Associate Dean Academic Programs

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.

Why join the Harvard Radcliffe Institute?

The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, known colloquially as Harvard Radcliffe Institute, is one of the world’s leading centers for interdisciplinary exploration. We bring together students, scholars, artists, and practitioners to pursue curiosity-driven research, expand human understanding, and grapple with questions that demand insight from across disciplines.

The Fellowship Program annually supports the work of 50 leading artists and scholars. Academic Ventures fosters collaborative research projects and sponsors lectures and conferences that engage scholars with the public. The Schlesinger Library documents the lives of American women of the past and present for the future, furthering the Institute's commitment to women, gender, and society. The Emerging Leaders Program is a youth leadership development program partnering local high school sophomores with Harvard undergraduates in a mentoring relationship.

The Institute’s work is shaped by its history as the former Radcliffe College—a school founded to ensure that the standard of education embodied in Harvard was accessible to women, who were then excluded from the University. But the legacy of Radcliffe College is not simply coeducation at Harvard; it is the recognition that universities will always be greater when they draw wisdom and talent from the widest possible pool.

Take a look at this video to get different staff perspectives on working at Harvard Radcliffe Institute!

Job Summary:

Reporting to the Dean, the Associate Dean for Academic Programs oversees the Radcliffe Institute's four key program departments:
Academic Ventures & Engagement (AV&E), the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP), the Radcliffe Fellowship Program (FP), and the Schlesinger Library (SL). In close collaboration with the Dean, other senior leaders, Institute and University faculty, and key stakeholders, the Associate Dean ensures that these programs align with institutional priorities, foster strong partnerships, and represent the Institute across the broader Harvard community. Collectively, these programs advance transformative, interdisciplinary ideas and scholarship across the arts, humanities, sciences, social sciences, and the professions.

Job-Specific Responsibilities:

• Is a strong manager, intermediary, and thought partner, collaborating with the Dean and Radcliffe’s senior leadership to develop and implement polices, practices, and high-level programmatic initiatives and engagements that advance the Institute’s mission and realize its strategic priorities.
• Possesses strong practical problem-solving skills and operational expertise in driving strategic priorities.
• Supervises and strategizes with program directors to drive key initiatives to completion, ensuring that the four program departments are aligned with Institute priorities and timetables.
• Develops and maintains effective working relationships with HRI leadership, cross-school partners, and Harvard faculty affiliates.
• Comanages relationships with and facilitates agenda setting for the Faculty Advisory Council, appointed and convened by the Dean and consisting of Radcliffe Faculty Directors, Faculty Advisors, Radcliffe Professors, and other HRI faculty affiliates.
• Is an ambassador for Radcliffe within the University, developing collaborative relationships with colleagues at Harvard College and Harvard’s 12 graduate and professional schools, while strengthening the Institute’s contribution to University priorities and initiatives.
• Oversees the Academic Programs unit’s role in leading cross-Institute student engagement activities, including its oversight of the Student Advisory Board, student communications, and student events.
• Collaborates with the Dean and others to implement best practices to realize and sustain an inclusive…