Senior Director, City Talent and Student Career Pathways, Bloomberg Center for Cities

The Bloomberg Center for Cities seeks a senior leader to build and strengthen Harvard’s pipeline into city government. This role connects cities looking for strong emerging talent with students looking for meaningful public service opportunities. 

The Senior Director will work directly with mayors, city managers, and senior city leaders to identify talent needs; translate those needs into student-ready projects, internships, fellowships, and jobs; build student interest in city government across Harvard; and create partnerships and systems that move students from curiosity to hands-on experience to careers in city service. 

This role reflects the Center’s conviction that more Harvard students should go on to serve in city government. Success will be measured by how many do. 

This is not a traditional higher education role. It is both an internally and externally oriented leadership position grounded in execution, partnerships, and impact. The Senior Director will knit together the Center’s fellowships and student-facing efforts; build collaborative relationships with career offices, faculty, schools, centers, student groups, and administrative partners across Harvard; and develop partnerships beyond Harvard to create meaningful opportunities for students who want to learn and serve cities. 

The ideal candidate brings direct experience in city government or a strong record of working closely with cities, and is deeply committed to public service, urban problem-solving, and talent development. They will be a strategic, entrepreneurial systems thinker who can use the Bloomberg Center’s resources, relationships, and programs to forge partnerships, attract talent, translate city priorities into student-ready opportunities, and deliver measurable results. 

Through this work, the Senior Director will help build the next generation of city government leaders, expand meaningful public service pathways for hundreds of Harvard students, support dozens of cities, and shape the Center’s strategy for public service and city talent. 

Job-Specific Responsibilities: 

Lead the Center’s strategy for connecting cities and students 

• Set and drive the Center’s strategy for connecting students to cities and careers in city government. 

• Serve as a thought partner to Center and Initiative leadership on talent, fellowships, and the future of the local government workforce. 

• Increase the number of Harvard students who go on to serve in city government. 

Partner with cities 

• Work directly with mayors, city managers, and senior city leaders to understand city priorities, talent needs, and opportunities for student and early-career engagement. 

• Translate city needs into well-defined, student-ready projects, internships, fellowships, and roles that are meaningful for cities and appropriate for students and fellows. 

• Build long-term, trust-based relationships that position the Center as a reliable partner to cities. 

Partner across Harvard  

• Shape and maintain strong working relationships across Harvard schools, centers, career offices, faculty, student groups, and administrative units to expand student access to city-focused opportunities. 

• Build sustained student engagement across Harvard through events, co-curricular programming, student groups, study groups, and other strategies that expose students to city government and careers in city service. 

• Partner with faculty to advance student involvement in field courses, thesis projects, and research that support city hall priorities. 

Deliver and continuously strengthen high-profile fellowship programs 

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for the Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellowship and the Center’s summer fellowship programs. 

• • The Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellowship for graduating Harvard masters’ students, which places talented early-career professionals in two-year, full-time positions within city halls to advance mayoral priorities and build organizational capacity. 

• Graduate Summer Fellowships and undergraduate internships, which place Harvard students in 10-week roles in cities to work on high-impact, city-identified projects—providing applied learning opportunities, exposure to city leadership, and meaningful contributions to solving civic challenges.

• Set high standards for recruitment, project scoping, fellow experience, and city satisfaction. 

• Ensure programs are well-run, well-supported, and improved based on feedback and outcomes. 

Lead and grow a high-performing team 

• Lead a team, currently four staff reports, responsible for fellowships, internships, research assistant recruitments, field-based learning, student engagement events, alumni connections, and other opportunities that connect students to public service in cities. 

• Develop and steward systems and partnerships with collaborators across Harvard schools and externally to enhance the Center’s student-facing efforts. 

• Foster a culture of high standards, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.