Position Summary

The Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy (ISERP) in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences is Columbia University's research institute dedicated to the Social Sciences. ISERP supports researchers, faculty, students, and social science through research development, education, and programmatic initiatives.

Reporting to the Director of Administration and Finance and working closely with the Co-Directors and administrative staff, the Program Coordinator manages the Institute's internal programmatic funding awards, events, scholarly publications, social media, website development, communication, and student engagement.

Responsibilities

• Takes the lead in planning ISERP events and events funded in partnership with institutes, schools, and departments within Columbia University.
• Successfully research focus areas in social and economic policy and conceptualizing programs.
• Leads the planning and execution of ISERP events and series; handles communication and correspondence; arranges travel, transportation, and accommodations for participants; reserves event venues and catering; and prepares itineraries.
• Works with the Finance Team to manage program awards, processing of event-related expenses, reports, and invoices, negotiate contracts for venues and catering manage payments, approve expenses, and ensure that programs and events stay within their budgets.
• Responsible for ISERP's internal programmatic funding initiative for Social Science faculty and graduate students, including a total of $2.7M awarded since FY17, including creating and publishing calls for proposals, serving as an initial reviewer on proposals to ensure they meet the qualifications, reviewing budgets, and overseeing budget and extension requests with the Directors and preparing award letters and collecting and reviewing interim and final reports.
• Maintains records and tracking of past and present award details and award spending, reviews monthly reports for expenditures, and communicates with faculty to ensure they meet deadlines and address questions on programmatic funding.
• Creates reports on student and program data for the Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences ( QMSS ) master's degree program. Develops and executes this programming to promote student engagement and events related to the QMSS program and alumni outreach.
• Responsible for the creation of ISERP's annual report, writing, editing, coordinating participants' portions, and working closely with the Director of Administration and Finance on finalizing the report.
• Working with ISERP staff on website updates and maintenance and social media, marketing, and communication assets for the Institute. Including drafting and editing marketing and communication outreach and promotional material on all events and programmatic-related activities. Represent ISERP at University communication and public affairs meetings.
• Responsible for creating materials including presentations for internal and external audiences, providing content for ISERP's website, creating and distributing a monthly newsletter, creating posters for ISERP events, and managing items displayed in the College Walk poster display box.
• Takes the lead on new or seasonal Institute initiatives. This may include planning and running sponsored events or series, coordinating working groups, supporting projects led by ISERP faculty, and editing publications.
• Responsible for ISERP's Working Paper Bulletin, releasing a call for papers to social science faculty, collection of submissions, organizing papers by theme, uploading papers on the website, preparing the bulletin on Mailchimp, and overseeing distribution to departments.
• Responsible for the supervision of Support Staff, Student Casuals, Work Study students, and event volunteers.
• The Program Coordinator balances availability for new commitments under the direction of the Director of Administration and Finance.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and/or equivalent related experience are required.
• 0-2 years of related experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• A Master's degree or an advanced degree in the social sciences is preferred.
• Experience in higher education environment a plus.
• Interest in the field of international development, social science research, or climate change is also desirable.

Other Requirements

• Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills with the ability to exercise a high degree of diplomacy, discretion, collaboration, and problem-solving required. Must demonstrate good independent judgment.
• The incumbent must have the ability to conduct detailed work on multiple projects in a fast-paced, flexible team environment.
• Excellent communication skills required, both written and verbal with strong attention to detail.
• Proficiency in Google Suite, Microsoft Office suite (especially Excel), Mailchimp, InDesign, Canva, and Zoom webinars preferred.
• Experience with Drupal, Redbooth, Asana, or Zendesk is a plus.
• Availability to work early morning, night, and weekend hours to support conferences, lectures, and events is required.
• Experience in a University, major cultural institution, or other comparable environment is desirable.
• The incumbent must demonstrate an elevated level of customer service via all communication channels (e-mail, phone, and in-person), exercise independent judgment and confidentiality, and function with minimal supervision in a fast-paced environment.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.

Commitment to Diversity

Columbia University is dedicated to increasing diversity in its workforce, its student body, and its educational programs. Achieving continued academic excellence and creating a vibrant university community require nothing less. In fulfilling its mission to advance diversity at the University, Columbia seeks to hire, retain, and promote exceptionally talented individuals from diverse backgrounds.