Project Manager, Board of Trustees

The Opportunity:

The Executive office for the Urban Institute seeks an experienced professional to work with the president and chief of staff to manage all aspects the 30-plus member Board of Trustees as they carry out important governance and programmatic duties on behalf the Urban Institute.

The ideal candidate will have at least 5 years of experience managing high profile, complex projects in a fast-paced environment. The candidate will also be a highly organized, detail-oriented manager with judgement, discretion, enthusiasm for deploying technology tools, including AI, to increase efficiency and quality, and experience working collaboratively with staff across multiple units to accomplish priorities. Prior exposure to board management in a nonprofit environment is a plus but not required.

What You’ll Do:

Reporting to the Chief of Staff, with very frequent direct engagement with the President, serve as primary manager for all work related to the Board of Trustees, including:

Manage the execution of the bi-annual Board of Trustees meetings and more frequent committee meetings

• Support the President and Chief of Staff to manage the planning and execution of the bi-annual Board of Trustee meetings including the board dinner, a high-profile public event.

• Manage execution of other meetings of the board of trustees including regular committee meetings.

• Coordinate with events, facilities, development, and technology teams, plus those providing programmatic content, to ensure smooth execution of all board-related activities.

• Produce memos, agendas, and other materials to support the board meetings.

Manage trustee communication and engagement

• Serve as primary point of contact for all board members and their staff.

• Provide support to trustees and their staff seeking to use our online board materials portal effectively.

• Draft memos and communications with trustees.

• Work closely with the Senior Executive Assistant to the President to manage all the President’s trustee communications, and with the development team to steward trustees.

• Maintain confidentiality regarding a wide array of sensitive information about our trustees, prospects, their financial support, and institutional management.

 Institute governance and record keeping

• Learn the Board and each committee’s charter and by-laws to ensure compliance with their requirements and to recommend modifications to adapt to best practices.

• Research and monitor governance and board compliance matters that require regular board action, including drafting minutes and resolutions to go in front of the board.

• Maintain our board communication portal (currently BoardEffect) and Box repositories of materials so that they are easily navigated, accessible, and up-to-date.

• Support board development efforts and track progression of prospects through the recruitment process.

• Assist with developing strategies and identifying opportunities to increase meaningful trustee (and former trustee) engagement and community.

Support the President and Chief of Staff on special projects and other duties, potentially including:

• Deploying AI tools that increase efficiency and effectiveness of the President’s office.

• Partnering with the Chief of Staff or other Executive office leaders to execute on urgent institutional priorities.

• Supporting effective community and collaboration in the Executive team.

Who You Are:

The successful candidate will have:

• At least 5 years of work experience or a combination of education and work experience, preferably in a fast-paced office environment related to public policy, law, politics, government, practice, and/or research.

• Discretion and confidentiality regarding sensitive matters.

• Exceptional interpersonal skills, customer service skills, and judgment under stress and deadlines.

• Excellent and versatile writing and communication skills.

• Excellent project and time management skills, with the ability to manage numerous requests/deliverables simultaneously.

• Enthusiasm for creatively deploying AI to increase efficiency and quality.

• Interest in organizational leadership and management, pressing public policy questions, and social and economic policy research.

• A strong commitment to creating an inclusive, fair, and collaborative team environment.

• Sophisticated problem-solving capabilities and critical thinking to help address management challenges and program devel