Program Officer, North America

POSITION SUMMARY: Scholars at Risk is seeking a highly-organized, proactive and detail- oriented individual skilled in relationship building to join the SAR team as a Research Scientist/Program Officer, North America for the Membership and University Relations team. The Program Officer plays a key role within the SAR membership team, which works to build, maintain and engage a global network of higher education institutions dedicated to protecting scholars and promoting academic freedom. The Program Officer should develop fluency in all of these areas of SAR’s work in order to develop and lead strategies for identifying, recruiting, and engaging universities, faculty, and students. In addition, the Program Officer will be expected to oversee the management and strategy of both the SAR United States and Canada Section, collectively comprising roughly 200 universities and academic associations. The Program Officer will be encouraged to handle increasing responsibility for these and other activities as appropriate. The position reports primarily to SAR’s Director of Membership and University Relations.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:

Member engagement & relationship management (55%)

• Cultivate and maintain relationships with key stakeholders across the United States and Canada, including relationship management of primary representatives at roughly 200 universities and academic associations throughout North America.
• Promote engagement of universities, colleges, academic associations and societies, faculty and students, including engagement in activities beyond hosting scholars such as seminars, clinics, workshops, research projects, and publications.
• Under the guidance of the supervisor, lead the further development of the SAR United States section in particular, with key support directed at the section Steering Committee, enhancing the section’s communication and engagement strategies, including leading in the planning and coordination of regional meetings and events.
• Develop and manage programs and partnerships aligned with SAR’s strategic plan as necessary, including supervising a remote graduate student regional coordinator program, and strengthening the internetworking of campus committees to enhance efficiencies and knowledge-sharing.
  Increase the visibility of the SAR network by contributing to team social media, press outreach, e-blasts, mailings, website updates, and additional communications-related tools.

Prospective member outreach and external SAR representation (25%)

• Research, design and implement regionally targeted outreach efforts to grow the SAR network, including management of SAR sections and partner networks in North America.
• Identify and initiate opportunities for collaboration across and outside the global network, evaluate programs and services to make recommendations to strengthen stakeholder engagement.
• Represent SAR accurately and professionally at conferences, events and meetings, and assist in planning member and prospective member events and meetings as needed.
• Identify new opportunities to enhance university and association participation in SAR’s work.

Engagement-related administration and operations (20%)

• Contribute to the development and design of appropriate data tracking systems to generate membership-related reports, statistics, and numbers as needed.
• Research organizational growth and data management strategy, apply new data management strategies to the membership team’s record keeping and communications.
• Assist in membership invoicing.
• Lead and/or contribute to administrative tasks, including mailings/digests to members, prospective members, and others as required.

In compliance with NYC’s Pay Transparency Act, the annual base salary range for this position is USD $55,000.00 to USD $75,000.00. New York University considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, as well as, market and organizational considerations when extending an offer.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Graduate degree in a related field, or extensive comparable experience required.
• Five years of related work experience in a non-profit or higher education setting or a combination of related education/experience.
• Proficiency in public speaking and delivering presentations.
• Skilled in relationship cultivation and management.
• Exceptional research, writing and editorial skills.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize and distill complex information for general audiences.
• Strong attention to detail and organizational and multitasking abilities.
• Demonstrated commitment to human rights and/or international education.
• Previous membership/communications experience is desirable.
• Fluency in an additional language preferred, Spanish and/or French desirable.

HOW TO APPLY: PLEASE APPLY IMMEDIATELY by uploading the requested materials in one combined PDF: (1) a letter of interest, (2) resume, (3) list of references or letters of reference, and (4) a brief, unedited writing sample. DEADLINE FOR INITIAL APPLICATION REVIEW IS FEBRUARY 28, 2023. Applications received after the deadline will be reviewed on a rolling basis, until the position is filled. No phone calls or email inquiries, please. (Regrettably, SAR is not able to sponsor work-eligible visas for these positions.)

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