Project Director, Professional Development

Who We Are

"The advancement of science should be the chief concern of a nation that would conserve and increase the welfare of its people."

-James McKeen Cattell, former AAAS President and Editor of Science

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an international non-profit organization dedicated to advancing science for the benefit of all people. For over a century, AAAS has been a force for science, from helping to establish science as a credible field in the 19th century to using satellite imaging technology to document human rights abuses in 2007. We are recognized as the world’s largest general scientific society and the proud publisher of the Science family of journals. Past presidents have included astronomer Edward Charles Pickering, anthropologist Margaret Mead, and biologist Stephen Jay Gould. Our mission is centered on the belief that STEM research and education can help solve many of the challenges the world faces today.

AAAS is a culture steeped in history, but adaptive to change and new ideas. We recognize the hard work of our employees and encourage the development of our staff. Our colleagues represent an array of expertise from scholarly publishing to digital marketing, educational research to government relations, all with a shared focus on mission. At AAAS, you are part of a talented team, dedicated to advancing science and serving society.

Work With Us

We have an exciting full-time opportunity for a Project Director, Professional Development in our Washington, DC office. The Project Director leads the professional development program affiliated with AAAS’ Science and Technology Policy Fellowship Program (STPF). This program provides opportunities for scientists and engineers to learn first-hand about policymaking while contributing their knowledge and analytical skills in the federal policy realm. This is a highly visible position, as the Project Director’s decisions related to STPF’s professional development programming directly affect constituents’ satisfaction. The Project Director oversees one Program Associate.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Stays abreast of professional development and leadership strategies, innovative adult training and networking methods
• Determines core competencies for fellowships and develops curriculum, conceptualizes content, plans and directs implementation of yearlong professional development program: two-week orientation, monthly educational events, skill-building workshops, career enhancement sessions, and a year-end summit 
• Oversees processes, goals, timelines, and deliverables for professional development activities and provides direction for optimal output, efficiency, and efficacy of the annual and day-to-day operations 
• Supervises preparation and logistics for events including but not limited marketing, messaging, registration, selection of venues, and contracting of vendors
• Develops and enhances training manuals, multimedia visual aids, and other educational materials
• Recruits, coordinates and guides fellow and AAAS staff speakers for presentations, workshops and panel sessions; monitors and manages diversity in programs and presenters 
• Oversees updates to program standard operating procedures
• Develops and manages professional development budget of approximately $600K, determines allocation of resources, monitors expenditures, evaluates return on investment, and develops request for proposals from outside vendors 
• Contributes to proposals for STPF funding from federal and private sector organizations 
• Delegates and assigns work; trains, coaches and monitors progress; conducts performance reviews and recommends changes in staff salaries
• Develops success benchmarks, and implements testing and evaluation procedures to assess effectiveness of professional development programs
• Guides development, revision, and implementation of data collection tools and methods and creation of data collection training and guidance materials 
• Monitors STPF and industry data to determine trends and utilize information to enhance mentoring, professional development, network, and civic engagement activities. 
• Directs annual review of professional development processes, procedures and effectiveness, and determines strategies for enhancement
• Creates internal reports for learning and enhancement, donor reports for accountability, and external publications to share findings with policy makers and others in the S&T policy field
• Oversees and nurtures fellows’ affinity groups for maximum collaboration and output
• Conceptualizes and implements strategies to foster greater communication with and among current and alumni fellows, keep them up-to-date on STPF activities and their colleagues, and actively engaged with AAAS
• Collaborates with other STPF staff to ensure that the FellowsCentral and Trellis portals and other social media outlets are vibrant online resources and networking venues for fellows
• Serves as an AAAS/STPF ambassador to diverse external audiences, and presents on the S&T Policy Fellowships at professional and governmental conferences and other venues
• Additional duties as assigned

Key Requirements

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred 
• Knowledge of professional development and leadership strategies, innovative adult training and networking methods
• 8- 10 years of experience, including developing professional development curriculum for adults; demonstrated ability to manage and deliver all aspects of the ADDIE model (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation) to oversee the professional development offerings for the program 
• Must have experience, with project management, funding proposal development, and financial and personnel management
• Experience working in the scientific community working with PhD level professionals, and/or educational background in science a plus
• Experience working with vendors and event planning a plus
• Experience with Salesforce a plus 
• Ability to work well with people--bridging constituencies, building consensus, and solving problems
• Outstanding high-level writing skills and communication abilities to interact with a sophisticated and highly educated audience and to diplomatically manage challenging situations; the capacity to interact confidently with people from different disciplinary and cultural backgrounds
• Ability and stature to apply a broad range of latitude and independent judgment to make sound decisions, devise solutions and manage programs and projects successfully
• Capacity to prioritize and juggle multiple tasks and to work well under deadline pressure

Application Process

Interested candidates should submit a resume and a statement of interest outlining qualifications and interest in the position by September 8, 2017. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. If we think you might be a good fit for the role, we will contact you with next steps.

Learn More

Visit https://www.aaas.org/ to learn more about what we do.

Find our latest job opportunities at: https://www.aaas.org/page/employment-aaas

AAAS is an EO employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or other protected category. AAAS uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees.