Director, Strategic Projects & External Relations

Boston College • Newton, MA

7d • $118,700 - $148,400 • Onsite

About The Position

The Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics (CPHE) at Boston College invites applications for the position of Director of Strategic Partnerships and External Relations. The Center was founded on a conviction that contemporary psychology operates within too narrow a frame — one stripped of the humanistic, moral, and civic dimensions that once animated the field. CPHE’s mission is to recover and advance those dimensions, not by abandoning psychological science, but by re-embedding it in the philosophical, theological, and humanistic traditions from which it was uprooted. The Director will serve as a primary architect of the Center’s external presence and intellectual impact, building the partnerships, networks, and flagship initiatives through which that mission becomes visible, credible, and consequential across research, professional formation, and public life.

After a period of significant growth and increased demand, the CPHE is now seeking a Director of Strategic Projects and External Relations to serve as a primary external face of this intellectual and civic project, building many of the partnerships, networks and initiatives through which it becomes visible, credible and impactful. The Director role requires academic research, institution-building and field-building in equal measure. The Director will serve as a primary architect of the Center’s external presence and intellectual impact by building networks, initiatives, and resources that will help to translate the Center’s approach to psychological humanities into institutional change across research, professional formation and public life.

The Director will be a recognized scholar with a substantive research agenda, an institutional entrepreneur with experience building networks and programs across sectors and a strategic leader who will represent the Center to senior audiences in philanthropy, higher education, policy and public discourse. The person will lead three flagship Center initiatives—development of a major digital ecosystem/online platform, the Civic Imagination Forum, and the Teaching Commons—while constructing the broader partnership infrastructure through which the Center exercises influence beyond its walls and curricular offerings. The work that this position leads would be expanded and scaled by a team that this person will work with Center leadership to build and manage.

This is an appointment for a scholar-entrepreneur — someone who brings genuine intellectual ambition, relational depth, and institutional imagination to a role that demands all three in equal measure. The Director will serve as a public intellectual contributing to influential outlets, representing the Center at academic conferences and public convenings, and helping to define what a humanistic, morally serious approach to psychology can mean for institutions and communities navigating genuine cultural crisis.

Work will take place at Boston College under the direct supervision of the Executive Director of the Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics.

Requirements

• PhD degree in a relevant humanities, social science, or professional discipline
• Demonstrated scholarly achievement, including publications in peer-reviewed venues and a research agenda recognized as a genuine contribution to the field
• Significant experience (10+ years) building institutional relationships, networks, and programs across organizational and sectoral boundaries, with evidence of genuine field-building impact
• Knowledge of technical solutions through online platform development for practitioners and scholars
• Significant experience in coordinating complex teams, including consultants, staff, and students.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills, including the capacity to write for both academic and general audiences and to present complex intellectual ideas to senior non-specialist audiences
• Experience with philanthropic cultivation and grant development, including a proven track record of translating scholarly vision into compelling funding narratives and closing solicitations
• Deep familiarity with the intellectual tradition of virtue ethics, moral philosophy, and/or related frameworks
• Deep commitment to the Center's mission of expanding psychology's humanistic and moral foundations

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with the landscape of university-based research centers, think tanks, and scholarly networks in the US and Europe, and existing relationships in relevant intellectual communities
• Experience convening senior leaders across sectors, including designing and facilitating high-quality academic and cross-sector meetings
• Google Suite expertise is preferred to enable maximum organizational efficiency
• Able to lead diverse groups of Faculty and Administrators towards a common goal.
• Background in or knowledge of classical education, religious education, formative education, or professional formation in medicine, law, or other fields where moral formation is a recognized concern
• Experience in major gift fundraising or institutional development at a research university and/or independent research center
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, problem solving, and organizational skills.
• A superb attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple portfolios of offerings.
• Ability to consistently work closely and effectively with all levels of an organization.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a primary architect of the Center’s external presence and intellectual impact.
• Build partnerships, networks, and flagship initiatives.
• Translate the Center’s approach to psychological humanities into institutional change across research, professional formation, and public life.
• Lead three flagship Center initiatives: development of a major digital ecosystem/online platform, the Civic Imagination Forum, and the Teaching Commons.
• Construct the broader partnership infrastructure through which the Center exercises influence beyond its walls and curricular offerings.
• Work with Center leadership to build and manage a team.
• Serve as a public intellectual contributing to influential outlets.
• Represent the Center at academic conferences and public convenings.
• Help define what a humanistic, morally serious approach to psychology can mean for institutions and communities navigating genuine cultural crisis.

Benefits

• Tuition remission for Employees
• Tuition remission for Spouses and Children who meet eligibility requirements
• Generous Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Low-Cost Life Insurance
• Eligibility for both University-Funded 401k and Employer-Sponsored 403b Retirement Plans
• Paid Holidays Annually
• Generous Sick and Vacation Pay

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree