Program Manager - Mercatus Center at George Mason University - Fairfax, VA

About the Mercatus Center

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is where top classical liberal scholars solve real-world challenges. Grounded in the tradition of market-oriented thinking and classical liberal ideas, we equip high-agency talent to apply bold ideas that shape institutions, inform policy, and help people flourish.

For more than 40 years, Mercatus has cultivated top talent and scholarship. What began with three graduate students in 1980 has grown into a global network of over 2,500 alumni. Through mentorship and rigorous training in classical liberal political economy, we prepare the next generation of scholars to strengthen academic, civic, and policy institutions, empowering individuals and communities to thrive.

The Research and Programs (RaP) team at the Mercatus Center is seeking a Program Manager to support our talent identification and cultivation efforts, helping train the next generation of scholars and changemakers grounded in the Mercatus approach to political economy.

The Program Manager will manage key components of Mercatus’s RaP talent programs, which support hundreds of graduate and undergraduate students, early-career scholars, professionals, practitioners, and other social and political change agents across more than a dozen fellowship and academic programs each year. The primary aim of these programs is to introduce participants to the key ideas and thinkers within the mainline tradition of political economy (that is, Austrian, Virginia, and Bloomington schools of political economy) and help prepare them for impactful academic and professional careers.

In this role, the Program Manager will help steward a portfolio of talent cultivation initiatives, ensuring that participants receive high-quality experiences that advance their growth as scholars and leaders. The Program Manager will also help ensure that fellows complete our programs with a deeper understanding and appreciation of mainline political economy and with greater confidence in applying mainline ideas to complex problems.

Additionally, this role is responsible for ensuring that programs run smoothly and that projects are completed accurately and on time. The position is expected to support RaP staff in their scholarly and programmatic work, and represent our talent programs to internal and external audiences, including students, faculty, and prospective fellows. Finally, the Program Manager will work closely with the Senior Director of Talent Programs to support RaP development efforts, including helping identify prospective donors and contributing to the preparation of proposals, reports, and other materials for current and potential supporters.

The Program Manager reports to the Senior Director of Talent Programs and will work primarily from the Mercatus Center offices on George Mason University’s Fairfax, VA campus.

Major areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to the following:

• Manage our talent cultivation programs by implementing program curriculum, maintaining an accurate database of current and past fellows, and forging continued relationships with students and scholars. Find ways to deepen, improve, and expand upon current relationships and strategies.
• Coordinate and host workshops, readings group discussion sessions, colloquia, and other events that encourage current fellows to explore key ideas within mainline political economy and pressing issues in public policy.
• Find ways to deepen, improve, and expand upon current relationships, strategies and fellow engagement through new approaches and strategies.
• Coordinate and execute on campus marketing to raise awareness of our fellowship programs at Mason.
• Serve as a central point of contact for administrative and logistical questions from scholars, current students, prospective students, staff, and other stakeholders, as appropriate.
• Ensure current fellows meet program obligations, monitor student progress in the fellowship, and pair students, where appropriate, with programming and job opportunities.
• Oversee program budget, track expenses, and draft contracts.
• Draft program reports and website…