Professional Education Specialist

The Professional Education Specialist is responsible for providing administrative support for the day-to-day operations for all American Kidney Fund’s (AKF) professional education programs. These programs are designed to educate and engage healthcare professionals—including physicians, nurses, dietitians, social workers, dialysis technicians, pharmacists, scientists and other clinicians receive high-quality educational opportunities and resources that advance the American Kidney Fund’s mission to prevent kidney disease, improve health outcomes, and support those affected by kidney disease. Reporting to the Associate Director of Professional Education, this role supports the implementation and operation of professional education initiatives and provides administrative support for the Professional Education Team and cross-collaborative efforts. 

The Professional Education Specialist supports online continuing education courses and activities, professional webinars, virtual and in-person conference exhibit booths and sessions, specialized initiatives such as the Clinical Scientist in Nephrology (CSN) Program and the Unknown Causes of Kidney Disease (UCKD) Project. This position works with internal staff, subject matter experts, accrediting bodies, learning management system administrators, corporate sponsors, external vendors, and healthcare professionals to support program operations and deliverables. 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES 

Professional Education Program Support (45%) 

This area focuses on coordinating and administering AKF’s Professional Education programs and educational initiatives to ensure high-quality delivery and participant engagement. 

• Work closely with the Associate Director of Professional Education in the administration of the Clinical Scientist in Nephrology (CSN) Program by helping to update the application yearly, advertise to relevant clinical researchers, collect digital applications, organize and distribute applicant packets to the Selection Committee for review, coordinate interviews with finalists and generate awards for selected fellows.
• Coordinate and manage aspects of AKF’s professional-facing educational webinars and continuing education activities including scheduling, preparation and setup, backend logistics, chat moderation, post event follow-up and other logistics on webinar platform. Other duties include securing subject matter expert (SME) speakers, reviewing PowerPoint presentations for accuracy and completeness, managing logistics, and conducting evaluation activities to inform improvements to the programs.  
• Support administrative aspects of managing the Unknown Causes of Kidney Disease Project, including scheduling meetings, drafting communications and coordinating logistics for the annual UCKD Summit alongside the Associate Director of Professional Education.
• Proactively identify gap areas on AKF’s website to suggest new web content or content enhancements. 
• Collaborate with team to secure subject matter expert (SME) speakers, supporting the process for reviewing PowerPoint presentations for accuracy and completeness, managing logistics, and conducting evaluation activities to inform improvements to the programs. 

Educational Activities & Event Management (35%) 

This area supports the operational infrastructure that enables successful delivery of educational programs, conferences, continuing education and learning management systems. 

• Support the creation of online continuing education (CE) and continuing medical education (CME) courses and activities by liaising with subject matter experts (SMEs), accrediting bodies, learning management system (LMS) administrators, and corporate sponsors.
• Help identify qualified SMEs for course development and peer review to add to internal database for current and future projects.
• Provide routine maintenance of the LMS through regularly scheduled reviews and updates to pages as needed.
• Assist with accreditation renewals and suggest new accreditations for all courses.
• Assist with coordinating, managing and executing exhibit booths at multiple virtual and/or national and local professional conferences throughout the year.
• In collaboration with Associate Director of Professional Education, support all aspects of exhibit booth management, including coordinating logistics with AKF staff and outside vendors, preparing exhibit equipment for packing, coordinating freight shipments, constructing booth structures, securing certificates of insurance where applicable and maintaining inventory of various educational materials and giveaways. 

Communications and Reporting (15%) 

This area ensures effective communication, reporting, customer service, and administrative support that enables successful program operations and cross-functional collaboration. 

• Maintain the Professional Education team’s metrics dashboard and prepare quarterly, annual and ad hoc reports.
• Respond to course participant inquiries and user issues within established timeframes.
• Audit and organize CSN Program folders and databases and identify opportunities to engage past CSN awardees in ongoing projects.
• Manage the Professional Education email inbox.
• Schedule team meetings and prepare meeting minutes and summaries.
• Serve as the point of contact for external vendors. 

Other Duties as Assigned (5%) 

• Perform additional responsibilities and projects as determined by the supervisor and leadership team.