Director of Research & Strategic Initiatives

Company Description

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) is the historic heart of Harvard University. It is the home of Harvard’s undergraduate program (Harvard College, founded in 1636) as well as all of Harvard’s Ph.D. programs (the Harvard Kenneth

C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, founded in 1872), Harvard Athletics and the Division of Continuing Education. The 40 academic departments and 30+ centers of the FAS support a community unparalleled in its academic excellence across the broadest range of liberal arts and sciences disciplines. Together, the FAS seeks to foster an environment of ambition, curiosity and shared commitment to knowledge and truth that elicits excellence from all members of our community and prepares the next generation of leaders through a transformative educational experience.

Job Summary:

The Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics (ELSCE) is hiring a Director of Research & Strategic Initiatives to provide strategic leadership and management to its intellectual agenda and related initiatives. Reporting to the Executive Director, and working in close consultation with the Faculty Director, the Director of Research & Strategic Initiatives provides leadership to the Center’s Research & Design Studio (R&DS), the Center’s hub for innovation at the intersection of scholarship and practice.

The Studio current thematic focus is to explore and strengthen civil discourse in higher education and public life, by bringing together faculty, students, and civic leaders to study how we engage across difference. Through interdisciplinary research, hands-on experimentation, and campus-wide collaboration, the Studio aims to transform big questions into practical insights and effective tools that help make that engagement more meaningful and inclusive.

The Director of Research & Strategic Initiatives will work with the Faculty Director and ELSCE-affiliated Faculty to define research priorities and goals and oversee the execution of research projects. They will collaborate with the Executive Director on budgeting, hires, grant applications, fundraising opportunities, and compliance with university policies.

The Director will supervise R&DS staff and fellows, and work closely with residential scholars. The will interface with university stakeholders to align Center initiative work across the FAS and university more broadly.

• Lead strategic planning for the Research & Design Studio (R&DS), in partnership with the Faculty Director and Executive Director, ensuring alignment with Center, FAS, and university goals and resources.
• Design and launch new initiatives aligned with ELSCE priorities and emerging opportunities.
• Co-develop research and academic priorities for the Center with the Faculty Director.
• Identify and oversee high-impact events and communication strategies that showcase the Center’s research and intellectual agenda.
• Identify and pursue funding opportunities that advance the Center’s mission, serving as Principal Investigator when appropriate.

• Build and manage partnerships across FAS and Harvard’s professional schools to support cross-disciplinary research and programming on ethics.
• Represent ELSCE in high-level university forums and committees, as well as in meetings with senior leadership and administrators across schools.
• Serve as an external spokesperson at national and international meetings, conferences, and relevant industry or governmental convenings.
• Represent the Center in the broader higher education community, collaborating with peer institutions and experts on ethics and institutional practice.

• Oversee complex research projects from design through implementation, ensuring methodological rigor and timely completion of…