Interdisciplinary Research Program Manager

NOTE: This position is a Term appointment for up to two years depending on funding.

Reporting to the Director of the Center for Green Buildings and Cities, who serves as the project's Principal Investigator, the Interdisciplinary Research Program Manager supports the coordination and success of this interdisciplinary research initiative, working closely with the project's co-PIs. The Program Manager organizes weekly meetings to ensure regular progress updates, cross-team alignment, and timely course corrections, and serves as a central point of communication across the project's three integrated research thrusts: advanced thermal materials, intelligent building-scale systems, and cooperative urban-scale energy management.

The Program Manager tracks project metrics and sponsor reporting deadlines, and is responsible for the project's major written outputs, including the annual report to sponsors. In addition to supporting integration across disciplines, the Program Manager supports the PI and co-PIs in developing and maintaining relationships with industry partners, ensuring that practical insights from the field inform the design and scalable deployment of project innovations. The role also coordinates the preparation and submission of proposals for extramural funding, helping to sustain and expand the project's research and implementation efforts.

This role is essential to advancing the project's mission of scaling HouseZero®-inspired innovations into interconnected, energy-efficient communities and delivering impactful, real-world solutions to climate challenges.

TYPICAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Cross-Team Coordination (35%): Organize and lead weekly meetings across the project's three research thrusts, and coordinate meetings with the PI and co-PIs three to four times per year; collect progress updates from team members, track deliverables against project timelines, and escalate issues requiring PI and co-PI decisions.

Stakeholder and Industry Engagement (20%): Support the PI and co-PIs in developing and maintaining relationships with industry partners and external stakeholders; manage ongoing communications and follow-up, coordinate partner meetings and site visits, and channel practical field insights into research and deployment planning.

Metrics and Progress Tracking (20%): Develop and maintain metrics for project success; monitor performance against milestones and communicate progress to the PI, co-PIs, and other stakeholders; manage sponsor reporting deadlines and compliance requirements.

Annual Report and White Paper (15%): Write the annual report to project sponsors, collecting contributions from across the research teams and integrating them into a unified document with an overall synthesis of the year's findings; coordinate the project's overall white paper by collecting input from research teams and managing contributors through drafting and review.

Proposal Development (10%): Coordinate preparation and timely submission of proposals for extramural funding, including managing internal deadlines, assembling contributor materials, and liaising with the Office for Sponsored Programs.

Perform other related duties as assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• There are no supervisory responsibilities associated with this position

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Applicants must be able to perform typical office tasks, including sitting for extended periods, using standard office equipment, and occasionally lifting up to 20 pounds. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• This is an in-person role based in Cambridge, MA. The work is mainly performed in an office setting.

• Candidates must have employment authorization to work in the US, and we regret that we cannot sponsor a VISA.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The health of our workforce is a priority for Harvard University. With that in mind, we strongly encourage all employees to be up-to-date on CDC-recommended vaccines.

Please note that to be considered for this position, a cover letter and resume are required with the submission of your application.