Head of Scientific Programs

About the role

The American Physical Society is a nonprofit membership organization working to advance physics by fostering a vibrant, inclusive, and global community dedicated to science and society. The head of scientific programs is a senior leadership position reporting to the director of meetings. This role is critical for overseeing the comprehensive management and strategic direction of the annual and unit meetings' scientific programs and abstract systems.

Responsibilities

• Hire, train, and supervise a high-performing staff.
• Develop and mentor team members, fostering a collaborative and productive work environment.
• Conduct performance evaluations, resolve disputes, and administer disciplinary actions.
• Strategically schedule scientific program production schedules to allow for changes and/or additions as well as overall team workflow.
• Oversee the creation and maintenance of online scientific programs, acting as a liaison to all departments within APS.
• Maintain responsibility for all aspects of the current abstract system, working closely with Information Systems during abstract processing and scientific program creation.
• Supervise the sending of author notifications and the coordination of published scientific programs.
• Oversee preparation for in-house or online abstract sorting.
• Oversee the abstract help desk functions, ensuring timely responses to all email and phone correspondence.
• Collaborate with the Technical Manager of Scientific Programs to maintain and update abstract user documentation, providing feedback to Abstract Management System vendors and APS IS staff to identify issues and recommend system enhancements.
• Collaborate with the Director of Meetings to ensure abstract policies and procedures are current and adhered to by abstract authors.
• Oversee the creation of Program Committee Handbook and websites.
• Collaborate with Operations Manager of Scientific Programs to generate and prepare reports, maintaining statistical data on abstract submissions.
• Ensure that abstract epitomes are archived in the Bulletin of the APS (BAPS).
• Oversee the administration of the meetings electronic abstract submission process, including creating meetings, processing abstracts.
• Oversee planning and execution of the volunteer abstract sorting process, author notifications, processing program updates for the website and mobile app, and publishing the meeting on the APS website.
• Provide support for heavy demand on abs-help and phone inquiries from submitting authors, responding to a wide range of technical questions.
• Provide leadership support onsite as needed at meetings.
• Undertakes special projects and additional assignments to contribute to departmental success.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 8 years of progressive experience in program management, preferably within an international, nonprofit science-related society.
• Minimum of 3 years of progressive management/supervisory experience.
• Software proficiency in CRM, Salesforce, project management tools (e.g., Asana).
• Familiarity with CVENT, Social Tables, Google Office, Microsoft Office Suite desired.
• Proficient data analysis and data visualization skills.
• Extensive experience in scientific program management.
• Advanced project management experience.
• Proven leadership and team management skills.
• Ability to handle many tasks simultaneously.
• Solid computer skills, especially in Word and Excel.
• Strong organization, documentation, and prioritization skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to adapt to quickly changing schedules.
• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse teams and stakeholders.
• Excellent problem-solving and decision making abilities.