Executive Director, Humanities Initiative,

Overview

Princeton University recently launched the Humanities Initiative, a three-year initiative that will highlight, strengthen, and expand humanities research, education, advocacy, and outreach at Princeton and establish the foundation for an eventual Humanities Institute on campus. As a set of academic disciplines, the humanities seek to understand human culture through the study of history, languages, religion, philosophy, literature, art, music, performance, and other forms of human expression. Humanistic methods such as close reading, critical thinking, understanding ideas in context, articulating and interrogating ideas, interpretation and analysis of texts and other cultural artifacts, and producing knowledge through creative work are fundamental to a liberal arts education, vital for understanding the past, and critical for addressing some of the most urgent and bracing issues and concerns of the present and future.

 

The Humanities Initiative will draw on the unsurpassed excellence of humanities research, teaching, and learning at Princeton to increase and amplify in a significant and substantial manner the capacity for humanistic work on campus and in the public sphere. This effort will follow several, interconnected paths:

1) The Humanities Initiative will facilitate and support a series of projects, programming, activities, and events focused on a theme, “Media and Meaning,” that will consider why and how media of different kinds—from oil painting to artificial intelligence—play an outsize role in imbuing the human world with meaning, often with sizable social, political, and economic consequences. 2) The Humanities Initiative will sponsor innovative, interdisciplinary programming, faculty research and collaboration, and curricular development, including by supporting collaboration across Princeton’s academic divisions.3) The Humanities Initiative will establish public humanities as a priority at Princeton. The initiative will foster public engagement with the humanities through partnerships with the greater Princeton community, including k-12 students at Princeton Public Schools, and through collaborations with a range of publics outside Princeton’s walls. 4) The Humanities Initiative will serve as the first step of an institutional transition from the Humanities Council to a Humanities Institute.

 

The Humanities Initiative is seeking an Executive Director (ED) to work closely with the Faculty Director of the initiative to establish and steward programs, engage in short-and long-term planning, execute strategic priorities, and oversee day-to-day operations. The initiative will evolve and grow rapidly over the next three years; the Faculty Director will establish the academic and intellectual direction of the Humanities Initiative, and the Executive Director will provide support for the Director’s vision, overseeing all management and budgetary matters and assisting in the recruitment and hiring of staff. The ED reports directly to the Faculty Director, with a secondary reporting relationship to the Director of Academic Administration.

 

The candidate must have the capacity to help develop and coordinate new, innovative, and high-profile programming, interdisciplinary initiatives, research collaborations, and public events, working with a range of partners from all three academic divisions at Princeton and partnering with various external organizations and institutions to create a substantial public humanities component. Additionally, the candidate must have the capacity to facilitate fundraising efforts; coordinate and execute grant writing; and cultivate marketing and branding strategies. The Executive Director will be able to represent the Director at meetings, present at programs, report results, and exchange information with University representatives and the broader University and Princeton community.

Responsibilities

Strategic Management and Administration:The Executive Director oversees and coordinates the Princeton Humanities Initiative, including day-to-day operations and strategic planning. The ED partners with the Director to create new collaborations with Princeton units and community partners; and assists with relationship cultivation and management.

 

Personnel Management:The Executive Director assists with future growth of the Humanities Initiative through administrative and technical staff appointments. They will supervise hiring, performance reviews, merit increase process and terminations of the administrative staff, including regular staff, short-term professional employees, casual hourly employees, and student employees. 

 

Budget and Financial Management: The Executive Director develops and oversees the Humanities Initiative’s budget in collaboration with the Director. The ED is responsible for the careful and appropriate management, use, and allocation of all funds and resources, providing regular and timely analysis and projections of available funds to the Director. They will oversee research and curricular grant proposal process and funding.

 

Research and Events:The Executive Director oversees the planning, coordination, organization, and execution of high-profile events and activities, including lecture series, symposia, colloquia, seminars, workshops, exhibitions, and performances. They will cultivate research collaborations and joint public events with other organizations and institutions, and will provide programmatic support to the Director and coordinate the initiative's research efforts and activities to establish and achieve common goals and milestones.

 

Academic Administration:The Executive Director works collaboratively with Director to develop curricular opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, and will create and administer undergraduate and graduate student research funding, programs, and internships within the Humanities Initiative.

 

Communications:The Executive Director directs the preparation and distribution of marketing, communications, and promotional materials to constituents in support of Humanities Initiative activities.

Qualifications

Essential Qualifications

- PhD, plus at least 5 years of relevant experience.

- Ability to interact and function in a cross-disciplinary academic environment. - Ability to liaise between the academic and non-academic spheres.- Strong organizational and management skills and good judgment; demonstrated project planning skills; responsiveness with the ability to handle multiple tasks in a timely manner. - Confident, articulate, and professional written and verbal communication skills.- Strong personal initiative; self-motivated and self-directed; unwavering commitment to excellence. - Demonstrated tact, diplomacy, and discretion; appreciation for the values of higher education and sensitivity to the nuances of academic culture. - High level of emotional intelligence, judgment, and strategic agility. Ability to resolve conflict thoughtfully and with minimal disruption. - Leadership, management, and staff development skills which exhibit qualities of integrity, trustworthiness, respect, and team collaboration. - Ability to work with confidential information, manage information and data.

 

Preferred Qualifications

- Advanced degree (PhD) in a humanities field- Experience leading strategic planning efforts in higher education or the non-profit sector- Background in program building and project management- Strategic marketing and/or brand management experience - Public humanities experience- Conference and event planning experience

 

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

Standard Weekly Hours36.25Eligible for OvertimeNoBenefits EligibleYesProbationary Period180 daysEssential Services Personnel (see policy for detail)NoPhysical Capacity Exam RequiredNoValid Driver’s License RequiredNo Experience LevelDirector#LI-JE1

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