Program Officer for Buddhist Studies (3-year term, remote available) at American Council of Learned Societies in New York, New York

Job Description:

ACLS Mission and Overview

Formed a century ago, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a nonprofit federation of 81 scholarly organizations. As the leading representative of American scholarship in the humanities and interpretive social sciences, ACLS' core principle is that knowledge is a public good. As such, ACLS strives to promote the circulation of humanistic knowledge throughout society. In addition to stewarding and representing its member organizations, ACLS employs its endowment and $34 million annual operating budget to support scholarship in the humanities and social sciences and to advocate for its central role in the twenty-first century.

Overview of department

For many decades, ACLS has extended its reach beyond the borders of the United States. ACLS International Programs (IP) currently operates the Luce/ACLS Program in China Studies, the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Program in Buddhist Studies, and the Summer Institute for the Study of East Central and Southeastern Europe. IP advances humanistic studies through fellowships and grants, by building communities of scholars in the world areas and disciplinary fields in which we work, and by partnering with funders, learned societies, and communities to strengthen global academic relations.

Job Summary

The Program Officer, reporting to the Director, and under the mentorship of the Senior Advisor for Buddhist Studies, will help design, implement, evaluate, and improve activities supporting scholars of Buddhist Studies and the communities in which they work. The Program Officer will help lead new programmatic work focused on community engaged research, increase connections with emerging scholarly networks in Asia and around the world, and expand the resources we offer to our growing network of international scholars through social media and events.

This position is funded by a grant from The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Global. Continued employment is contingent on the renewal of grant funding.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Program design
, convening, and research

• With the Director and Senior Advisor, design and implement new activities as part of the Program in Buddhist Studies, including (but not limited to):
  
  
  
  • A review of the Translation grant program in light of advances in machine translation and AI language models, drawing on internal and external expertise.
  
  
  • A new, multi-year project on community engaged research, teaching, and translation with the goal of producing a public facing product.
  
  
  
  


• Develop and implement programming, competitions, and events for scholars, including workshops for international applicants, manuscript development workshops, and convenings and retreats for Fellows and mentors


• Coordinate activities with other ACLS departments as necessary, including US programs, IDEA, communications, events, and finance

International engagement and network-building

• Oversee outreach to Fellows, Grantees, mentors, and other scholars and specialists in Buddhist Studies to support program design, network-building, and collaboration


• Research, develop and implement communications and social media strategies to increase engagement and applications from scholars based in Asian institutions


• Build and develop global, regional, and local alumni networks and scholarly communities


• Partner on joint programming with learned societies, Buddhist organizations, and other funders in the US and around the world

Program management

• Help operate and improve all aspects of the annual application, selection, and award process, in collaboration with the IP Team


• Support the recruitment of peer reviewers, mentors, Buddhism Public Scholars host institutions, and other specialists in Buddhist Studies


• Draft and review program-related content as needed, including application materials, website text, and announcements


• Review and analyze reports submitted by Fellows and grantees and help prepare sections of ACLS proposals and reports

Qualifications:

• PhD in humanities or interpretive social sciences


• Expertise and academic training in Buddhist knowledge and traditions

• Excellent writing and communication skills, including the capacity to write clearly for a range of audiences


• Excellent planning abilities, organizational skills, and attention to detail


• Facility both for working collaboratively with a team and for working independently


• Willingness to travel occasionally to events in the United States and abroad (2 to 6 times per year), to work in intensive, off-site conditions, and accommodate different time zones


• Proficiency in MS Office, particularly Word and Excel

Preferred Qualifications:

• Training and experience in publicly engaged research, community outreach, and the dynamics of collaboratively produced research and translation


• Interest or experience in machine translation, AI language models, and translation


• Experience living, working, or studying in Asia


• Interest or experience in event planning, marketing, or communications


• Administrative experience in non-profit organizations, government agencies, or foundations, especially those that conduct open-call, merit-based, fellowship competitions

Office policy and salary

• Staff are expected to be available during ACLS's normal hours of operation, from 9am-5pm ET.


• Salary range: $80,000 - $92,000