Director of Strategy and Programs (A&H)

Job Summary:

The Division of Arts & Humanities is entering an ambitious new chapter, and the Director of Divisional Strategy and Programs will play a critical role in it.  Working in close partnership with the Divisional Dean, the Director will help shape and advance a forward-looking agenda focused on growing student engagement with the arts and humanities by increasing course enrollment, attracting concentrators, and making a compelling, evidence-based case that humanistic inquiry is among the most valuable offerings at Harvard. 

This is a role for someone who combines genuine intellectual commitment to the arts and humanities with the strategic and operational skills to turn vision into reality. The Director will be a thought partner to the Dean, an architect of implementable plans, and a relationship-builder who can bring faculty, staff, and institutional partners along on a shared journey. 

Job-Specific Responsibilities:

• Serve as chief of staff to the Divisional Dean, maintaining broad situational awareness across the division and ensuring priorities, projects, and problems receive appropriate and timely attention 

• Partner with the Dean to define the division’s strategic direction, with particular focus on initiatives that grow student enrollment in arts and humanities courses and increase the number of students concentrating in fields across A&H 

• Lead the annual and multi-year strategic planning process, translating priorities into a clear divisional roadmap with concrete goals, timelines, and accountabilities 

• Design and implement policies, programs, and operational frameworks that embed new directions into sustainable divisional practice 

• Build alignment across faculty, functional partners, and institutional leadership around shared divisional priorities, facilitating communication and sustaining momentum 

• Serve as a trusted advisor to the Dean, providing well-framed decision support on complex issues, emerging opportunities, and time-sensitive matters; frame options clearly, identify trade-offs, and drive toward alignment 

• Cultivate strong working relationships with faculty and staff leaders across the division, fostering a collaborative and transparent culture 

• Track and communicate progress against strategic priorities, surfacing risks early, recommending course corrections, and ensuring the Dean and key stakeholders have a clear and current picture of divisional initiatives 

• Articulate and champion the professional value of arts and humanities education, connecting disciplinary depth to student career readiness and long-term impact 

 

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