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The Associate Director will be a vital administrative and programmatic leader for theRutgers Democracy Lab (
RDL) at Rutgers-Camden. Reporting to the
RDL Director with adotted line to the Senior Vice Chancellor for Strategy, Diversity and Community Engagementat Rutgers-Camden, the Associate Director is responsible for the overall strategic andoperational management of the RDL's activities, programs, and partnerships at Rutgers-Camden. This role requires a highly organized, entrepreneurial, and collaborative individual capableof managing complex administrative processes, overseeing budgets and personnel, andserving as a key liaison to academic, civic, and community stakeholders to advance theRDL's mission of strengthening democracy through research and engagement.
Core Duties and Responsibilities
The Associate Director's primary duties are focused on administrative management,
programmatic leadership, and campus representation:
I. Strategic & Programmatic Leadership
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Program Oversight: Develops, plans, and oversees the execution of all
RDL-affiliated programs, events, and workshops on the assigned campus (e.g., policy forums, speaker series, civic engagement initiatives, Think and Do Tank).
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Strategic Planning: Works with the
RDL Director to set and implement the strategic agenda for the campus location, translating the Lab's broad mission into actionable goals and outcomes that align with the local university and community priorities.
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Partnership Management: Serves as the primary
RDL liaison to academic, administrative, and external partners within the Camden ecosystem, including faculty, deans, local non-profits, and government officials.
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External Communications: Manages and produces outreach materials (web content, newsletters, press releases) specific to the campus programs, ensuring a consistent and professional public profile.
II. Administrative & Operational Management
* Budget & Finance: Manages the operational budget for the campus location, including tracking expenditures, processing purchasing requests, reconciling accounts, and ensuring compliance with university and grant guidelines working closely with the
RDL Business Manager.
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Grant Administration: Works closely with the
RDL Director and University Foundation/Sponsored Research offices to assist in the drafting of proposals and manages the non-research administrative execution and reporting requirements for all awarded grants.
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Personnel Supervision: Directly supervises, mentors, and manages the professional staff (e.g., Fellows, Graduate Assistants and student employees associated with the campus's
RDL activities, including hiring and training).
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Policy & Compliance: Ensures all campus-level
RDL operations and programming adhere to university policies, procedures, and relevant compliance requirements (e.g., venue contracts, risk management).
III. Campus-Specific Coordination
With regards to the partnership at Camden, the associate director should be someone who can work collaboratively with the other centers at the Division of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement (
DICE) and across the Camden campus, including areas of urban studies and public policy. They should have a commitment to partnering with K-12 schools around civic engagement. They should have an understanding of local south Jersey, as well as NJ state-wide initiatives based in this region and be open to Philadelphia regional partnerships, such as the Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development (
PHENND).
CrossUnit Coordination will be essential and includes the following types of activities.
DICE Core Activities
* Participation in regular standing meetings such as
DICE Division meetings, Community Engagement unit meetings, one-on-one meetings with the Senior Vice Chancellor of Strategy, Diversity, and Community Engagement and the Director of Community Engagement.
* Participate in planning committees with representatives from the Community Engagement unit, academic departments, student affairs, and other Rutgers Camden offices that align with the work of
RDL.
* Building strong relationships to the work with the community engagement unit and collaborating closely with the staff within the unit.
Faculty & Academic Department Activities
* Working with the Director of Community Engagement and the Faculty Director of Engaged Scholarship to connect with department chairs to identify faculty whose courses or research align with funded projects.
* Collaborate with the community engagement unity to host faculty info sessions targeted to specific departments (e.g., Public Policy, Social Work).
* Aligning project timelines with course planning cycles and curriculum deadlines.
Student-Facing Activities:
* Collaborating with
DICE to promote project-based assistantships opportunities or paid roles.
* Partnering with
DICE, Academic Affairs, Student Academic Success to integrate student research or internships into
RDL initiatives.
* Coordinating with the Office of Student Involvement to schedule student-led events or workshops.
Administrative & Operational Activities:
* Managing logistics for meetings and events.
* Handling risk management for community engaged activities involving external partners.
* Coordinating HR, payroll and onboarding for any student employee or staff hires.
Communication & Marketing Activities:
* Developing marketing materials in collaboration with the Office of Marketing and Communications.
* Developing and sharing announcements of
RDL activities within
DICE networks and with Marketing and Communication.
* Creating a central landing page managed by
DICE but updated with
RDL inputs.
Community Partner Activities:
* Establishing partnership agreements vetted collaboratively with the Community Engagement unit/
DICE.
* Coordinating partner presentations with faculty and program directors to ensure alignment with academic learning goals.
Data, Evaluation & Reporting Coordination
Activities:
* Aligning evaluation plans with Rutgers Camden /
DICE to ensure standard metrics.
* Developing shared impact dashboards updated by
DICE, academic departments, and community partners.
* Coordinate data collection for
RDL programs that also align with
DICE initiatives, such as
ECL courses, co-curricular programs and community partner initiatives
Funding & Resource Coordination
Activities:
* Working closely with
DICE and Rutgers-Camden Development/Advancement to pursue cofunding or donor alignment.
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Rutgers University
life insurance, employee discount
Sep 03, 2026