Director of Information Technology

An invitation to apply for the position of

Director of Information Technology

Cambridge, MA

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization that supports economic research and analysis, seeks an experienced IT professional to serve as its Director of Information Technology. This is an opportunity to be the lead technology officer for an organization that facilitates and supports the research of more than 1,600 affiliated economists at colleges and universities throughout North America. The NBER provides resources and infrastructure for academic research and computing, facilitates access to large and sensitive government and private datasets, convenes about 125 research meetings annually, distributes more than 1,100 working papers by affiliated researchers each year, and serves as a repository for all of this research output. The scale and impact of NBER's influence on the field of economics is significant: 32 current or former NBER affiliates have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, and 13 have chaired the President's Council of Economic Advisers.

The Director will join a close-knit, collegial, and long tenured staff, including about 40 FTE administrative staff and 30 FTE research staff, who are devoted to the organization's mission and who see themselves as part of the institution's tradition of service for the public good. Reporting directly to the President and CEO, the Director will be a key member of the senior leadership team and will develop and execute a sustainable IT vision; build internal IT business practices, systems, and policies; identify appropriate technology solutions for the NBER's administrative and academic operations; and strengthen and systematize user support.

The NBER seeks a sophisticated, collaborative IT leader who is both a strategist and an implementer, and whose prior professional experience ideally includes familiarity with academic research, academic computing, and administrative computing, as well as proven effectiveness working with a wide variety of constituents. The ideal candidate will have a broad and reasonably detailed understanding of multiple dimensions of IT, the better to counsel the President and others about appropriate IT approaches, and demonstrate high-level ideation, practical thinking, and the ability to roll up one's own sleeves. The successful candidate will also possess intellectual curiosity, energy, flexibility, empathy, and optimism, and a desire to join a singular organization that is fundamentally people-centered in its philosophy and operations.

The NBER is partnering with Isaacson, Miller, the national recruiting firm. Confidential inquiries, referrals, and nominations may be directed to Anita Tien, Partner and Joanna Cook, Senior Associate, at https://www.imsearch.com/search-detail/S8-073

The NBER is an Equal Opportunity Employer and it does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, or disability. It will make reasonable accommodation for any disabled applicant, and will provide assistance to disabled applicants as needed during the application process.