Mayoral Research and Summer Fellowship Impact Summer Associate
Project Description:
Reporting to both the Project Manager for City Support and the Project Coordinator for Student Engagement, this is a unique opportunity to play a vital role in research and assessment for the City Support and Student Engagement team in two areas: Mayor Research and Summer Fellowship Impact. This is a single position shared across the City Support and Student Engagement team.
Mayoral Research (City Support)
Initiated at the start of the summer associate placement, working directly with the Project Manager for City Support, you will review program applications and conduct desk research on our incoming cohort of mayors and senior city leaders to produce easily digestible background information on our participants. The materials and notes produced will help the teaching and city support teams develop a deeper understanding of challenges, priorities, and opportunities facing participating cities. The Summer Associate will also assist with the mayoral onboarding process by supporting staff on those calls. Additionally, this research will enable mayors and senior leaders in the programs to get to know each other!
Summer Fellowship Impact (Student Engagement)
Initiated at the second half of the summer associate placement, working directly with the Project Coordinator for Student Engagement, you will assess the impact of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative’s Summer Fellowship program. This includes interviewing summer fellows’ city supervisors on aspects such as the fellows’ impact, effectiveness of support and training, and suggestions for improvement. You will also assist in collecting impact data directly from fellows and conduct an initial review and analysis. This data is crucial for building the annual impact report for our funder.
Additionally, the Summer Associate will conduct desk research and benchmarking on student programs and initiatives, like those at the Bloomberg Center for Cities. This research will involve informational interviews with campus partners and compiling publicly available data. This work will contribute to our growing student engagement opportunities and provide insight into the current landscape of student programs and support more broadly.
Tasks and Deliverables:
- Lead research, data collection, and data analysis to create slide decks that reflect cohort interests and demographics.
- Support the process of onboarding cities into the program.
- Create packets of information on the participants to help faculty understand this year’s priorities and dynamics.
- Update the list of senior leaders from previous cohorts with information on their current roles.
- Conduct interviews with city supervisors and condense information into various documents, include slide decks.
- Collect and organize new data from summer fellows.
- Conduct interviews with campus partners about student programs, offerings, and supports.
- Lead research and build a dashboard of comparable student offerings at Harvard and other universities.
Desired Qualifications and Experience:
- Quantitative and qualitative research methods
- Good interview etiquette and a curious mind
- Ability to synthesize information
- Proven ability to work independently as well as part of a team
- Interest in city government and public sector leadership
- Awareness of racial justice and equity issues
- Comfort with ambiguity
Compensation: $21-$25/hour
