The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) seeks a Manager of Administration to independently manage HHI-wide administrative functions and serve as the core HHI administrator. The Manager of Administration will report to the HHI Executive Director (ED) and work closely with HHI faculty, staff, students, visiting scientists, post-docs, and external collaborators throughout Harvard University and Mass General Brigham network. This role will collaborate with the respective administrative teams at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Mass General Brigham. Close and daily collaborating departments include Human Resources, Finance, Accounts Payable, Procurement, Faculty Affairs, External Relations, Trademark, Real Estate, and Information Technology, among others.
The candidate will have a deep understanding of project management, quality improvement, sponsored research administration, and program administration. They will act as the primary liaison on all HHI administrative functions, including general administration, human resources, finance, operations, and office management. This person assists the Executive Director with long- and short-term administrative and financial planning for a unit with an annual operating budget of $22M, 70+ team members, and a complex funding model.
A successful candidate will be able to solve problems independently and proactively anticipate administrative needs. The candidate will also work well within a team and display excellent communication skills when corresponding with external and internal stakeholders. They will have a heightened sense of responsibility, independence, initiative, and ownership; understand when to escalate a priority; and think critically on short-term and long-term resolutions to issues related to administrative needs. They will comfortably navigate new and complex situations, problem-solve, learn new skills and software, and investigate solutions with little direction. They will demonstrate independent decision-making and a continuous process improvement mentality. The ideal candidate will set their own deadlines, timelines, and priorities.
Position Description
Additional duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
General Administration:
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Oversee all administrative operations at HHI independently
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Create systems and centralize administrative information from HSPH and BWH
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Implement administrative projects simultaneously across HHI
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Create and revise policies, disseminate guidelines, and ensure compliance with institutional policies
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Improve organizational and administrative processes for greater efficiency
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Create administrative documents, reports, and visual aids for use across HHI
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Lead staff meetings and maintain meeting notes
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Train new staff on HHI administrative matters
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Utilize the Harvard and HHI-internal software systems (Wasabi, PeopleSoft, Bamboo) and data visualization programs (Excel, PowerBI)
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Create actionable and insightful data reports on administration and finance to facilitate data-driven decision-making
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Advance practices that foster diversity, equity, and inclusion
Human Resources Administration:
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Oversee all administrative matters, personnel matters, and academic appointments
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Collaborate closely with HSPH and BWH HR teams
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Maintain internal people management system
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Prepare projections for administrative and hiring needs
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Conduct presentations and trainings for HHI team members
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Manage human resources functions and recruitment for all personnel, including benefits-eligible staff, temporary workers, and students. Such HR functions include job description development, interviewing, onboarding, time reporting, extensions, layoffs, leaves of absence, and departures/terminations
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Implement thorough recruitment, interview, onboarding, orientation, and offboarding processes to optimize efficiency
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Manage all HHI non-faculty academic appointment processes and promotions, including postdoctoral job searches
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Serve as primary HHI contact for human resources, payroll, and relevant administrative offices
Financial Administration:
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In collaboration with GHP and BWH grant management teams, prepare internal HHI complex financial analyses, progress reports, and projections for financial needs
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Understand academic financial and grantmaking processes
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Support the grant proposal process throughout all life cycle stages in collaboration with the GHP and BWH grants management teams
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Coordinate purchases, IT, travel arrangements, payments, reimbursements, and expense/invoice processing and reconciliation with Accounts Payable team
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Maintain internal financial tracking system for all HHI income sources, with projections for sponsored awards, endowments, gifts, and executive education revenue provided by HSPH and BWH grants/finance teams
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Serve as the key contact person with the HSPH and BWH grants/finance team
Office Administration:
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Ensure an efficient and user-friendly working environment
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Coordinate purchasing of supplies, equipment, and other items needed for general HHI office use
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Oversee general office management functions including space allocation, access, etc.
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Serve as the key contact person with Harvard Real Estate and relevant offices
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The Manager of Administration will also perform other duties as assigned.
PLEASE NOTE: This position has a term appointment of one year from date of hire with the possibility of extension.
Basic Qualifications
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Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience is required.
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3+ years of relevant experience is required.
Work Format Details
This is a hybrid position that is based in Massachusetts. Additional details will be discussed during the interview process. All remote work must be performed within one of the Harvard Registered Payroll States, which currently includes Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Washington, and California (CA for exempt positions only). Certain visa types and funding sources may limit work location. Individuals must meet work location sponsorship requirements prior to employment.
How to apply
Apply via the Harvard T.H. Chan School portal here. Job code is 405012.
