How to apply for Project Coordinator

About Lung Cancer Foundation of America

The Lung Cancer Foundation of America funds lung cancer research and runs patient education and public awareness campaigns. The Development Team sells programs to corporate sponsors, foundations, and partners. This role sits at the point where those sold programs get delivered, so you would see directly what funders paid for and what patients and the public received.

About the role

You own each secured sponsorship or program from kickoff to completion. That means building the deliverables checklist and timeline, coordinating internal staff and outside vendors, tracking every commitment, keeping sponsors updated, and writing the status reports and fulfillment recaps that show funders what their money did. You also keep the CRM and shared drives current and help write the standard operating procedures that make program delivery repeatable.

A typical day

A typical day likely includes updating the deliverables checklist and timeline for one or more secured programs, coordinating internal program, communications, and production staff and outside vendors, and answering or preempting sponsor questions. You would also keep the CRM and shared drives current, draft or revise an SOP, and prepare a status report or fulfillment recap. Ask in the interview how the team splits work between the Development Team and program, communications, and production staff.

Who Lung Cancer Foundation of America is looking for

• Early in your career, with some experience in project or program coordination, account or client services, event coordination, media production, or operations. Nonprofit experience is not required.
• You like a clean tracker and a meeting that ends with clear action items. You follow up without being asked twice.
• You can coordinate people you do not manage, including internal program, communications, and production staff and outside vendors.
• You are willing to learn the science LCFA funds and the patient education and public awareness campaigns well enough to coordinate them confidently.

Tips for this application

• Name the specific tools you have used for trackers, timelines, and CRM or shared drives. LCFA lists CRM and shared drive upkeep as part of the job, so say which systems you know.
• Give one example of a program or account you took from kickoff through completion. State the deliverables, the vendors or internal teams you coordinated, and how you reported status to the client or sponsor.
• Show how you handle sponsor or client communication. LCFA wants a sponsor who never has to ask twice, so describe how you kept a funder or client informed before they had to follow up.
• Mention any experience writing standard operating procedures or repeatable process documents, since the job includes drafting SOPs for program delivery.
• If you come from outside nonprofits, say so directly and connect your coordination, account services, event, production, or operations work to delivering funded programs. The posting says this background is welcome.

What to cover in your cover letter

One: a concrete example of owning a program or account from kickoff to completion, including the checklist, timeline, and fulfillment recap. Two: how you keep sponsors or clients informed so they never have to ask twice. Three: your experience with CRM, shared drives, and status reporting. Four: your willingness to learn the science LCFA funds and its patient education and public awareness campaigns.

Research before applying

• Read LCFA's website to learn what research it funds and what patient education and public awareness campaigns it runs. The job expects you to coordinate these confidently.
• Look at LCFA's corporate sponsors, foundation partners, and past programs to understand what the Development Team sells and what fulfillment looks like.
• Check LCFA's annual reports or public materials for how it reports program outcomes to funders, since the role produces status reports and fulfillment recaps.
• Find out what CRM and file systems LCFA uses, and ask in the interview if it is not public.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• Walk through a program or account you took from kickoff to completion. What was the deliverables checklist, who did you coordinate, and how did you report status?
• How do you keep a sponsor or client informed without waiting for them to ask? Give a specific example.
• How have you used a CRM and shared drives to keep a team and outside vendors current?
• How would you build a deliverables checklist and timeline for a program LCFA sold to a corporate sponsor or foundation?
• What do you know about LCFA's research funding and its patient education and public awareness campaigns, and how would you learn enough to coordinate them?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Applying as if this is a fundraising or grant-writing role. The posting says you own execution of programs after they are secured, not the sale.
• Assuming nonprofit experience is required. The posting explicitly welcomes candidates from project or program coordination, account or client services, event coordination, media production, or operations.
• Talking only about big-picture program strategy without showing you can run a tracker, a timeline, and a fulfillment recap. The role is built on follow-through and clean records.