Career Center

The Center for International Development (CID) at Harvard Kennedy School has an exciting new opportunity for an Executive Director. CID is embarking on an ambitious growth strategy as it expands its presence and impact within the university and globally. The Executive Director (ED), in partnership with the Center Faculty Director, will play a key leadership role in developing, resourcing, and executing this strategy. The ED will be responsible for the strategic, financial, and administrative management of the Center. This includes developing core initiatives, fundraising, building collaborations, supporting Harvard-wide faculty affiliates, and students, engaging with national and global audiences in all sectors (academic, public, non-profit and private), convening high-profile events, oversight of annual expenditures, a team of core staff, and all daily operations.

The ED is a strategic and thought partner to the Faculty Director and will develop and execute the plans for moving the Center forward; a collaborative relationship builder, who can work effectively with faculty, staff, university leaders and internal and external stakeholders; a strong manager and leader of people, who will engage, motivate, and mentor staff; and a creative problem solver, who will anticipate issues and roadblocks along the way. We believe in fostering a collaborative, diverse and inclusive community of staff, students, and faculty; we and seek applications from candidates who can demonstrate through their work and service a commitment to collaboration, diversity, inclusion and belonging.

About CID:

The Center for International Development (CID) is a university-wide center based at the Harvard Kennedy School that seeks to solve the world's most pressing development problems. At CID, we believe leveraging global talent is the key to enabling development for all. We teach to build capacity, conduct research that guides development policy, and convene talent to advance ideas for a thriving world. Addressing today's challenges to international development also requires bridging academic expertise with practitioner experience. Through collaborative, in-country partnerships, CID's research programs, faculty, and students deploy an analytical framework and context-dependent approaches to tackle development problems

Responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

• Growth Strategy: Works directly with the Center Faculty Director to develop, refine and execute the Center's overall growth, resourcing, and impact strategy.
• Fundraising: Builds a sustainable fundraising framework for the Center, including relationships with donors, foundations and other potential partners, as well as CID's Global Development Council. Works with the HKS and University Development offices to develop these relationships.
• Engagement: Serves as a key liaison between the Center and the Kennedy School, other centers across Harvard and the wider Harvard community, CID's benefactors, and audiences beyond the University. Develops programing to support CID faculty affiliates, fellows and students.
• Research: Supervises the Center's research team to develop and oversee large core initiatives and collaborations, incubate research collaborations for CID's faculty affiliates, and directs center-level research reports and grant proposals.
• Finance: Exercises financial management of Center and, provides financial oversight over the Center's research programs and initiatives, including oversight of sponsored funding and gifts, working collaboratively with the HKS Research Administration Office.
• Operations: Directs Center operations, including logistics and programmatic development; takes the lead in anticipating and resolving issues in collaboration with Center staff and the leadership team of our research programs and initiatives.
• HR: Hires, manages, evaluates, and mentors core staff, ensuring a high level of professionalism, teamwork and focus on excellence. Leads center's DEIB initiatives and builds high-performing collaborative and inclusive culture across staff, faculty and fellows.
• Communications: Oversees the Center's communications strategy on the website, social media, newsletters, annual reports, and promotional brochures.

Please submit a Resume and Cover Letter.

We regret that the Harvard Kennedy School does not provide Visa Sponsorship.
Harvard University requires pre-employment references and background checks.
Harvard University is committed to supporting a healthy, sustainable learning and working environment.

Please note: This is an in-person/on campus position based in Cambridge, MA, with possible flexible work options.

The University requires all Harvard community members to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and remain up to date with COVID-19 vaccine boosters, as detailed in Harvard's Vaccine & Booster Requirements. Individuals may claim exemption from the vaccine requirement for medical or religious reasons. More information regarding the University's COVID vaccination requirement, exemptions, and verification of vaccination status may be found at the University's

Master's Degree in Economics, Public Policy, International Development or similar, or MBA, and at least five years of increasingly challenging senior management experience in the private, public or non-profit sectors.

• Demonstrated leadership background especially in related organizations including foundations, university research and development centers, impact-oriented private sector and consulting.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with diverse stakeholders, including faculty and students, colleagues and constituents, donors and board members, and cross-sectoral leaders in practice.
• Outstanding communication and relationship building skills
• Ability to work with minimal supervision, and excellent judgment
• Interest in international development and public policy
• Superior strategy, fundraising, organizational, and financial management skills
• Able to prioritize, excellent attention to detail, and ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously
• Experience in foundations and higher education is a plus, particularly an understanding of how research is translated into practice through collaborations, training and outreach
• Experience with budgets, sponsored research grants and University processes not required, but a plus
• Travel is required