The Program on Law and Political Economy at Harvard Law School (LPE@HLS) currently seeks a full-time Executive Director (ED) beginning in the summer of 2025.
LPE@HLS is an academic program complementing national efforts to develop a sophisticated and high-impact field of law and political economy. The core function of the program is to foster a vibrant intellectual community in which faculty and students are on the cutting edge of thinking about political economy as an integral part of law. The program provides a variety of settings for scholarship and pedagogy that advances our understanding of how law structures social relations in the market society. These efforts are anchored at Harvard Law School but encompass cross-institutional and cross-disciplinary collaborations with scholars, students, and practitioners throughout the country who are concerned with how racialized and gendered power asymmetries interact with class power and economic inequality. In addition to research and teaching, the program serves as a roundtable for concrete programmatic efforts to transform areas critical to American law and political economy–including but not limited to labor law, innovation policy, monetary design, policing and the carceral state, and the judiciary.
The ideal ED will play both a scholarly and organizational role. The ED will be responsible for developing the program’s substantive elements–including fellowship programs, reading groups, workshops, colloquia, and research initiatives–and managing the finances and administration for these elements. The ED will provide logistical and mentorship support to the program’s postdoctoral and student fellows, in addition to coordinating with student organizations and research centers with overlapping objectives. Finally, the ED will develop appropriate online content and encourage links with public policy foundations and media organizations as appropriate.
The ideal ED will be at the early stages of a career in academic scholarship or public policy, with an independent set of substantive interests fitting within the themes of the program. The position is designed to afford the ED up to two days per week on average for their own research, writing, and teaching. In this respect, the position resembles certain legal fellowships and visiting assistant professorships that combine substantive employment with professional development and preparation for a permanent position in the law or an allied field. The position is for an initial one-year term, renewable by mutual agreement between the ED and the program’s faculty director.
Essential requirements:
- A JD, PhD, or equivalent degree
- Some training in relevant allied fields
- Creativity, problem-solving, and intellectual rigor
Strongly preferred qualities:
- Experience in project management, organizational strategy, and grant development
- Aptitude for independent scholarly work as invited by the format of the position
- Interest in and trajectory toward a career in the academy and/or public policy
- Demonstrated leadership skills
The ED position is a full-time appointment; it pays a salary commensurate with those of postdoctoral fellows at law school programs and is benefits-eligible. The ideal start-date would be July 1, 2025, though earlier or later dates may be possible depending on the candidate’s obligations. The ED is expected to be in residence at Harvard Law School during the academic year, consistent with public health restrictions as they stand at that time.
We will consider applications on a rolling basis. To apply, please submit a CV and a cover letter outlining your relevant experience, substantive interests, and vision for the program. Application materials should be sent with the subject line “Application for LPE@HLS Executive Director” to [email protected].
