Program Coordinator & Faculty Assistant (Part-time)

Harvarduniversity; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Harvard Kennedy School is seeking a Program Coordinator and Faculty Assistant to support Professor Jennifer Lerner, manage calendars, travel, and expenses, and assist with teaching and research activities. You will interact with students and staff daily, foster effective communication with internal and external partners, and enable smooth course and event logistics within the Center for Public Leadership.

The role involves coordinating research resources, ensuring training certifications,

Qualifications

• Attention to detail in a fast-paced academic setting.
• Strong customer service mindset and professional interactions with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to adapt to shifting priorities and deadlines while maintaining quality.

Responsibilities

• Provide administrative support and coordination for Professor Lerner, including calendars, travel, and reimbursements.
• Communicate professionally with internal and external stakeholders and manage inquiries.
• Assist with lab staff hiring, training materials, and subject-protection training certificates.
• Manage Canvas content, course delivery logistics, and event coordination (rooms, catering, guest liaisons).
• Create Qualtrics surveys and export data to Excel; maintain CPL lab website content.
• Track research-related expenses, reimbursements, and assist with grant budgets and tracking.
• Track important deadlines for scientific reviews and grants; proofread and format documents.
• Attend meetings with Professor Lerner and stakeholders, taking notes and ensuring follow-ups.

Skills

Attention to detail

Communication

Customer service

Organizational skills

Adaptability

Team collaboration

Prioritization

Education

None

Tools

Microsoft Office

Canvas

Qualtrics

Excel

Job description

If the vibrant campus community of Harvard University calls to you, and you're passionate about contributing to academic excellence, the Harvard Kennedy School invites you to apply as a Program Coordinator and Faculty Assistant. In this role, your organizational expertise, versatility, and desire to effectively support people and projects will help achieve our collective academic mission. The successful applicant will collaborate closely with Professor Jennifer Lerner to support teaching and research efforts that have far-reaching impact. You will also interact daily with students and staff members, helping them meet desired goals. This opportunity may also support other faculty. In sum, this role offers the chance to be an integral part of a dynamic academic setting, where your efforts will help improve the functioning and impact of teaching and research that aims to make the world a better place.

What you'll do:

1. Administrative Support and Coordination: Serve as the primary assistant and coordinator for Professor Jennifer Lerner. Manage complex calendars, schedule travel arrangements, and handle expense reimbursements. Assist with the preparation of daily briefings for Professor Lerner.
2. Communication: Communicate professionally with both internal and external stakeholders. Represent Professor Lerner to external parties and across Harvard University. Carefully review email correspondence on a daily basis, looking for ways to address all requests and advance projects. Serve as the point of contact for inquiries and as a gatekeeper, balancing the need to protect Professor Lerner's time while also facilitating her ability to perform key educational and outreach roles. Interface continually and constructively with members of the Center for Public Leadership, including participating in staff meetings.
3. Research Support: Connect new lab members and research assistants with the Center staff who handle hiring and training. Retrieve research resources and submit materials for publishing. Ensure that all members of the lab complete the designated training in the protection of human subjects, and maintain certificates of completion for all lab members.
4. Course and Event Management: Upload content to the Canvas learning platform and help design a pleasant student interface on Canvas. Handle course delivery logistics, including obtaining copyright clearances, coordinating guest liaisons, and organizing activities. Facilitate events and meetings, managing such logistics as room reservations and catering. Organize and staff a variety of events, including public seminars and private workshops.
5. Technology and Data Management: Create surveys using Qualtrics software based on faculty drafts (training provided, if needed). Export data from Qualtrics to Excel spreadsheets (training provided, if needed). Maintain the research group's website and keep content up to date (training provided, if needed).
6. Financial and Budget Responsibilities: Under supervision from the Center for Public Leadership Financial Team Maintain detailed records of all research expenses in Professor Lerner's lab. Prepare, submit, and reconcile requests for reimbursement from lab members. Assist the CPL Finance Team in preparing grant proposal budgets and tracking expenditures on budgets. Reconcile corporate cards and track expenses and budgets.
7. Academic Responsibilities: Assist Professor Lerner in tracking important deadlines for scientific reviews, letters of reference, and grant reports. Proofread, copy-edit, and format documents and academic publications.
8. Additional Responsibilities: Attend meetings with Professor Lerner and high-profile stakeholders, taking notes and ensuring follow-ups are executed. Represent Professor Lerner's research group at the Center's relevant public events.

Who you are:

• You set a high bar for yourself with attention to detail.
• You take pride in providing strong customer service.
• You know how to be helpful and how to find the right people to ask questions even when you don't have the answer.
• You take the time to understand workflows and policies to accomplish your goals in the most effective way.
• Adaptability is second nature. With constant change, you are flexible and receptive to feedback.
• You know when to ask for help.
• You are rigorously honest.
• You are comfortable juggling competing priorities, reporting to multiple supervisors, and accommodating a broad range of work styles.
• You work well independently and contribute as a valuable team member.
• People describe you as reliable and professional - you always follow through and strive to surpass expectations.
• You've worked in an office environment before and are proficient with Microsoft Office.

Why you'll love this job:

Make an impact helping others achieve their goals by utilizing your administrative skills. Build relationships with a diverse group of faculty and colleagues in a collaborative culture. Practice on-the-job learning in a suppo