Assistant Director for Ethics, Society, & Technology Initiatives

Assistant Director for Ethics, Society, & Technology Initiatives

The School of Humanities and Sciences (H&S) is the foundation of a liberal arts education at Stanford. The school encompasses 24 departments and 24 interdisciplinary programs. H&S is home to fundamental and applied research, where free, open, and critical inquiry is pursued across disciplines. As the university’s largest school, H&S serves as the foundation of a Stanford undergraduate education no matter which discipline students pursue as a major. Graduate students work alongside world-renowned faculty to pursue and shape foundational research that leads to breakthroughs and discoveries that shed new light on the past, influence the present, and shape the future. Together, faculty and students in H&S engage in inspirational teaching, learning, and research every day.

Department and Position Description:

The McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society is seeking an Assistant Director to develop and manage innovative, dynamic, and diverse opportunities for the Stanford community and broader public to engage in rigorous ethical reflection about ethics, society, and technology topics. The Ethics Center is home to a diverse and growing portfolio of initiatives that reach audiences across campus and outside the university. Much of the Center’s expanding work is in the arena of technology ethics, including ethical issues related to artificial intelligence, bioengineering, and climate tech, which presents new opportunities for interdisciplinary work and partnerships across Silicon Valley and beyond. This role will be part of the Center’s Ethics, Society, and Technology Initiatives (ESTI). Our key audiences include students from across the university, especially in STEM fields, as well as practitioners in the technology field who we engage through fellowships, curricular programming, and professional development opportunities. This is a newly created position and will report to the Director of Ethics, Society, and Technology Initiatives.

The Assistant Director is an essential member of the Center and will provide operational support while also contributing to generating a shared vision, strategy, and management structure for ESTI programs. This role will help expand existing ethics education programs, including the Ethics, Technology, and Public Policy (ETPP) Course for Practitioners, Embedded Ethics, and Case Study programs and will also have the opportunity to pilot new programs, such as the non-residential Ethics and Tech Practitioner Fellowships. The Assistant Director will interact with diverse stakeholders, including numerous groups and units on campus and at external academic institutions as well as corporate, civil society, and government organizations.

The ideal candidate will be an outspoken advocate for the Ethics Center’s tech ethics work and will initiate and lead creative programming to engage learners in ethical reasoning across many disciplines and career stages. In addition to being an innovative program strategist, we seek someone with strong administrative skills who can work both independently and with a small team to oversee the details of existing programs. Specific job duties include: Facilitating and managing a practitioner education program and non-residential practitioner fellowship; co-teaching ESTI courses for Center fellows with faculty and Center leadership and providing curricular and pedagogical support for the Embedded Ethics program; evaluating program impact and generating impact reports; helping to represent the ESTI programs on and off campus and looking for opportunities to bring collaborators together on research and teaching projects; management of program budgets in partnership with the DFA, Director of ESTI and faculty directors; and collaborating with the ESTI team to plan and execute convenings and other events, such as Fellows Kick-off Week, as well as supporting with general center events.

We are a small but growing staff that works together to support each other in a collaborative, congenial work environment. We make every effort to ensure that we each have access to the tools and experiences we need to be successful in our current roles as well as with an eye towards individual growth.

This is a 100% FTE, 2-year fixed term exempt position with the possibility of renewal. This position will be based on the Stanford campus and will be considered for an option of telecommuting (hybrid of working on-site and off-site), subject to operational need. 

If you believe that this opportunity is a match for your knowledge, skills and abilities, we encourage you to apply. Please include a resume and cover letter for consideration. Thank you for considering employment opportunities with the School of Humanities and Sciences.

CORE DUTIES:

●      Independently implement, administer and evaluate day-to-day activities of the unit, function or program by identifying and executing tasks and objectives, making recommendations that impact policies and programs, and assigning resources to achieve the goals of the program.

●      Collect and analyze data, create reports, review and explain trends; formulate and evaluate alternative solutions and/or recommendations to achieve the goals of the program or function.

●      Analyze and interpret policies; develop, revise and implement procedures for program or function.

●      Represent the program or function as the key contact and subject matter expert within the department, unit or school. Commit resources and provide information and/or training. May also represent the program or function to external/internal stakeholders and constituencies.

●      Organize and/or participate in outreach activities that may include developing communications and training, planning/promoting events and/or conferences.

●      May participate in development of budgets, monitor, and approve expenditures. May perform limited forecasting and provide recommendations that determine the budget.

●      May direct staff to perform various tasks and assignments. May also supervise staff.

*Other duties may also be assigned.