Strategic Project Coordinator Program : North Carolina Association of County Commissioners

Overview

The Strategic Project Coordinator Program (SPC Program) is a service offered by the Strategic Member Services (SMS) department of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC).

The SPC Program recruits early-career professionals, or those early in their local government careers, who hold a master’s degree and are interested in investing their talents and skills to grow a career in county government.
The SPC Program accommodates up to 11 individuals for hands-on capacity assistance to North Carolina counties across several functional areas of county government.

Interested in this Opportunity?

Whether you’re a county government in need of support or a young professional interested in the program, we’d love to find out more about you. Here is how to get started:

Is your county interested in support from a Strategic Project Coordinator? Tell us more about your county’s need here.
Are you a young professional interested in the SPC Program? Connect with us at [email protected].

Learn more about the benefits of the program below.

About the SPC Program

The Strategic Project Coordinator Program (SPC Program) is a service offered by the Strategic Member Services department of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC). This mutually beneficial program is designed to engage early-career professionals — or those exploring a transition into local government — who hold a master’s degree and are interested in county government. These individuals manage and support specific projects that deliver capacity assistance and technical support to North Carolina counties. This cohort-based program provides an opportunity to create meaningful experiences for emerging professionals to grow their peer learning and professional networks in local government, inspiring their continued commitment and investment in county government.

The SPC Program was established in 2022 to support North Carolina counties, and to provide practical experience and professional development to young professionals to strengthen the pipeline of talent in North Carolina county government.

SPCs work with counties to provide technical assistance across numerous functional areas of government, including:

Grant Management, notably with ARPA SLFRF and Opioid Settlement funds
Community and Economic Development
Finance
Budget and Management
Public Health
Public Information
Manager’s Office Special Projects
Human Resources
And more

The Strategic Project Coordinators play a crucial role in supporting the successful implementation of projects that serve communities. Their knowledge and training allows them to offer tailored guidance and support, ensuring that each county can maximize the benefits of participating in the SPC Program.

New SPC Program Video: Learn how counties across North Carolina are using Strategic Project Coordinators to extend staff capacity, advance critical projects, and develop the next generation of local government leaders.

Counties Benefit from the SPC Program

The SPC Program links young professionals with counties across our state. This dynamic program offers needed capacity support to your county while engaging a new generation of invaluable public servants. Unlike internships, the SPC Program participants receive professional development and training opportunities to enhance skills, resulting in the ability to engage in substantive work with the counties they serve. Strategic Project Coordinators (SPC) enjoy strong internal support networks at the peer and professional levels – longtime public servants now serving counties through NCACC can assist SPCs through guidance on projects.

Through ARPA funding and NCACC’s financial support, there is no cost to the county to participate in the program. The selected coordinator is placed in the requested county (or counties) on assignment while still enjoying the benefit of sharing experiences and lessons learned through peer-based mentoring and professional development programs made available through the Association. The county has the opportunity to provide mentorship and encouragement while benefiting from the technical skills to extend capacity. Over the life of the program, the NCACC has served 26 counties. Here is a sample of what counties have said about hosting an SPC:

“We were very satisfied with the performance of our Strategic Project Coordinator and could not have accomplished all we did with the FY24-25 budget development process without him.”
“We are very satisfied with the SPC’s performance. He started out managing our three VUR water projects and our opioid settlement tasks. Once he got a firm grasp on those, we shifted his focus to Economic Development and our Strategic Plan.”
“We are extremely satisfied with the SPC’s performance and appreciate her contributions to the team.”
“The SPC quickly became part of the team for a multitude of very large projects and adapted well to any assignment given.”

Let us know how a Strategic Project Coordinator could benefit your county!

County Interest Form

Connect with the SPC Program Team

SPC Program County Involvement

The SPC Program has served in the following 38 counties: Alamance, Ashe, Beaufort, Bertie, Buncombe, Burke, Caswell, Catawba, Cumberland, Gaston, Graham, Granville, Guilford, Haywood, Henderson, Hertford, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Moore, Nash, Northampton, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Pender, Person, Pitt, Randolph, Robeson, Rockingham, Rutherford, Transylvania, Union, Wake, Warren, Washington, and Yadkin.

Bolded counties above (and darker green counties on map below) indicate where current SPC cohorts are actively serving as of January 2026.
Italicized counties above plus Chatham indicate where SPC alumni are currently working full time as of January 2026.
All lighter green counties (on map below) indicate where SPC cohorts and alumni have previously served as of January 2026.

Join the SPC Program: Become a Strategic Project Coordinator

Are you a recent master’s level graduate or master’s candidate who desires to make an impact through your work? The SPC Program is looking for talented professionals interested in a career in North Carolina county government. Our SPCs are assigned to influential roles within county governments throughout North Carolina. Coordinators gain valuable hands-on, practical experience by cultivating project management principles and participating in county project tasks while developing a professional network in North Carolina county government.

Strategic Project Coordinators are full-time employees of the NCACC and are placed throughout North Carolina on projects to address the specialized needs of a county (or counties). While on assignment, the coordinator continues to benefit from sharing experiences and insights through peer mentoring and professional development programs offered by the NCACC SMS team.

Some recent examples of project work requested by counties include:

Grant management – including ARPA SLFRF and Opioid Settlement Funds
Expenditure reporting
Economic Development
Community outreach
Communications

This program recruits master’s-level graduates in public administration (or affairs), finance, management, public health and accounting, and interested in serving at the county government level. To learn how you can utilize your talents to create positive change in a local community, click here.

Apply to the SPC Program

Connect with the SPC Program Team

Success Stories

Meet Matthew Wilson, who in June 2022 began his career in county government through the NCACC SMS SPC Program. During his time as a Strategic Project Coordinator, Wilson provided direct assistance with ARPA SLFRF and other grant-funded projects to Buncombe, Madison and Graham counties. In August 2024, Matthew took the next step in his county government career with a permanent job placement in Wake County as a Budget and Management Analyst.