Director of Community Impact NetworkUniversity of Pittsburgh

• The University Center for Social & Urban Research (UCSUR) has a 50-year history of conducting interdisciplinary research that is relevant to the region and beyond. The center currently has 30 staff and partners with all schools and units at Pitt. The Director of Community Impact Network. The Director will be part of UCSUR’s leadership team and will have the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues at UCSUR who specialize in regional economics, community engaged mixed methods research, communications, and increasing data access and literacy across audiences. Although this Director will not immediately have a staff to supervise, there is the opportunity to build a team of students and staff if future funding is acquired.
• UCSUR has recently hired a new Director and is in the process of becoming a hub for the university’s Community Engaged Research. The new Director of UCSUR’s Community Impact Network will be joining UCSUR at an exciting time of change and growth. Creating the Community Impact Network is a new initiative , and the founding Director will have an opportunity to launch the pilot cohort of three interdisciplinary teams and learn how to help the network grow and create positive change for the region in the coming years. This role will require working in the office Monday - Thursday (3343 Forbes Avenue). In your cover letter, please describe your experience and why you want to work at UCSUR, specifically. We ask that your cover letter reflect your own voice and experiences (not generated by AI).

Develops and facilitates the vision and strategic plan of a program. Executes financial oversight, internal administrative operations, sources funding, and leads University-wide initiatives.

• Cultivating a network of interdisciplinary teams (university and community members) that can make an actionable, positive impact with their research and translation activities in southwestern PA. Success in this area will require strong team-building, interpersonal skills, project management skills, and facilitation skills. This network should become a place of hope, belonging, inclusion, impact, and collective efficacy. The new Director will need to be able to set this tone, celebrate successes, and support the group's resiliency through setbacks or intragroup challenges.
• Intentionally identifying and building relationships with a diverse range of regional stakeholders who can become a task force that extends each team’s perspectives and reach. Success in this area will rely on being curious and open to all perspectives, being open to critique, and knowing how to ensure that every voice is invited and welcomed.
• Leading the network's 3+ public events per year to report out what the network is doing and invite feedback from university and community members. These events serve as a mechanism for transparency, accountability, and to democratize the network’s decision-making. Success in this area will require event-planning, being an engaging public-speaker, and working with UCSUR researchers to measure the network’s impact and share findings in a way that is accessible to a range of audiences.
• Identify, seek, and manage funding sources that can contribute to team sustainability and extend network impacts. Funding sources may come from donors, foundations, federal grants, or contracts. This network of teams has the potential to grow as large as the acquired funding allows. Success in this area requires grant-writing skills, donor relations, and the ability to find and create opportunities for funded partnerships.

Little physical effort required. Duties are primarily sedentary. May be required to move objects up to 25 pounds occasionally.