Program Director

Department

PSD Computer Science: MSCAPP Staff Leadership

About the Department

The M.S. in Computational Analysis and Public Policy (MS-CAPP) program at the University of Chicago is seeking a Program Director to run and guide the operation of its Masters-level educational program, recognized as a leading joint computer science, data science, and policy analysis degree. The Program Director is tasked with effectively leveraging and coordinating the extensive resources and activities of the Harris School of Public Policy and the Department of Computer Science for the benefit of the MS-CAPP program. This role includes providing a broad and diverse range of programmatic and administrative support. The Program Director will lead the MS-CAPP program in all of its core functions, including suggesting new courses, developing internal and external partnerships to create employment opportunities, reading and assessing student applications, and bringing prominent speakers from the field to UChicago. Competitive applicants will be passionate about some of the following (and interested in learning more about the rest): public policy, social impact, technology, computer science, and data science. The Program Director will oversee an Associate Program Director and an Assistant Program Director, also dedicated to the success of the MS-CAPP degree. The Program Director will report to the Faculty Director(s) of the MS-CAPP degree.

Job Summary

The Program Director is a member of the CAPP leadership team, along with the Faculty Directors, and is responsible for the overall performance, administration of the program and day-to-day operations, including program planning and execution, admissions, recruitment, student affairs, managing the program staff, and faculty support. The Program Director leads a team of four including the associate director, assistant director, and program coordinator. Works closely with the leadership, staff, students and faculty of the program and reports to the Academic Director of MSCAPP.

The purpose of the CAPP is to train and educate students in aspects of leveraging the power of computer science, data science, and technology within the field of public policy. As such, it aims to be innovative in its methods and to respond both to changes in technology and to changes in the needs of the world so that the students can embark on a career using modern tools to make a positive social impact. The Program Director will achieve this goal by partnering with the CAPP leadership team to maintain excellence in program planning and execution, and managing the program’s operations, students, faculty and staff. The Program Director is expected to function as an experienced administrator competently managing the multiple tasks associated with the position.

The Program Director also acts as liaison between staff, faculty, students, the department of Computer Science, the PSD divisional offices and other U of C administrative units, visitors and prospective students and employers.

Responsibilities

• Member of the CAPP Leadership team, along with the Faculty Directors and CAPP Associate and Assistant Program Director. Set the direction for the program, act on pending issues, develop and maintain program goals and standards in all dimensions of its work and across all lines of service.
• Manage the staff of the MSCAPP (team of four including the associate program director, assistant program director and program coordinator) including performance evaluations, hiring and job position review.
• Leads the day-to-day operations of the MSCAPP including all program planning and execution, admissions, recruitment, student affairs, faculty support and staff direction.
• Curriculum: Coordinate curriculum and works to support educational excellence for the MS-CAPP students. This part of the role may include suggesting new coursework or changes to existing purses and identifying issues in in-progress courses.
• Student Affairs: In conjunction with the Academic and Student Affairs team and the Career Development Office at Harris, provides academic and career guidance for MS-CAPP students.
• Recruitment: Speaks to prospective students and helps disseminate the goals and mission of the degree, works with the Harris Recruitment and Marketing teams. Reads and evaluates student applications and makes decisions (with the Faculty Directors) about acceptance, as well as scholarship allocation.
• Career Services: Works with Computer Science Career Services and the Harris Career Development Office to help create and identify internal and external employment opportunities. Helps students articulate their career goals and choose courses that fit those goals.
• Directs the support of Computer Science and MSCAPP faculty through course scheduling, roo