Senior Director, City Talent and Student Career Pathways, Bloomberg Center for Cities

About the role

The Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University seeks a senior leader to build and strengthen Harvard’s pipeline into city government. This role connects cities looking for strong emerging talent with students looking for meaningful public service opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Center’s strategy for connecting cities and students

• Set and drive the Center’s strategy for connecting students to cities and careers in city government

• Serve as a thought partner to Center and Initiative leadership on talent, fellowships, and the future of the local government workforce

• Increase the number of Harvard students who go on to serve in city government

• Partner with cities

  • Directly with mayors, city managers, and senior city leaders to understand city priorities, talent needs, and opportunities for student and early-career engagement
  • Translate city needs into well-defined, student-ready projects, internships, fellowships, and roles that are meaningful for cities and appropriate for students and fellows
  • Build long-term, trust-based relationships that position the Center as a reliable partner to cities

• Partner across Harvard

  • Shape and maintain strong working relationships across Harvard schools, centers, career offices, faculty, student groups, and administrative units to expand student access to city-focused opportunities
  • Build sustained student engagement across Harvard through events, co-curricular programming, student groups, study groups, and other strategies that expose students to city government and careers in city service
  • Partner with faculty to advance student involvement in field courses, thesis projects, and research that support city hall priorities

• Deliver and continuously strengthen high-profile fellowship programs

  • Provide strategic and operational leadership for the Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellowship and the Center’s summer fellowship programs
  • The Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellowship for graduating Harvard masters’ students, which places talented early-career professionals in two-year, full-time positions within city halls to advance mayoral priorities and build organizational capacity
  • Graduate Summer Fellowships and undergraduate internships, which place Harvard students in 10-week roles in cities to work on high-impact, city-identified projects—providing applied learning opportunities, exposure to city leadership, and meaningful contributions to solving civic challenges

• Set high standards for recruitment, project scoping, fellow experience, and city satisfaction

• Ensure programs are well-run, well-supported, and improved based on feedback and outcomes

• Lead and grow a high-performing team

  • Lead a team, currently four staff reports, responsible for fellowships, internships, research assistant recruitments, field-based learning, student engagement events, alumni connections, and other opportunities that connect students to public service in cities
  • Develop and steward systems and partnerships with collaborators across Harvard schools and externally to enhance the Center’s student-facing efforts
  • Foster a culture of high standards, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and at least 8 years of professional experience in program leadership, student engagement, public service, or related fields

• Master’s degree preferred

• Strong people management skills, with a track record of building high-performing teams and delivering outcomes

• Demonstrated success building and leading initiatives that involve applied experience, mentorship, professional development, and/or career growth

• Comfort operating in complex and/or matrixed environments and working across institutional boundaries

• Ability to move between strategic thinking and hands-on execution

• Knowledge of public service, city governance, urban innovation, and the challenges and opportunities cities face

• Ability to work with senior city executives to scope and shape meaningful projects and roles, translating needs into well-defined, achievable opportunities

• Entrepreneurial orientation, with experience building and sustaining work in fast-paced, evolving settings

• Skilled communicator with experience presenting to diverse audiences, such as city officials, university officials, faculty, students, and donors

• Energized by working with students and early-career professionals