The Mercatus Center at George Mason University seeks a Program Coordinator to help administer the day-to-day operations of the Graduate Student Programs’ Adam Smith Fellowship and alumni relations. Graduate Student Programs recruits, trains, and supports graduate students who go on to careers in academia, government, and public policy.
The Mercatus Center’s Adam Smith Fellowships are awarded to graduate students attending PhD programs in a variety of fields including economics, philosophy, political science, and sociology. The aim of these fellowships is to introduce students to and encourage them to critically engage key thinkers in political economy that they might not otherwise encounter during their graduate studies. As such, Smith Fellows spend three weekends during the academic year and one week during the summer in residence at George Mason University participating in workshops and seminars in Austrian economics, constitutional political economy, and institutional analysis.
The Program Coordinator reports to the Director and Associate Director of Graduate Student Programs and has primary responsibility for a variety of operational and staff support tasks.
Responsibilities Include:
- Serve as a central point of contact for program questions and
- operational concerns from Mercatus Center staff, current Adam Smith Fellows,
- and prospects.
- Manage and keep track of program events, colloquia, correspondence, etc.
- Plan and oversee the logistics and correspondence of formal and informal
- activities for the Adam Smith Fellowship. This includes but is not limited to
- workshops and seminars. Workshops and seminar occur four times a year, with
- three weekends during academic year and one week in the summer.
- Draft program reports and execute special projects, and delegate
- subtasks to junior program staff as relevant.
- Oversee Graduate Student Programs alumni relations events and
- communications.
- Provide administrative support to the Director of Graduate Student
- Programs.
Requirements Include:
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
- Demonstrated project management abilities.
- 2-4 years’ experience working in a professional staff support and/or
- program administration role (additional education may be considered in lieu of
- experience).
- Demonstrated ability to multitask and balance multiple short- and long-
- term projects without direct supervision.
- Strong writing and editing skills.
Application Process
Qualified candidates should submit the following application materials to hr@mercatus.org in one PDF file:
- Résumé
- Cover letter detailing: a) your sincere interest in this
position and the missions of the organization, and b) your salary
requirements - Writing sample
About the Mercatus Center at George
Mason University:
The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is the world’s premier university source for market-oriented ideas—bridging the gap between academic ideas and real-world problems. A university-based research center, Mercatus advances knowledge about how markets work to improve people’s lives by training graduate students, conducting research, and applying economics to offer solutions to society’s most pressing problems. Our mission is to generate knowledge and understanding of the institutions that affect the freedom to prosper and to find sustainable solutions that overcome the barriers preventing individuals from living free, prosperous, and peaceful lives. Founded in 1980, the Mercatus Center is located on George Mason University’s Arlington campus.
We have a flexible, professional, open office environment that encourages innovation and entrepreneurship and provides substantial opportunity for professional growth. Salary is competitive and will be commensurate with experience. In addition, the Mercatus Center provides exceptional benefits to all individual employees, including health and dental insurance coverage (which includes paying 100% of the health insurance premium and tax-free reimbursement of all deductible expenses, and paying 100% of the dental insurance premium). We also provide all employees with flexible spending accounts, long-term disability and life insurance, a 403(b) retirement savings program, a parking permit, and one free course per semester at George Mason University (GMU).
