Senior Teaching Fellow, STEM Career Advantage Academy

Senior Teaching Fellow, STEM Career Advantage Academy

The Tufts Center for Professional and Workforce Impact (within University College) is seeking a Senior Teaching Fellow to assist in leading our summer STEM Career Advantage Academy (SCAA). SCAA is one of the Center's signature initiatives, launching at Tufts in summer 2026. Designed to equip STEM undergraduate and advanced high school students with critical leadership and professional skills, the program builds capacity in negotiation, communication, networking, and collaborative problem-solving-skills increasingly required at the start of a STEM internship and career.

Formerly known as the Leadership Academy (LA), the program was piloted and refined over five years with philanthropic funding from Pivotal Ventures (2019) and Reboot Representation ), both Melinda French Gates initiatives. To date, it has served 300 students from 30 institutions, delivering immersive instruction and mentoring with instruction evenly split between industry practitioners and academics.

Evaluation data, including findings published in peer-reviewed research, shows measurable gains in student confidence, negotiation skills, and workplace readiness, supported by active alumni and industry involvement. With the research phase complete, the program is now ready to scale under its new name and expanded scope at Tufts.

The Tufts STEM Career Advantage Academy will feature a 9-module online summer program, workshops led by academics and practitioners, a 9‑month coaching program with industry mentors, alumni booster sessions, and a longitudinal study tracking long‑term outcomes. Students will be divided into cohorts of 5‑8 and led by Teaching Fellows.

STEM Career Advantage Academy is seeking a Senior Teaching Fellow to work closely with the program founder to refresh the curriculum, provide instructional and technological support, engage with industry managers and program partners, and oversee the overall coordination of the program's teaching fellows. The program's Teaching Fellows' main task is to help students find their unique strengths and experiences and then develop a "Personal Narratives Story Bank" that they can use in guiding new managers and peers in the workplace to appreciate the value they bring to the organization.

The Senior Teaching Fellow needs to bring relevant experience to this role. Graduate students and post‑docs with teaching and mentoring experience‑preferably in preparing high school and college students for the next stage of their journey are preferred. Applicants do not have to be affiliated with Tufts. The Senior Teaching Fellow will also be required to complete a mentorship training program (8 hours) in April and May 2026.

The STEM Career Advantage Academy (SCAA) will take place from July 10 – August 7, 2026, as a series of 9 synchronous online sessions on Wednesdays and Fridays, noon‑4 pm ET, for 5 weeks. The Senior Teaching Fellow is expected to attend all sessions.

In addition, the Senior Teaching Fellow can expect to work an average of 5‑8 hours per week during the spring semester and in the weeks leading up to the program for pre‑program planning. Planning work includes mandatory monthly meetings and 3‑4 hours/week of flexible days/times for other planning work.

• Total Program Planning: 5‑8 hours/ week on program planning; 190 hours estimated beginning in the spring term and in the months leading to the program launch (flexible days/times, mostly remote). This estimate is inclusive of the required mentorship training program in April and May 2026.

Programming Implementation

The STEM Career Advantage Academy will meet 2 days a week for 5 weeks in the summer of 2026.

The Senior Teaching Fellow can expect to work about 9‑10 hours per week during programming, attending all classes and weekly meetings. Given that the program is online, being on‑campus to carry out the work isn't required.

• Program Dates:
  July 10th to August 7th, 2026
• Program
  
  Hours:
  • Wednesdays and Fridays 12‑4:00 pm
  • 4‑6 additional hours/week possible depending on program needs.

Program Close

After the program concludes, the Senior Teaching Fellow can expect an additional 5…