Digital Director, Centers for Civic Impact

General Summary/Purpose:

Johns Hopkins University seeks a Digital Director for its soon-to-be-launched center focused on public sector innovation, government transformation, and civic engagement. The new center will become a globally recognized organization focused on advancing the art and science of public sector innovation, especially among local governments. Specifically, the center will conduct research, engage students, and support local governments around organizational, program, and policy innovation.

Working closely with the inaugural Executive Director and other senior leadership, the Digital Director will play a critical role in developing the center’s programs and thought leadership related to digital transformation within the public sector. There are substantial opportunities to leverage existing international efforts in new directions based on the most pressing needs of cities, as well as at the state and national levels. An area of emphasis for current programming is using human-centered design and digital best practices to transform analog or limited digital platforms into useful, seamless digital services that improve access and outcomes for residents. The Digital Director will work in close collaboration with Bloomberg Philanthropies, which has been a pioneer in supporting creativity within city halls for the past decade and is providing the initial funding for the new center.

Under the direction of the Digital Director and with the support of partner organizations, the center will deliver technical assistance and training to government teams to help them create and implement effective digital strategies and services. The Digital Director must have a forward-thinking mindset, with the vision to develop and lead strategy, and the ability to deliver impactful programs that benefit people, including those who have the least access to digital technologies. Our ideal candidate will demonstrate a strong point of view on the opportunity to reimagine how governments leverage digital innovation to transform service delivery to residents.

The new center is committed to addressing structural and entrenched racism and recognizes the public sector’s role in perpetuating these legacies. We are looking to assemble a team committed to dismantling structural and entrenched racism and addressing these issues as we advance this work in communities.

Specific Duties/Responsibilities:

• Developing a strategy for digital services programming that helps build the field of public sector innovation, including establishing clear goals and measuring progress towards them
• Overseeing the work of center’s digital team and partner organizations delivering technical assistance, ensuring engagements meet targeted goals and are delivered on budget
• Building and maintaining strong relationships with government leaders, elected officials, and critical stakeholders
• Overseeing the delivery of multiple digital programs in governments around the world
• Establishing the center as an international thought leader for public sector digital strategy and services
• Providing regular professional development on best practices and delivery methods to center staff
• Representing the center to external stakeholders including governments, philanthropy, nonprofit organizations, and academic and public sector leaders
• With the support of the Monitoring & Evaluation team, creating strong baselines to map partner progress, including key metrics associated with the targeted service, as well as qualitative data gathered from user journeys and interviews
• Demonstrating progress in a compelling way, in cooperation with the center’s Communications team
• Other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications (mandatory):

• Master’s degree in public policy or related field
• At least five years’ experience in the field of digital transformation or government innovation
• Experience managing diverse teams
• Additional education may substitute for experience, and additional experience may substitute required education to the extent permitted by the JHU Equivalency Formula

Preferred Qualifications:

• Expertise in digital transformation initiatives, with a record of successful program delivery and thought leadership
• Understanding of government, including experience working with cities, states, or national agencies
• Diplomatic and customer service orientation to liaise with the highest levels of government and successfully achieve common goals—maximizing the impact of programs, pushing for new approaches that may be unfamiliar, and collaboratively clearing roadblocks
• Interest in forging relationships between cities and growing a worldwide network of government innovation practitioners
• Strong communications skills to serve as a persuasive representative for programs with cities and partner organizations and at public forums
• Ability to capture findings from user research, partners and clients, as well as the ideation process to create a bank of best practices and ideas and promote them to a network for widespread adoption, as applicable

Special knowledge, skills, and abilities: 

• Experience with Microsoft Office, G Suite, and project management applications
• Familiarity with learning management systems
• Experience using project management and collaboration software such as Asana and Slack
• Demonstrated effectiveness in coordinating with subject matter experts
• Understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methods
• Excellent oral, written, communications, and research skills
• Commitment to a collegial workplace
• Capacity to work independently and in a results-oriented workplace
• Ability to work on multiple projects concurrently
• Level of Independent Decision Making: high level of independent decision making

Supervisory responsibility: 

• Staff we anticipate hiring (4)
• Sr. Research Data Analyst (2) (WT Sr. Advisor)
• Sr. Research Program Coordinator (2)

Classified Title: Sr. Program Manager 
Working Title: Digital Director, Centers for Civic Impact  ​​​​​
Role/Level/Range: ATP/04/PG 
Starting Salary Range: Commensurate with experience
Employee group: Full Time 
Schedule: 5/37.5 
Exempt Status: Exempt  
Location: telework 
Department name: 60006654-KSAS - Centers for Civic Impact 
Personnel area: School of Arts & Sciences

The successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background check.

If you are interested in applying for employment with The Johns Hopkins University and require special assistance or accommodation during any part of the pre-employment process, please contact the HR Business Services Office at jhurecruitment@jhu.edu. For TTY users, call via Maryland Relay or dial 711.

The following additional provisions may apply depending on which campus you will work.  Your recruiter will advise accordingly.

During the Influenza ("the flu") season, as a condition of employment, The Johns Hopkins Institutions require all employees who provide ongoing services to patients or work in patient care or clinical care areas to have an annual influenza vaccination or possess an approved medical or religious exception. Failure to meet this requirement may result in termination of employment.

The pre-employment physical for positions in clinical areas, laboratories, working with research subjects, or involving community contact requires documentation of immune status against Rubella (German measles), Rubeola (Measles), Mumps, Varicella (chickenpox), Hepatitis B and documentation of having received the Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccination. This may include documentation of having two (2) MMR vaccines; two (2) Varicella vaccines; or antibody status to these diseases from laboratory testing. Blood tests for immunities to these diseases are ordinarily included in the pre-employment physical exam except for those employees who provide results of blood tests or immunization documentation from their own health care providers. Any vaccinations required for these diseases will be given at no cost in our Occupational Health office.

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