Associate Director of Research Operations

Job Summary

HGSE is a diverse community of learners, teachers, and employees who are passionate about changing the world by improving education. The Associate Director of Research Operations will be part of the Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR) at Harvard University, ensuring that research decisions are informed by rigorous evidence.

Research Pipeline & Resource Management (
45%)

• Ensure that new project proposals are clear in scope and appropriately resourced to meet project timelines.
• Build and maintain a system for allocating staff, managing staff workloads, and project timelines.
• Inform hiring and pipeline management decisions.
• Partner with Directors of Research, Project Directors, and PIs to allocate staff, flag when staff are overburdened, and model trade‑offs when priorities conflict.

Operational Systems & Compliance (
25%)

• Maintain a compliance calendar and coordinate adherence to requirements including data use agreements, IRB protocols, funder reporting deadlines, and data privacy standards.
• Coordinate with Harvard IT on computing needs.
• Develop and maintain standard operating procedures related to data handling, access controls, and use restrictions; serve as a point of escalation for compliance questions and incidents, connecting staff to appropriate institutional or legal resources.

Talent Development & Team Infrastructure (
30%)

• Coordinate recruitment logistics, including job postings, candidate scheduling, and offer communication in partnership with HR; own onboarding infrastructure, checklists, systems access coordination, introductory materials, and 30/60/90‑day frameworks.
• Lead off‑boarding for departing staff—knowledge transfer, systems access revocation, file organization, and continuity planning—and lead project close‑out processes including archival, final documentation, and lessons‑learned capture.
• Maintain a living library of SOPs, process guides, and onboarding materials; develop and enforce documentation standards and facilitate team trainings as needed.
• Develop and manage early‑career pipeline opportunities, including internships, pre‑doctoral programs, and related initiatives.

• Bachelor's degree.
• At least 5 years of progressive experience in research operations, program operations, project management, or a closely related field.
• Experience working in or in direct support of quantitative social science research.
• Demonstrated success designing and managing operational systems—such as intake workflows, allocation models, or documentation ecosystems—in a research, academic, policy, or similarly complex environment.
• Strong systems‑thinking skills: comfort identifying process gaps, designing solutions, and building for scale.
• Experience with project management platforms and workflow tools; comfort evaluating and adopting new operational platforms.
• The position is currently a hybrid position with 3 days in the Cambridge office and 2 days remote.
• This position is a term appointment for one year from the date of hire, with a strong possibility of continuation.
• Will must hold a hybrid work schedule in compliance with Harvard policy on employment outside of Massachusetts.

• Advanced degree in a relevant field (e.g., social science, public policy, information science, research administration, or related discipline).
• Experience with university‑based research processes, including familiarity with sponsored research, IRB administration, and academic PI workflows.
• Familiarity with research compliance frameworks (data use agreements, funder requirements, data privacy).
• Experience in resource management or staff allocation.
• Familiarity with project management tools such as Asana and no‑code or low‑code automation tools.
• Exceptional organizational skills and judgment about prioritization under competing demands.
• Strong communicator with experience coordinating across researchers, PIs, administrative staff, and leadership.
• Experience supervising or formally mentoring at least one staff member.

• Appointment End Date:
  One year from start of hire.
• Standard Hours/
  
  Schedule:
  
  35 hours per week.
• Compensation…