OpenDP Director of Operations and Community Engagement

Harvard University • Allston, MA

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and Institute for Quantitative Social Science (IQSS) seek a Director of Operations and Engagement to join the Faculty Directors Gary King and Salil Vadhan in leading the OpenDP Project. OpenDP is an international community effort to build trustworthy, open-source software tools for performing statistical analysis and training AI models on sensitive private data. These tools offer the rigorous protections of “differential privacy” for the individuals who may be represented in confidential data. Founded in 2019 by Professors Gary King and Salil Vadhan, OpenDP has a highly respected suite of software that is used by industry, government, and academia, and has a large and thriving community of practitioners and scholars who volunteer time to OpenDP’s efforts. A major goal for the coming years is to expand OpenDP’s connections to industry, leading to a long-term sustainability model for the project. This is a one-year term position with the possibility of extension.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 7 years of related experience, with at least 3 years leading complex technical or research programs, including experience in business development, external partnerships, research administration, open-source community leadership, or related areas.
• Two years of supervisory experience.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree in a related field.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and empathy, fostering diversity and inclusiveness.
• Experience and interest in advancing open-source projects and communities.
• Exposure to and interest in learning more about differential privacy.

Responsibilities

• Effectively manage the OpenDP Core Team of developers, researchers, and administrative staff to bring out its best work. This includes hiring and orientation, training and development, workflow and performance management, and the promotion of an inclusive and innovative work environment.
• Assign individual responsibilities, identify resources needed, and develop schedules to ensure successful completion of project milestones within schedule, budget, and design constraints.
• Manage the current and future financial resources of the project, including grant reporting and proactive fundraising.
• Work collaboratively with administrative offices and projects across Harvard to leverage resources for successful project completion.
• Design and execute an outreach strategy for OpenDP, engaging and incentivizing stakeholders, including users, contributors, and funders from industry, government, and academia; and serve as the business point of contact with use case partners and collaborators.
• Develop a long-term sustainability and governance model for OpenDP, with robust industry support.
• Create the programming and oversee the organization of in-person and in-person events for the OpenDP community, including community meetings, workshops, hackathons, and webinars. Identify, assign, and support leaders of community working groups.
• Develop a matrix communication plan based on content, audience, and channels. Sustain an effective online presence, including websites, social media, public calendars, mailing lists, Slack, and other channels. Maintain a repository of key project activities and accomplishments for communications and mandatory reporting. Partner with collaborating organizations in message amplification.

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: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree