Public Innovation Practitioner (Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation) - #Staff

Johns Hopkins University; Baltimore (MD); Hybrid; USD 102,000 - 179,000; Full time

Job summary

Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation seeks a Public Innovation Practitioner to partner with i-teams and drive breakthrough innovations in cities. The role involves collaborating with city partners, delivering workshops, and developing roadmaps.

Reporting to a City Support Lead, you will travel up to 25% of the time, apply data analysis, design thinking, and business case development to scale impact for residents, while modeling leadership in politically sensitive

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Seven years of relevant experience in civic innovation, design, community engagement, or public-sector problem-solving including work alongside or within local government.

Responsibilities

• Project Delivery Facilitation and Learning: frame challenges, unlock insights, design and test solutions, and deliver measurable results for residents.
• Co-create and facilitate workshops, design sessions, and community engagements that move the work forward.
• Develop and document project artifacts such as presentations, prototypes, and implementation roadmaps.
• Apply subject matter expertise and lessons learned to strengthen and scale practices across initiatives.
• Prepare reports, summaries, presentations, and other work products for leadership and external partners.
• Capacity-building: work alongside i-teams on live projects to turn ideas into practical action.
• Support i-team staff by teaching problem-structuring and testing ideas in real time.
• Demonstrate data analysis, design, systems thinking, and business case development through practice.
• Build learning moments into project work to strengthen team capabilities.
• Help i-teams anticipate risks and navigate political environments.

Skills

Communication skills

Visual storytelling

Synthesis skills

Emotional intelligence

Diplomacy

Trust-building

Ambiguity tolerance

Situational awareness

Workshop facilitation

Project documentation

Empathy for public servants

Equity-centered innovation

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Job description

The Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University (the Center) seeks a Public Innovation Practitioner to partner with Innovation Teams (i-teams) and drive the field forward by helping advance breakthrough innovations and scaling impact in cities. The first of its kind in the world, the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins aims to advance the field of public sector innovation by marrying cutting-edge practice with world class research to transform the culture of government, deliver exceptional results for residents, and inspire trust in public service. The Center is housed within the new Johns Hopkins School of Government and Policy.

Reporting to a City Support Lead, Practitioners will travel approximately 35% of time to partner with i-teams to achieve city-specific goals, realize ambitions of the partner cities, identify opportunities to advance program impact, strategically solve problems, and develop business cases and financing strategies. The Practitioner will help city teams test and refine new methods to improve residents’ lives, while coaching i-team staff on techniques to navigate complex political and organizational realities. Practitioners bring professional experience as individual contributors and consultants, exceptional critical thinking skills, and extensive experience helping cities or similar organizations solve problems to better serve residents.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Project Delivery Facilitation and Learning
• Partner with i-teams to frame challenges, unlock insights, design and test new solutions, and deliver measurable results for residents.
• Co-create and facilitate workshops, design sessions, and community engagements that move the work forward.
• Develop and document project artifacts such as presentations, prototypes, and implementation roadmaps.
• Apply subject matter expertise and lessons learned from individual programs to strengthen and scale practices across initiatives, supporting both city-level progress and continuous improvement across the Center.
• Prepare reports, summaries, presentations, and other work products for dissemination to Center leadership and external partners.

Capacity-building Through Practice

• Work alongside i-teams on live projects to help cities turn ideas into practical action.
• Support i-team staff by demonstrating how to structure problems, test ideas, and refine solutions in real time.
• Demonstrate what strong data analysis, design, systems thinking, and business case development look like through direct project support and clear examples from practice.
• Build short, practical learning moments into project work to strengthen team capabilities while advancing results.
• Help i-teams anticipate risks, adjust plans as circumstances change, and keep projects moving in complex, uncertain, or politically sensitive environments.
• Model flexible and solutions-oriented leadership when navigating organizational and political realities.

Representation

• Represent the Center with professionalism and expert confidence in interactions with mayors, city staff, residents, and partners.

This position may require travel up to 25% of the time.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree.
• Seven years of relevant experience in civic innovation, design, community engagement, or public-sector problem-solving including work alongside or within local government.
• Additional education may substitute for required experience, and additional related experience may substitute for required education beyond a high school diploma/graduation equivalent, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong communication, visual storytelling, and synthesis skills.
• Strong emotional intelligence, diplomacy, and trust-building skills.
• Comfort with ambiguity and ability to stay focused on outcomes in the face of change.
• Skilled at turning insights into action and identifying trends.
• Curatorial savvy: the ability to assess a city’s need and activate supplemental technical assistance.
• Ability to maintain trusted relationships while pushing teams to maximize opportunities and achieve stated goals.
• Strong situational awareness and ability to navigate political and organizational dynamics.
• Excellent workshop facilitation, project documentation, and communication abilities.
• Flexible, creative, and resilient: able to pivot strategies and plans in real time.
• Empathy for public servants and communities, and commitment to equity-centered innovation.
• Ability to operationalize, communicate, or codify breakthroughs in ways that help shape the field in the years to come.

Classified Title: Public Innovator Practitioner

Role/Level/Range: ATP/04/PG

Starting Salary Range: $102,295 - $179,375 Annually (Commensurate w/exp.)

Employee group: Full Time

Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm

FLSA Status: Exempt

Location: Hybrid/Homewood Campus

Department name: Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation

Personnel area: School of Government & Policy

Equal Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.