Project Associate - Research & Innovation

Join Our Journey

Cornell Research & Innovation creates an environment that unifies and advances Cornell’s scholarship, research, and discovery through state-of-the-art facilities, domain expertise, and partnership to enable innovation and impact. We leverage external funding and partnerships, enable interdisciplinary research, and ensure regulatory compliance. We collaborate to successfully translate and commercialize research through companies large and small, including startups launched by our entrepreneurial faculty, staff, and students. Our commitment to inclusive excellence makes this environment possible.

The Strategic, Unified Management for Multidisciplinary Initiatives Team (SUMMIT) will provide administrative support for a broad portfolio of research centers under OVPRI. We are looking for a Project Associate to join this team.

Your Mission

As part of the Strategic, Unified Management for Multidisciplinary Initiatives and Teams (SUMMIT), each Project Associate is assigned a portfolio of research centers, projects and/or initiatives.  While Program Managers are responsible for setting the overarching strategy and outcomes, Project Associates act as critical partners, providing insight and contributions to the definition of objectives and scope.  Project Associates are responsible for supporting the strategic development, direction, and implementation of each center, project or initiative.

As an individual contributor, you will model and support a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and wellbeing and continually seek to understand how your role, behaviors, and actions impact the success of this culture. 

Major responsibilities of this position may include:

• Project Planning and Process Development: Participating in the development and execution of project plans, overseeing day-to-day operations, collaborating closely with communication and finance teams, and evaluating processes for improvements.

• Financial Stewardship: Establishing relationships for financial processing, managing expenditures and budgets, preparing reports for stakeholders, and recommending operational modifications based on financial data.

• Project Communications: Supporting project communication strategies, ensuring effective communication among stakeholders, gathering and organize data for communication purposes, and contributing to the development of website content.

• Reporting: Preparing and submitting impact and progress reports, overseeing accurate data collection and reporting, and monitoring project timelines to address any issues promptly.

• Event Planning and Execution: Participate in the planning, coordination and execution of a diverse array of project-related events, which could include regular meetings of working groups, steering and advisory committees, lecture series, conferences, retreats and workshops.   

• Travel: Traveling for events and meetings throughout the year may be required.

What We Need
Send us a cover letter and resume outlining your interest in this position and explaining how your experience and qualifications match the position requirements. We will review applications as received. Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

When evaluating your candidacy, we will look for evidence of the following:

• Bachelor’s degree with at least 2-4 years’ administrative management experience and/or project management experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Experience in and/or demonstrated commitment to supporting diversity, equity, access, inclusion, and wellbeing.

• Ability to cultivate and develop inclusive and equitable working relationships with faculty, staff, students, and project partners. 

• Demonstrated ability to remain focused working in fast-paced, deadline driven and demanding customer-oriented environment.

• Proven track record of establishing credibility rapidly, effectively establishing critical relationships with faculty, managers, project team members, and both internal and external partners.

• Proven ability to function both independently and as part of a team.

• Strong organizational and communication skills.

• Proactive and positive work ethic.

• Basic understanding of project management; manage day-to-day operational aspects of projects, including planning, scheduling, and monitoring activities to fulfill identified project requirements.

• Ability, to communicate project scope, goals, and responsibilit