Assistant Director of Collaborations

About the Organization: The Bridging Divides Initiative (BDI) is a non-partisan research initiative that tracks and mitigates political violence in the United States. BDI supports efforts to grow and build local community resilience through elections and other periods of heightened risk, laying the groundwork for longer-term to bridge the divides we face as a nation.

 

We do this by 1) producing action-oriented and responsive research to fill existing gaps and empower local leaders; 2) enabling cross-sector collaboration, so individuals and organizations are better prepared to mitigate risk and respond to crisis when it does arise; and 3) helping to drive the policy and community response. Over the past four years, BDI played an essential role in supporting a wide range of actors preparing for and responding to political violence and democratic crisis. Our data, analysis, and tools continue to help a diverse coalition of national and local decision-makers better target their interventions. BDI is based at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), hosted by the Empirical Studies of Conflict (ESOC).

 

For more information, please visit our website: https://bridgingdivides.princeton.edu/ .

 

Overview

 

BDI seeks a full-time Assistant Director of Collaborations to oversee one of BDI’s three core objectives: “Creating Space for Cross-Sector Collaboration” (the “collaborations team” for short). Reporting to the Executive Director, the Assistant Director of Collaborations leads BDI’s collaborations team — including all full-time State Leads (currently in GA, NC, MI, PA and AZ, with more state lead positions being hired this spring) — and serves as a core member of BDI’s senior leadership team, helping to shape and advance the organization’s strategic priorities. 

 

The Assistant Director of Collaborations will support the state leads in designing and executing on their state-level strategies, and then helping pull out lessons, patterns and shared learnings across the various states in ways that inform the broader collaborations strategy. 

 

In addition to the managerial and mentorship responsibilities, this role will also engage with elected and appointed officials, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, community practitioners and other

stakeholders to build strategic partnerships and collaborative networks across the violence mitigation ecosystem, defining and creating linkages between national and state-based networks. 

 

The outcome of this role is a responsive and reliable cross-sector collaborations team that is highly effective, reliable and responsible to needs on the ground, and a highly effective and impactful strategy for our Creating Space for Cross-Sector Collaboration objective.

 

Core Responsibilities

• Direct BDI’s cross-sector collaboration strategic portfolio, and associated projects, including convening within and between sectors, facilitating early action and response, and concierge support to state-level violence mitigation, executing against the BDI 2023-2026 strategic plan, identifying opportunities for evolution or adaptation, and equipping our collaborations team to be highly reliable and responsive on-the-ground partners in their respective geographic areas.
• Support 6-8 direct reports in designing and building out state-based community engagement and state-specific research, monitoring and concierge support, providing mentorship, coaching feedback on writing, and other as-needed managerial support to guide their work.
• Identify areas where BDI’s unique cross-sector approach can be best leveraged to serve research and policy objectives, and the broader violence mitigation ecosystem. Develop and maintain strategic alliances, partnerships and networks with key national organizations, creating linkages that can amplify and support our state-level and broader organizational strategy. Identify patterns, synthesize learnings and use that analysis to inform other BDI objectives (research and policy).
• Engage as an active and core member of BDI’s leadership team, building and executing new programs, identifying opportunities for outreach and potential funding, helping direct organization-wide activities and planning, and coordinating BDI’s cross-sector collaboration portfolio with other core areas of programming.

Required

• Deep knowledge and professional expertise (7+ years) of the U.S. political violence and mitigation policy landscape, pro-democracy and/or other relevant sectors.
• 5+ years experience in leading large teams (especially remote), and a deep interest in and commitment to mentor and grow staff capacity in a variety of relevant research and writing skills, consistently building individual and team capacity, skill sets and development.
• Strong organizational skills and flexibility around changing priorities and deadlines; excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Proven track record of managing multiple projects simultaneously and a demonstrated ability to work efficiently and collaboratively with both junior-level and senior-level colleagues.
• Excellent writing abilities, especially past experience writing policy-focused memos, recommendations, or reports.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a related field.

Preferred

• Expertise in conducting or evaluating OSINT monitoring to track activities of conflict actors, especially via social media and alt platforms
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in large coalitions and with community organizations, officials, and individuals across ideological spectrums, including experience designing and facilitating strategic meetings with stakeholders with a range of interests and perspectives.
• Experience in community engagement, extremism studies, conflict studies and/or peacebuilding
• Outstanding interpersonal skills, and the ability to engage with a multidisciplinary team and collaborators, including a wide array of partners from diverse backgrounds and in a remote work setting
• Master’s degree in a relevant field
• Interest and ability in translating research findings to policy and practitioner audiences

 

Timeline: Start date for the position is ASAP. The role is envisioned as a one-year minimum engagement, with opportunities for renewal. Pay is competitive and benefits package is generous. Work must be performed within the United States and is remote.

 

**

No matter who you are, BDI is a place you can call home. We know that our unique perspectives make us stronger, smarter, and well-positioned for success. We value and rely on the collective voices of our team to help guide our work on challenging issues.

 

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

36.25

No

Yes

180 days

No

No

No

Mid-Senior Level

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