Associate Director of Early Design Education and Design Curriculum Lead

Harvard University • Cambridge, MA

5d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Director is responsible for the GSD Design Discovery Programs, the Design Discovery Youth program, and the coordination of courses within the Harvard Undergraduate Architecture Studies track. This includes developing and implementing a future-focused approach to integrate with the GSD’s core programs and in line with the school’s goals for their constituencies, growth, and direction. The studio-based Design Discovery program, which enrolls up to 300 students across virtual and in-person modalities, serves as a primary introduction to the design professions.

Requirements

• College degree, liberal arts background preferred
• 3 years' experience as a practitioner within the design disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture or urban planning and design
• Leadership and managerial experience is required
• Candidates must have employment authorization to work in the US, and we regret that we cannot sponsor a VISA.
• Candidates who do not live within commuting distance of our Cambridge, Massachusetts campus should indicate on their resumes whether they are “willing to relocate,” as this position requires a regular on-campus presence.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree preferred.
• Video editing and/or film production experience preferred.
• Ability to promote participation in the program from within and outside the GSD
• flexibility and initiative
• organizational skills
• proven leadership skills and teaching experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Advise students who are interested in or have declared the Architecture Studies concentration, providing guidance on course selection, concentration requirements, and other aspects of curricular planning.
• Oversee independent research courses and thesis evaluations.
• Assess and recommend undergraduate curricular revisions and improvements to the student experience to the departmental faculty and participate in implementing such changes.
• Interviews, selects, and oversees program’s Teaching Fellows from current GSD students who serve as section instructional fellows.
• Coordinate with the Program Coordinators (FAS and GSD).
• Coordinate efforts with the Advising Programs Office in Harvard College and the Harvard College Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.
• Responsible for overseeing the pedagogy of a summer exploratory program geared towards those who are interested in design, specifically architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, and urban design in both virtual and in-person formats.
• Interviews, selects, and oversees programs’ teaching teams of current GSD students and recent graduates who serve as program-wide assistants and studio section instructors.
• Interviews, selects, and oversees GSD faculty who cultivate the program’s curriculum as well as serve as section leaders and mentors to studio section instructors.
• Serves as the program advisor and primary decision-maker for concerns related to student progress, conflicts, and teaching challenges.
• Prior to the program, the Director oversees the design and preparation of marketing brochures, marketing strategies and outreach. Attends recruiting events.
• Provides guidance on the selection of student instructors for the three design disciplines.
• Assists with the application process, reviewing the more complex student applications as needed.
• Responsible for working with the Executive Director and other program leadership on the development of specific adjustments to existing design curriculum and the generation of new design curriculum to build a library of design modules to connect across design programs in the full portfolio within this GSD division.
• Responsible for assisting with specifying what granular design curricular elements are needed in order to create grouped assemblies that would result in a synthesized design certification (build into a new design certification pathway).
• Design curriculum elements in library for the GSD division could include, but is not limited to the following media and elements: Course titles, descriptions, syllabi frameworks with key course take-aways; Pre-recorded design modules (video “shorts” of technical or conceptual design material specifically motivated by design disciplinary distinctions and GSD topic strengths for new design certification programs); Full online courses in contract with EdEx and/or LXP at Harvard University
• Coordination with teaching faculty, Harvard University VPAL LXP and EdEx team members, and media producers within this GSD division will be required on production and organization of curricular library elements.
• This position supervises the GSD EDE Program Coordinator, Undergraduate Program and Design Discovery Teaching Fellows and coordinates with the GSD Design Faculty (Lead faculty for Design Discovery) for Design Discovery.

Benefits

• Generous paid time off including parental leave
• Medical, dental, and vision health insurance coverage starting on day one
• Retirement plans with university contributions
• Wellbeing and mental health resources
• Support for families and caregivers
• Professional development opportunities including tuition assistance and reimbursement
• Commuter benefits, discounts and campus perks

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree