Assistant Director - Student Programming

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Overview

The Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale (Tsai CITY) has a mission to inspire students from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to seek innovative ways to solve real-world problems. Tsai CITY enables students to develop the skills, mindsets, and networks needed to pursue innovative solutions through co-curricular programming, mentorship, funding, and community-building.

Reporting to the Director of Innovation Initiatives, the Assistant Director of Student Programming (Innovation Initiatives) plays a key role in designing and delivering student experiences that help Yale students develop their capacity for innovative thinking, entrepreneurship, and problem-solving. This position works closely with the Tsai CITY team to execute a portfolio of innovation initiatives and programs, with a particular focus on creating meaningful, accessible, and engaging learning experiences for students across Yale.

The Assistant Director will serve as a student-facing program leader and trusted resource for students exploring ideas, developing projects, or seeking to build their innovation skills. The role combines program management, student coaching, community building, learning design, assessment, and relationship management. The ideal candidate is energized by working directly with students, translating innovative thinking concepts into engaging experiences, and using student feedback and data to continually improve programs.

Key Responsibilities

• Coordinate and execute a portfolio of student-facing innovation programs, workshops, events, and learning experiences from planning through evaluation.
• Translate Tsai CITY’s innovative thinking learning model and frameworks into accessible, engaging programming for students and university partners.
• Develop and facilitate opportunities for students to build peer relationships, exchange ideas, and become active members of the Tsai CITY community.
• Gather and respond to student feedback to ensure programming reflects the evolving needs and interests of Yale’s student community.
• Develop and implement processes for collecting student feedback, participation data, and other measures of program effectiveness.
• Represent Tsai CITY at relevant campus and external events and contribute to the visibility and growth of its student innovation community.
• Coach and advise students exploring innovation, entrepreneurship, and creative problem-solving, helping them develop and advance ideas, build innovative thinking skills, and connect with relevant resources and opportunities.

Required Skills & Abilities

1. Ability to work with a wide variety of constituents including students, faculty, alumni, and external partners and collaborators. Ability to identify and pursue meaningful collaborative relationships for program development and network building. 

2. Demonstrated ability to work both independently and collaboratively, taking a proactive, creative, flexible approach to program development and problem solving. Experience working on a diverse and creative team juggling multiple priorities.

3. Excellent written and oral communication skills; ability to represent the center publicly to a variety of stakeholders.

4. Demonstrated ability to lead and execute on multiple projects simultaneously.

5. Familiarity with project management and CRM webtools (e.g., Airtable, Circle, Notion, Salesforce, Google Drive, etc.). Demonstrated experience collecting and analyzing data. 

Preferred Skills & Abilities

1. Experience navigating a university innovation ecosystem.

2. Demonstrated interest and experience in innovation and innovative thinking.

3. Demonstrated experience with program evaluation and efficacy.  

4. Previous student programming experience is strongly preferred.

5. An understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the context of entrepreneurship and innovation.

Principal Responsibilities

1. In support of the overall mission, plans, directs and oversees programmatic activities. 2. Develops, implements, and maintains operational policies and procedures. 3. Manages program communications; identifies outreach potential, and promotes philanthropic and collaborative support of the program. 4. Works closely with leadership, internal and external colleagues, and community residents to further develop and implement strategic plans. 5. Identifies, solicits, and cultivates community partnerships and collaborations to assist in the development and growth of the program. 6. Tracks all program activities and regularly informs leadership of progress on each initiative. Recommends structural or programmatic adjustments, changes or additions based on full knowledge of missions, goals, and objectives. Develops metrics to identify and measure the success of the program. 7. Assists in identifying and evaluating potential future funding sources, and contributes to the submission of grants and contracts supporting the program, including the annual submission and writing of all content areas and budgetary sections of grant applications. 8. Develops and manages the program's operating budget. 9. Manages the administrative infrastructure of the program. Manages human resources including staffing and hiring, supervision, performance development, counseling and discipline, if warranted. Oversees and manages information systems, facilities, and space needs. 10. May perform other duties as assigned. Required Education and Experience Bachelor's Degree in a related field and two years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Job Posting Date

10/07/2026

Job Category

Professional

Bargaining Unit

NON

Compensation Grade

Administration & Operations

Compensation Grade Profile

Associate (22)

Salary Range

$61,500.00 - $91,875.00

Benefits

A general description of the benefits to be offered with this Managerial & Professional position is available at:

Yale Benefits

Time Type

Full time

Duration Type

Staff

Work Model

Hybrid

Background Check Requirements

All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks basedon the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. For additional information on the background check requirements and process visit "Learn about background checks" under the Applicant Support Resources section of Careers on the It's Your Yale website.

Health Requirements

Certain positions have associated health requirements based on specific job responsibilities. These may include vaccinations, tests, or examinations, as required by law, regulation, or university policy.

Posting Disclaimer

Salary offers are determined by a candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education in relation to the position requirements, along with the role’s grade profile and current internal and external market conditions.

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the essential functions that will be required of the position and should not be construed as a declaration of specific duties and responsibilities of the position. Employees will be assigned specific job-related duties throughtheir hiring department.

The University is committed to basing judgments concerning the admission, education, and employment of individuals upon their qualifications and abilities and seeks to attract to its faculty, staff, and student body qualified persons from a broad range of backgrounds and perspectives. In accordance with this policy and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment against any individual on account of that individual’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, disability, status as a special disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era or other covered veteran.

Inquiries concerning Yale's Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment may be referred to the Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility (OIEA).

Note

Yale University is a tobacco-free campus.