Community Engagement Specialist, Harvard Innovation Labs

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.

Harvard Business School, located on a 40-acre campus in Boston, was founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University. It is among the world's most trusted sources of management education and thought leadership. For more than a century, the School's faculty has combined a passion for teaching with rigorous research conducted alongside practitioners at world-leading organizations to educate leaders who make a difference in the world.

Through a dynamic ecosystem of research, learning, and entrepreneurship that includes MBA, Doctoral, Executive Education, and Online programs, as well as numerous initiatives, centers, institutes, and labs, Harvard Business School fosters bold new ideas and collaborative learning networks that shape the future of business.

The Community Specialistownstherelationshipwith our students in the Harvard Innovation Labs ecosystem.

The Community Specialist acts as a community communications strategist, creating systems and campaigns that engage members, build community, and create responsive and customized experiences for students.

The roleis responsible forcultivatinga strong senseofengagement and participation among all Harvard Innovation Labs(HIL) members and offers supportby performing a variety of complex administrative and support duties to enhance theHILprograms and resources. This includes building and managing the day-to-day experience of participants usingi-lab resources, coordinating communications across different channels, and developing and executing community-related programming. The role reports to the Assistant

Director,Programming and Member Experience .

Please see innovation labs.harvard.edu for more information about the Harvard Innovation Labs.

• Responsible for the development and management of the student I-lab community and its
  3000+ active members, including application cycle promotion,aweekly newsletter,i-lab member
  
  Slack work spaces, events planning, and customer service forprogramparticipants in collaboration with Operations and front desk teams.

• Ensures that student members are connected, supports collaboration across Harvard Schools, and develops programming and systems to ensure that participantscancommunicate and collaborate with each other.

• Managesinquiryprocessesfrom prospective student members, develops communications to convert applicants into members, andguides students through the application/membership funnel.

• Fostersa positive and collaborative community through daily engagement with students. Monitors news, happenings, feedback, struggles, and wins.
  
  Oversees development and synthesizes data from customer surveys, feedback, focus groups, and other data sources to provide insights, support decision-making, and inform program improvements and strategy.
  
  Designs and executes regular “pulse checks” of the community (e.g., short surveys, quick interviews) and translates qualitative and quantitative data into clear, actionable recommendations for the team.
  
  Constantly seeks opportunities to serve students better and streamline administrative operations.

• Plansand executes community-related programming such as welcome events, end of term events, sub-community sessions, lunches, dinners, and other programming that bringsthecommunity together. In total, supports~30-40eventsthroughout the academic yearin close collaboration with the Events and Operations teams, who lead event production and logistics.

• Designs, launches, and manages student-facing initiatives that bridge the gap betweenHILand the broader student community, such as a Student Ambassador program. Recruits, onboards, and supports student ambassadors and other student leaders to extend the reach of i-lab programs across campus.

• Manages and supports the administration and execution ofnew programs/ community engagement opportunities: cross-university innovation mixers, collaborations with Harvard stakeholders (student clubs),and external partners (AWS Next Gen).

• Manage sand oversees the Ingenuity Awardprogramas part of the President’s Innovation Challenge, including timeline, application process, venture evaluation process, and supporting programming such as pitch practice.