Managing Director, Talent Network Development

MERCATUS CENTER INC•Arlington, VA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is seeking a Managing Director, Talent Network Development to help build a more coherent and enduring intellectual community across the many ways people enter, contribute to, and move through the organization. Mercatus is increasing its focus on identifying, developing, and launching individuals who can shape institutions across policy, academia, media, civil society, and emerging domains. This role sits at the center of that shift. The Managing Director will help define and operationalize Mercatus’s talent network strategy as an integrated talent system across overlapping networks. This role will develop the pathways and connective structures that allow Mercatus’s investments in people to compound over time. The work includes building a clearer view of Mercatus’s network across scholars, fellows, alumni, grantees, former staff, and partners; developing the data and insight needed to understand talent trajectories and opportunities; strengthening how people move across programs and into external roles; and helping Mercatus become a more enduring intellectual home for the individuals who pass through the organization. This is a senior, build-from-scratch role. The individual in this position will work closely with leadership to define the function, establish priorities, and, over time, build a capability that scales.

Requirements

A minimum of 10 years of experience in talent strategy, networks, fellowships, community-building, or institution-building environments.
Demonstrated track record of translating relationships and networks into concrete outcomes, such as placements, collaborations, partnerships, or ventures.
Experience operating across one or more of the following environments: academia, public policy, media, philanthropy, startups, or research institutions.
Strong strategic and systems thinking, with the ability to see how programs, people, and opportunities fit together over time.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage seriously with ideas and diverse stakeholders.
High degree of initiative and comfort building new functions in ambiguous environments
Demonstrated commitment to classical liberal ideas, with the ability to apply them in evaluating talent, shaping institutions, and making strategic decisions.

Nice To Haves

Strong judgment in identifying talent and potential.
Ability to build trust with intellectually serious, mission-driven individuals.
Product, platform, or ecosystem mindset, with the ability to design processes that support long-term learning and improvement.
Experience working in mission-driven, ideas-based, or intellectually entrepreneurial organizations.
Comfort operating as both a strategist and builder in a growing function.

Responsibilities

Build a clearer view of the Mercatus network: Build and maintain a dynamic understanding of Mercatus’s network across scholars, fellows, alumni, grantees, former staff, and partners. Develop and improve how Mercatus tracks talent trajectories, affiliations, and areas of work over time. Identify key clusters, gaps, and opportunities across domains, career stages, and institutions. Generate insights that inform program design, engagement strategies, and talent placement decisions. Improve visibility into where Mercatus talent is, how people are developing, and where stronger engagement or support is needed.
Strengthen pathways and long-term engagement: Clarify pathways for individuals at different stages of engagement with Mercatus. Strengthen transitions across programs and into external roles, institutions, and leadership opportunities. Help ensure that people remain connected to Mercatus beyond any single program or stage of involvement. Support the development of a stronger shared identity and sense of belonging across the broader Mercatus community.
Create value through network activation: Facilitate high-value introductions, collaborations, mentorship relationships, and opportunities across the network. Work with existing teams and relationship owners to help connect people to meaningful next steps. Help Mercatus become a trusted source of talent for aligned institutions, partners, and high-impact opportunities, both within and beyond the classical liberal ecosystem.
Build the function over time: Help define the operating model, priorities, and core capabilities needed for this work to succeed. Develop approaches for capturing, structuring, and using data on talent, relationships, and outcomes. Establish feedback loops that connect data, engagement, and decision-making across teams. Contribute to the long-term design of a function that may grow beyond a single individual as Mercatus’s strategy evolves.