American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Hiring for Project Director at Washington, DC  Full Time

AAAS has an exciting opportunity to join the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships (STPF) program as a Project Director in Washington, DC. STPF provides immersive opportunities to outstanding scientists and engineers to learn first-hand about policymaking and contribute their knowledge and analytical skills in the policy realm. Fellows serve yearlong assignments in the federal government and represent a broad range of backgrounds, disciplines, and career stages. Each year, STPF adds to a growing corps of nearly 4,000 policy-savvy leader alumni of the program working across academia, government, nonprofits, and industry to serve the nation and citizens around the world.

As the Project Director of the STPF Programs Team, you will oversee the fellowship cycle, from the selection process to the placement process for the four fellowship areas (Legislative, Executive, Judicial and Revelle), and provide fellow and host support during the fellowship year with a team of Program Managers. This person sits on the STPF Senior Leadership Team and contributes to the holistic evolution and strategic direction of the program.

What You’ll Do

Staff Management, Planning & Policy Development

• Supervise five staff, including monitoring, mentoring, and conducting performance reviews.
• With the Director, develop program policies and maintain operational excellence, including developing and maintaining processes to adapt to surges in activity related to immersive fellowships at AAAS, as well as contractions.
• The position trains and manages the Programs Team staff to ensure that the fellows’ experiences at the federal host offices are generally positive and works to identify and/or address issues with agencies, fellows, mentors, and staff.
• The position is also responsible for working with other teams and departments within AAAS to achieve the mission and vision of AAAS.

Selection and Placement

• Oversees planning and implementation of the selection and placement process for 150-200 first-year fellows.
• Ensures adherence to recruitment criteria for up to 12 selection committees; oversees placement procedures and offer acceptances; supervises communications with finalists, fellows and host offices, including formal offer letters, terms and onboarding.

Fellow Cultivation & Management

• Directs interactions with approximately 300 first- and second-year fellows annually, aiming to build affinity with AAAS, support positive and productive public service/professional development fellowship experiences through full engagement in program offerings.
• With staff, maintains ongoing contact to set expectations, guide fellows, and trouble-shoot challenges.
• Supports the transition of fellows into alumni status, in collaboration with alumni engagement functions.

Assessment, Evaluation, Monitoring, and Reporting

• Directs the planning process, implementation, and follow-up for annual site visits with fellows & mentors, oversees methods to track and monitor progress and address challenges.
• Monitors fellows’ mid-year and year-end reports to determine trends and uses information to enhance fellowship program.
• Leads the drafting of quarterly, annual, and final programmatic reports in collaboration with the Finance Lead.
• Oversees the team completion of reports to ensure the timely submission of federal grant requirements. Develops standard operating procedures for data entry and reporting.

Professional Development & Training

• Collaborates on and contributes to the Professional Development planning and implementation of the two-week fellowship orientation.
• Oversees the agency-specific orientations for the fellows in the executive branch program areas.

Alumni Engagement and General STPF Outreach and Promotion

• Works in collaboration with STPF Alumni Engagement staff and activities with alumni-focused programming and workflows.
• Serves as a senior AAAS STPF ambassador to external audiences, presents on the fellowship program at professional and governmental conferences and meetings, outreach events, networking gatherings, and campus and career events; provides input to annual marketing and outreach plans led by other STPF functions.

Minimum Requirements

• Requires excellent communication, strategic planning, consensus building, and team building and coaching. A capacity to prioritize and juggle multiple tasks, and work well under pressure is a must.
• Operational and logistical experience is required to manage the selection and placement processes. Excellent written and verbal communication, as well as attention to detail is a must. Comfort with data and systems is of benefit, as well.
• Interpersonal skills and a high degree of emotional intelligence – the capacity to interact confidently with people from different disciplinary and cultural backgrounds is necessary in fellow cultivation and management, as well as experience working with PhD-level professionals. Experience navigating and resolving conflict through compassionate problem solving is also required.
• Experience with Salesforce or CRMs to monitor, evaluate and assess the program. Comfort and experience with data and analysis is required.
• As a supervisor, it is also important to be able to translate these processes into business practice – developing SOPs for staff.
• Collaboration with the Professional Development Team – planning and implementing the orientation program; requires careful planning and management by the professional development staff with input and assistance from this position, and the program staff.
• Outstanding high-level writing skills and communication abilities to interact with a sophisticated and highly educated audience and to diplomatically manage challenging situations is required.
• Personnel management and staff development knowledge is required, including relevant experience.
• The ability to work well with people – bridging constituencies, building consensus, and collaborative problem solving.
• Ability and stature to apply a broad range of latitude and independent judgement to make decisions, devise solutions and manage successfully.
• Capacity to prioritize and juggle multiple tasks and to work well under deadline pressure.
• Demonstrated experience and comprehension of fellowship program management.

• Experience working in the scientific community, working with Ph.D. level professionals, or a degree in science and/or policy are a plus.

• Prior experience in nonprofit settings, with government funded programs, with fellowships or alumni relations are a plus.

Application Process

Submit a resume and cover letter outlining qualifications and interest in the position by June 30, 2024. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. A Recruiter will contact you with next steps if you are selected for an interview.

The anticipated initial rate of compensation for this position is $100,000 – $120,000 per. AAAS currently provides the following benefits for this position: paid vacation leave, paid sick leave, paid holidays, health insurance, flexible spending account, dental insurance, life insurance, vision insurance, retirement benefits, short- and long-term disability, each subject to the terms of the applicable program. Additional benefits may apply.

Any actual offer of employment, reflecting the total compensation package and benefits, will be made in the sole discretion of AAAS and will be based on a variety of factors, including years of experience, depth of experience, and other relevant factors. AAAS reserves the right to amend or modify its employment benefits and compensation structure at any time.

AAAS is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or other protected category. AAAS uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. No visa sponsorship is available for this position.

Search Firm and Employment Agency Disclaimer
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Any unsolicited resumes sent to AAAS from a third party, such as an agency, including unsolicited resumes sent to an AAAS mailing address, fax machine or email address, directly to AAAS employees, or to the AAAS resume database will be considered AAAS property. Verbal or written communications from any employee of AAAS shall not be considered binding obligations. AAAS Human Resources is the only AAAS representative authorized by AAAS to enter into any employment agreements with any third party. AAAS will not pay a fee for any placement resulting from the receipt of an unsolicited resume.

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