Position Summary

Reporting to the Director of the Kent Global Leadership Program on Conflict Resolution, with a dotted line to the Executive Director of Academic Affairs, the incumbent manages the day-to-day administration of the Kent Program and supports the director in the development of new activities, with duties ranging from program building and expansion, event planning and coordination, research, other international conflict resolution activities, recruitment and supervision of Kent fellows, financial and budgetary administration to global outreach, fundraising, and donor relationship management. As the Kent Program is in a relatively nascent stage, the Program Coordinator will play an active role in shaping the future of the program, and will have ample opportunities to suggest avenues for research, propose, research, and develop topical events during the academic year, and support the Program in forming meaningful partnerships with prominent figures in business, civil society, and government.

Responsibilities

Kent Global Leadership Program on Conflict Resolution:

Summer training program consolidation: Drawing on the experience of the launching phase of the program, the incumbent has the following duties: contribute to development of the curriculum, including research of new relevant themes, literature review, identification of resource persons and high profile guest speakers; monitoring of similar programs in other universities ; management of the application process, including targeted mailings, and identification of potential applicants; execution of the program, including booking space, catering, and audio visual support, managing attendees and speakers, including  visa processing and/or booking accommodation and travel to NYC; managing evaluation and lessons learned process for the program; managing and strengthening the alumni network; supervising the adaptation of activities developed for the program (such as simulation exercises) for SIPA students.

Summer training program expansion: the incumbent supports the director in exploring and implementing partnerships with foreign ministries/international institutions to create national or regional versions of the program tailored to the specific needs of the partners.

Events planning: supports the director in the organization of in-person and/or virtual events related to international conflict resolution and to the interaction between public institutions, civil society and business (?the golden triangle?), including identification of topics and speakers and publicizing events beyond the SIPA community. As appropriate, such events can be organized in partnership with the IGP

Research: the incumbent supports the director in the development of research proposals related to international conflict resolution and the ?golden triangle?, and helps identify research partners as well as potential funders. When a research proposal has been approved and funded, the incumbent supervises its day-to-day administration and supports the director in the execution of the project.

Other international conflict resolution activities: supports the director in the development of other activities related to conflict resolution and the ?golden triangle?, such as mediation workshops or track two processes.

Kent fellows: assists the Director in the recruitment, training and oversight of two Kent Fellows, graduate students each of whom will contribute up to 20 hours/week of work toward the preparation of the summer training and other Kent Program priorities.

Financial and budgetary administration: The Coordinator prepares an annual budget and monitors its execution for the various components of the Kent program (summer training, other trainings, events, research, other activities, fellows, visiting professor?), including detailed budgets for specific activities such as the training program and research projects; Maintains a spreadsheet of expenses to advise the Director of available funding and unmet needs; processes bills and invoices; facilitates co-sponsorship of events and internal transfers of funds to/from other academic departments and student groups; assists the Director in filing for reimbursement; the incumbent also prepares a pluriannual budget to support strategic planning of the program.

Fundraising: the incumbent supports the Kent advisory board, preparing fundraising material for its meetings, including concept notes and fundraising events; liaising with the SIPA Dean?s office, the incumbent supports the director in  identifying  and approaching high-profile partners and donors in business, government, and civil society.

Outreach: supports the director in developing an ambitious outreach strategy for all the activities mentioned above. That strategy will combine an active social media presence with a regularly updated webpage highlighting all the activities of the program. The goal is to ensure wide public awareness of the program, to strengthen the alumni network through interactive pages, and to make the Kent webpage a go-to reference for all people interested in international conflict resolution and the ?golden triangle?.

Performs related duties as assigned or requested.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent required.
• Minimum one year of related work experience.
• Must have excellent oral and written communication skills and organizational ability (including multitasking, juggling many short- and long-term projects and deadlines concurrently).
• Must have developed budget and data management skills, including spreadsheets and/or databases.
• Strong interpersonal skills are essential, with proven ability to work with diverse populations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in public policy and/or international affairs preferred.
• Prior experience in higher education or nonprofit administration highly preferred.
• Prior experience in program coordination highly desirable.
• Familiarity with the field of international security policy strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with the ICR Specialization and Columbia SIPA strongly preferred.