Executive Director, Harris Social Impact Fellowship
$130,000–$180,000 year
On-siteChicago, Illinois, United States
Job Summary
Lead strategic, programmatic, and operational leadership for the Harris Social Impact Fellowship, setting multi-year growth trajectories for cohort scaling, geographic expansion, and new institutional partnerships. Own the curriculum design cycle, host site sourcing strategy, and selection architecture while managing a team of two FTEs and rotating consultants. Direct external partnership negotiations, oversee fiscal accountability for the program budget, and establish governance protocols and risk management frameworks. Represent the Fellowship to senior University leadership, external audiences, and donor teams, while supervising staff and driving alumni engagement platforms. Manage post-fellowship career strategy and advisory council operations to ensure program quality and impact.
Required Qualifications
- college or university degree in related field
- knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline
- Chicago-based role
- hybrid work arrangement
- Some evening and weekend work
- An estimated 10% overnight travel
- Resume/CV
- Cover Letter
- Contact information for three references
- background check that includes a review of conviction history
Desired Qualifications
- 15+ years of professional experience in program leadership, higher education administration, public policy, or related fields with director-level scope
- Proven track record in strategic planning, multi-year program development, and scaling complex initiatives across institutional boundaries
- Demonstrated experience coordinating with senior academic leaders, executive directors, and research principals across on-campus institutions, off-campus think tanks, government entities, or non-profit organizations focused on research, evaluation, or policy
- Experience supervising staff and managing consultant relationships, with demonstrated ability to build operational capacity as programs scale
- Conceptualizes, plans, and executes complex, multi-faceted programs with minimal oversight, exercising sound independent judgment on strategic and operational questions
- Navigates complex stakeholder ecosystems with competing agendas, with strong instincts for sequencing, escalation, and de-confliction
- Entrepreneurial orientation toward program-building, with capacity to design and operationalize new initiatives from concept through delivery
- Excellent written and verbal communication, including the ability to brief senior leadership, represent the program externally, and produce program-substance materials of institutional quality
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