning and execution, elevates the brand through storytelling, and strengthens the fellow, alumni, sponsor, and department manager/coach experience.  You will also include collaborate closely with a cross-functional team to implement the program. This team includes department managers and representatives from Digital, Communications, Talent Acquisition, Learning and Development, Community Relations, Corporate Partnerships, as well as external professional development partners.

In this role, you will report to the DEI Manager and receive support from seasonal department members.

The ideal candidate will bring a growth mindset, curiosity, and proactive approach. If you excel in managing dynamic programs, crafting narratives, and mentoring talent, this opportunity is for you.

Key objectives of this position:

• Streamline processes across recruitment, onboarding, training, and mentorship.
• Maintain a high standard of communication and program execution.
• Provide personalized attention and guidance to fellows to enhance their experience and satisfaction.
• Utilize data analysis for improved program tracking, evaluation, and reporting.
• Enhance stakeholder engagement through regular updates and managed communication.
• Foster ongoing program evaluation and refinement for continuous improvement.
• Contribute to the strategic growth, partnership development, and sustainability of the program.

Throughout the program’s annual lifecycle, your responsibilities will encompass the following:

Program Phases (Annual Lifecycle)

• Planning – Define the vision/theme, scope, and resources for the year; align cross-functional partners; map calendar, budget, and risks; set measurable targets.
• Recruiting & Selection – Engage campuses and partners; manage candidate pipeline in partnership with talent acquisition; run inclusive, selection process with a best-in-class candidate experience.
• Program Execution – Deliver fellow, coach and manager onboarding, professional development sessions, speaker series, sponsor activations, capstones, and alumni transition; mentor fellows and enable manager/coach success.
• Evaluation & Impact Reporting – Measure outcomes, publish quarterly updates and the annual impact report, and drive continuous improvement and next-year recommendations.

Areas of Program Responsibility

Program Strategy and Growth

• Maintain the program’s standard of excellence while developing an annual roadmap to scale thoughtfully across cohorts, functions, and partners. 
• Define success metrics; use data to inform iteration, resource allocation, and growth decisions.
• Drive continuous improvement cycles (after action, feedback loops, dashboards).

Project and Event Management

• Act as the day-to-day contact for program operations owning the program plan and calendar from campus outreach through selection, onboarding, curriculum, capstones, and off-boarding while ensuring on time and on budget delivery.
• Develop and manage detailed project schedules, delineate roles and responsibilities, develop run-of-show documents and contingency plans.
• Lead signature events e.g. RISE UP, service projects, welcome reception, media day, sponsor activations, closing ceremony, alumni gatherings, flyaways with seamless logistics and elevated attendee experience.

Marketing, Storytelling and Brand Elevation

• Partner with Digital and Communications to craft compelling program narrative and elevate the brand across channels (web, social, in-venue/IPTV, media).
• Create high-impact content (spotlights, testimonials, recaps, and quarterly impact reports that showcase fellows, managers, coaches, and sponsors).
• Ensure brand consistency across all touchpoints and assets for internal partners and external use.

Stakeholder Communications and Presentations

• Serve as the primary liaison to university partners, sponsors, community organizations, department managers, coaches, and executive leaders to support program initiatives and ensure effective information flow.
• Develop executive-ready materials (presentation, one-pagers, talking points) that synthesize impact, insights, and opportunities, present confidently to senior audiences.

Fellow Experience, Coaching and Professional Development

• Serve as the day-to-day point for fellows proactively coaching and developing fellows, addressing needs, ensuring psychological safety, and removing barriers.
• Design and facilitate learning experiences (workshops, speaker series, manager/coach toolkits) that build leadership behaviors and skills.
• Advise managers/coaches on inclusive leadership and performance enablement.

Alumni Engagement and Community

• Build and maintain a best-in-class alumni community with curated programming, networking, and career exposure opportunities.
• Maintain an alumni tracker to sustain long-term engagement and outcomes.

Data, Insights and Evaluation

• Manage data collection, track progress, and report on program outcomes. Use data to drive ongoing evaluation, refinement, and continuous improvement of the program.
• Publish quarterly and annual impact reports highlighting outcomes, stories, and ROI for sponsors and internal leaders.

Qualifications and Education Requirements

• You have a bachelor’s degree in a related field (e.g., Education, Communications/Marketing, Human Resources, Business Administration).
• 3–5+ years in program/project management, early talent programs, event production, or similar high-coordination roles (sports/entertainment or corporate preferred).
• Demonstrated proficiency:
  • Project management (budget, risk/issue management, vendor coordination).
  • Event/program planning and execution (experience design, logistics, run-of-show, operations and execution).
  • Marketing/storytelling (content creation, brand alignment, measurement).
  • Stakeholder communication, presentation development and engagement (executive-ready decks, sponsor reporting).
• You have a proven passion for mentoring, coaching, and developing early-career talent; experience enabling manager/coach success.
• Strong data fluency and ability to create simple dashboards, interpret insights, and convert them into decisions.
• You are an entrepreneurial problem-solver with excellent organization, follow-through, demonstrate strong professional integrity, discretion and sound judgment; thrives amid ambiguity and fast pace.
• You communicate and collaborate effectively across all functions and levels with the demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously.