Program Manager

Position Overview

The Program Manager, will oversee the administrative, operational and logistics management of the academic and educational activities workstreams of a strategic, multi-year partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hasso Plattner Institute, and Hasso Plattner Foundation called the MIT and HPI AI and Creativity Hub (MHACH). The role supports academic community building and bi-directional student exchange, enabling expanded access to advanced AI education and international academic pathways. Working closely with faculty and academic leadership, the Program Manager coordinates visiting student programs, academic exchanges, and graduate pathways while fostering ethical and sustainable AI development.

The position focuses on ensuring the smooth execution of academic programs and initiatives, including visiting students, academic exchanges, fellows, and faculty participation. The Program Manager plays a central role in building and sustaining the academic infrastructure that enables ethical, sustainable, and globally connected AI education and scholarship.

The ideal candidate has experience managing programs with multiple academic partners and will be adept at balancing competing priorities while maintaining clear communication channels. The Program Manager must thrive in a dynamic and continuously changing environment and be able to independently “steer the ship” to keep the initiative on track. Experience fostering a collaborative team environment, and overseeing administrative workflows is essential. The Program Manager will play a central role in managing the infrastructure that supports the recruitment, admissions, program delivery, and ongoing operations of the initiative.

Key Responsibilities

Project/Program Administration and Operations:

1. Plan, lead, and oversee the execution of academic and education workstream initiatives, ensuring smooth day-to-day operations across all activities.
2. In collaboration with academic leadership, coordinate strategy, implementation, and ongoing oversight of academic programs and exchanges.
3. Manage multi-year timelines, milestones, and deliverables associated with faculty participation, fellows, students, and exchanges.
4. Maintain documentation, budget tracking, records, and administrative workflows related to academic appointments, fellowships, and participation.
5. Track academic metrics and prepare reports for leadership briefings, advisory committees, and external stakeholders.
6. Lead regular check-ins with academic and administrative leadership in MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and MIT Morningside Academy for Design to ensure alignment and address operational needs.
7. Support initiatives that foster a strong academic community, including coordination of workshops, seminars, and conferences.
8. Facilitate engagement among faculty, fellows, and students to promote collaboration and sustained academic exchange.
9. Serve as an academic liaison across MIT and between institutions to strengthen relationships and shared academic culture.
10. Manage bi-directional student exchange programs between partner institutions, including planning, logistics, and coordination with host units.
11. Oversee visiting student programs, including recruitment coordination, onboarding, scheduling, and academic placement.
12. Support academic pathways for students into advanced degree programs (including master’s-level pathways) in collaboration with academic units.
13. Coordinate nomination, appointment, onboarding, renewal, and offboarding processes for academic fellows and visiting scholars.
14. Ensure consistent, equitable, and transparent academic processes across departments and participating units.
15. Serve as the primary administrative and operational point of contact for academic and education workstream stakeholders.
16. Coordinate closely with program counterparts in MIT Morningside Academy for Design to maintain clear scope boundaries and effective handoffs.
17. Represent the academic program internally and externally, promoting its mission and opportunities for collaboration.
18. Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing environment among faculty, fellows, students, and staff partners.
19. Perform other related duties as assigned in support of academic program objectives.
20. May serve as a back-up to the Assistant Director for Academics and/or MHACH Research Program Manager during absences or as assigned, ensuring continuity of program oversight and decision-making
21. Other duties may apply

Supervision Received

Receives limited supervision from the Schwarzman College of Computing Assistant Director for Academics; operates with a high degree of independence in managing academic program operations. Will have a dotted reporting line to the faculty co-Directors of MHACH.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required with 4 years of administrative or operational experience and/or project/program management required.
• Significant experience and demonstrated success working in leadership roles in program development and execution.
• Must have strong organizational skills and program management skills with experience in independently planning and executing large academic or corporate programs.
• Ability to define and analyze data from a variety of sources to ensure programs are achieving measurable impact.
• Prior experience managing a team of individuals toward outcomes while building and maintaining authentic relationships and a strong team culture. 
• A passion for developing mission-driven strategies for programmatic growth and the ability to communicate and ‘sell in’ those strategic plans to academic and corporate leaders.
• Strong interpersonal skills and relationship-building qualities are essential in order to expand corporate engagement.
• Ability to communicate with, work effectively with, and maintain a positive rapport with professors and corporate leaders alike. 
• Proven ability to work in a team context. Highest standards of integrity in order to develop trust with current students, faculty, staff, and employers.
• Must be able to take a leadership role as public spokesperson for the program in the local market.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in a technology or analytical domain.
• Work experience leading large programs in an academic and/or corporate environment that have a technology orientation and a talent development/training focus.

** To comply with regulations by the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), the principal duties in job descriptions must be essential to the job. To identify essential functions, focus on the purpose and the result of the duties rather than the manner in which they are performed. The following definition applies: a job function is essential if removal of that function would fundamentally change the job.