Staff Assistant III; Program Assistant

Overview

Company Description
By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

Why join the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health?
The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is a world-renowned institution dedicated to advancing public health through cutting-edge research, education, and global collaboration. Our school is a special place to work because of its vibrant, mission-driven community, interdisciplinary approach, and commitment to addressing some of the most pressing health challenges worldwide. We foster a collaborative and inclusive work environment where innovation, continuous learning, and work-life balance are valued.

Learn more about the School’s mission, objectives, and core values, our Principles of Citizenship, and about the Dean’s AAA vision about our school’s ongoing strategic initiatives.

The Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program, launched in 2012, is a joint initiative of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education in collaboration with the Big Win Philanthropy. The program aims to enable goal-oriented ministerial leadership, supporting ministers to have clarity of vision and the ability to lead and drive large, transformational initiatives with effective, cross-government delivery to bring a lasting impact that changes the trajectory of their country.

The program engages each cohort of ministers with a pre-forum component, the forum, and post-forum engagements. The intensive four-day forum at Harvard helps ministers define/refine the major transformative goal they will pursue with a heightened sense of urgency. It is also designed to equip them with more skills they can employ for more effective leadership and delivery of measurable results and assert political influence to enable cross-government collaboration.

The Program Assistant will work with the Assistant Director and under the direction of the Executive Director to coordinate planning and logistics for all aspects of the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program (HMLP). This generally will include among other activities, all aspects related to organizing and conducting multiple annual meetings of government ministers, as well as other Program activities as these might arise.

Duties will also include supporting all administrative activities related to the HMLP.

• Coordinating and tracking communications with ministers, faculty, guest speakers, and the HMLP advisory board
• Travel and accommodation arrangements for all events
• Preparing Program materials as required including assembling printed materials
• Coordinating event logistics and delivery
• Scheduling meetings and managing the calendar for the Executive Director
• Program-related research, material development, and preparing reports as needed. May compose, proofread, edit, and prepare correspondence, reports, website and social media communication briefs, and other materials using word processing, spreadsheets, and/or databases
• Other Program related responsibilities as these might arise

PLEASE NOTE:

This position has a term appointment of December 31, 2026 with the possibility of extension. Will need to be present for two full-week, in-person engagements that take place each year as part of the Harvard Ministerial Forums.

Basic Qualifications:

• 3+ years of relevant experience is required; a combination of education and experience may be considered.

Additional

Qualifications and Skills:

The following job-related skills and experience are preferred:

• Bachelor's Degree
• Experience with Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail, and aptitude to manage multiple tasks simultaneously and adhere to tight deadlines
• Must be self-motivated with good time management and flexibility on hours when needed…