Director of Research & Strategic Initiatives

Job Summary:

The Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics (ELSCE) is hiring a Director of Research & Strategic Initiatives to provide strategic leadership and management to its intellectual agenda and related initiatives. Reporting to the Executive Director, and working in close consultation with the Faculty Director, the Director of Research & Strategic Initiatives provides leadership to the Center’s Research & Design Studio (R&DS), the Center’s hub for innovation at the intersection of scholarship and practice. The Studio current thematic focus is to explore and strengthen civil discourse in higher education and public life, by bringing together faculty, students, and civic leaders to study how we engage across difference. Through interdisciplinary research, hands-on experimentation, and campus-wide collaboration, the Studio aims to transform big questions into practical insights and effective tools that help make that engagement more meaningful and inclusive.

The Director of Research & Strategic Initiatives will work with the Faculty Director and ELSCE-affiliated Faculty to define research priorities and goals and oversee the execution of research projects. They will collaborate with the Executive Director on budgeting, hires, grant applications, fundraising opportunities, and compliance with university policies. 

The Director will supervise R&DS staff and fellows, and work closely with residential scholars.  The will interface with university stakeholders to align Center initiative work across the FAS and university more broadly. 

Job-Specific Responsibilities:

Strategic Planning

• Lead strategic planning for the Research & Design Studio (R&DS), in partnership with the Faculty Director and Executive Director, ensuring alignment with Center, FAS, and university goals and resources.
• Design and launch new initiatives aligned with ELSCE priorities and emerging opportunities.
• Co-develop research and academic priorities for the Center with the Faculty Director.
• Identify and oversee high-impact events and communication strategies that showcase the Center’s research and intellectual agenda.
• Identify and pursue funding opportunities that advance the Center’s mission, serving as Principal Investigator when appropriate.

Institutional Partnerships

• Build and manage partnerships across FAS and Harvard’s professional schools to support cross-disciplinary research and programming on ethics.
• Represent ELSCE in high-level university forums and committees, as well as in meetings with senior leadership and administrators across schools.
• Serve as an external spokesperson at national and international meetings, conferences, and relevant industry or governmental convenings.
• Represent the Center in the broader higher education community, collaborating with peer institutions and experts on ethics and institutional practice.

Research Management

• Oversee complex research projects from design through implementation, ensuring methodological rigor and timely completion of milestones.
• Supervise and mentor staff, fellows, and students in research design, methods, and compliance with established protocols.
• Ensure adherence to all quality assurance, regulatory, and compliance requirements (e.g., IRB, data security, funding restrictions).
• Guide data collection, organization, analysis, and reporting using appropriate qualitative and quantitative tools.
• Lead or contribute to grant proposals, research reports, manuscripts, presentations, and other scholarly and public-facing outputs.
• Translate research findings into actionable insights, tools, and resources for practitioners and partners; support dissemination and adoption through reports, presentations, media, and stakeholder engagement.
• Develop and implement evaluation strategies to assess project impact and inform future Center activities and partnerships.

General Administration & Management

• Provide overall administrative leadership for R&DS, including organizational design, policy compliance, and personnel oversight.
• Supervise and coach core R&DS staff (e.g., Associate Director of Pedagogy, Chief Assessment Scientist, Program & Communications Coordinator), managing workload, setting expectations, and conducting performance reviews.
• Manage day-to-day operations and workflows, creating systems and processes that coordinate research, pedagogy, and community-of-practice activities and ensure timely delivery of key projects.
• Contribute to the design, cohort selection, and support of Center fellowship programs, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and sustainability.
• Provide mentorship to residential fellows and support their research projects.
• Oversee R&DS seminars and related scholarly programming to foster an active intellectual community and cultivate external collaborators.
• Develop and manage the R&DS budget to align financial resources with strategic goals.