Deadline: Open Until Filled
Job Summary
As ACLS enters its second century and higher education institutions are facing a critical moment in their responses to racial inequity, the leadership aims to enhance ACLS’s unique role at the intersection of its constituencies (particularly the 75 learned societies, the diverse community of emerging scholars embarking on careers inside and outside the academy, and humanistic researchers working around the world) to influence, lead, and support initiatives addressing these challenges.
This is a new position, developed at an important and exciting moment for ACLS, in the midst of our Centennial Campaign and having just published our first-ever strategic plan. Working closely with the President, Vice President, the Senior Director of US Programs, the Director for International Programs, the Director of Philanthropy and other staff across the organization, the Program Officer will design and implement strategic initiatives that will enhance ACLS’s ability to serve our various constituencies and advance scholarship in new directions, with a focus on advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and social and racial justice. We welcome applications from individuals who bring new backgrounds, perspectives, types of professional and personal experience to our team and a commitment to equity in the academy.
Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Analyze trends in scholarship and institutional strategy, especially issues related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in the humanities and social sciences;
- Design new initiatives appropriate to ACLS and responsive to urgent DEI issues in the humanities and social sciences, in addition to other challenges such as enrollment decline, scholarly innovation, academic publishing, faculty evaluation, public reputation, and shifts in doctoral education;
- Organize events and design action plans involving our various constituencies, including learned society directors and delegates, higher education leaders, faculty, and students to work on these issues;
- Expand the reach of ACLS to new groups, including new funders;
- Assist the President and Vice President in preparing reports to constituencies, including funders and the board;
- Develop content for ACLS communications;
- Coordinate activities with other ACLS departments as necessary, including US Programs, International Programs, Digital & Information Technology, Philanthropy, and Finance.
Qualifications:
- PhD in humanities or humanistic social sciences;
- 5+ years of leadership and strategy development experience in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion practices in higher education;
- Strong understanding and commitment to address diversity, equity and inclusion concepts and issues as they apply to higher education;
- Superior written and oral communication skills, with the ability to adapt communication style to and inspire different audiences;
- Ability to multi-task and prioritize long-term projects and short-term assignments in a deadline-driven environment;
- Excellent interpersonal skills and facility both for working collaboratively with a team and independently;
- Excellent organizational skills;
- Analytical and creative problem-solving capacity;
- Ability to take initiative and respond flexibly to evolving circumstances;
- Proficiency in MS Office, particularly Word and Excel;
- Must be willing and able to travel to multi-day events 4-6 times per year, and to attend after-hour events approximately once per month (if and as the current pandemic allows);
- Interest or experience in issues and challenges facing the humanities and humanistic social sciences.