Program director Jobs in Chicago, IL

Program Director For Situational Decision-making Training

The Harris School seeks to hire a Program Director for the Situational Decision-making (Sit-D) Training. Sit-D is an innovative police training program developed at the University of Chicago that integrates cutting-edge behavioral science with immersive simulation technology to strengthen officer decision-making in high-stakes encounters. The Program Director will work directly with Professor Oeindrila Dube, who helped create the Sit-D training. This work is supported by the Harris School Bike Shop@UChicago, a research center where economists and computer scientists build "bicycles for the mind"algorithms that enhance human capacity rather than replace it. The Program Director will provide strategic and operational leadership for a portfolio of projects supporting the replication, evaluation, and expansion of Sit-Dincluding incubating AI-enhanced versions of the training. Working in close partnership with Professor Dube, the Program Director will guide these projects from early engagement with law enforcement partners through implementation and evaluation readiness, exercising substantial day-to-day leadership. The Program Director will also represent the initiative with external partners and funders and help secure the resources, relationships, and visibility needed to position Sit-D for broader expansion across agencies and jurisdictions.

The role calls for two core capabilities. The Program Director must be able to build and sustain high-level relationships with senior law enforcement officials and institutional partners, bringing the energy and drive to generate momentum across a complex, multi-site initiative. Equally important is a sophisticated understanding of program evaluationincluding study design, randomization, and outcome measurementthat enables productive engagement with research teams and partner agencies in working through evaluation parameters and implementation feasibility.

Responsibilities include:

• Leading and directing the operational development, incubation, replication, and scale-up of Sit-D training initiatives, guiding a portfolio of projects from early engagement with law enforcement partners through implementation and evaluation readiness, in close partnership with Professor Dube.
• Conducting strategic outreach and engagement with senior officials in state government and law enforcement leadership to build partnerships and advance opportunities for Sit-D implementation and evaluation.
• Advising on strategic decisions regarding which states and jurisdictions to prioritize for Sit-D expansion and replication.
• Assessing opportunities to integrate emerging technologies, including AI-assisted tools, into Sit-D training and scaling; overseeing law enforcement consultants retained to refine and adapt training curricula for new jurisdictions and emerging technology applications, considering both technological feasibility and institutional constraints.
• Leading study design discussions and early-stage evaluation planning, working with research staff and partner agencies to establish feasible approaches to randomization, sample size, outcome measurement, and implementation.
• Overseeing the groundwork required to launch evaluations, including coordinating data use agreements, facilitating data transfers, and securing access to administrative data, training records, and other relevant data sources.
• Overseeing and coordinating University of Chicago IRB processes, maintaining confidentiality of participant and agency data.
• Managing implementation and evaluation teams as projects advance from incubation to replication and scale-up, including project managers, research staff, external collaborators, and trainer teams responsible for delivering train-the-trainer programs across participating agencies.
• Identifying funding opportunities and leading the development of grant proposals.
• Preparing written summaries, memos, and presentations for academic researchers, funders, policymakers, and practitioner audiences describing project progress, feasibility findings, and plans for replication and evaluation.
• Working independently to develop detailed work plans, schedules, project estimates, resource plans, and status reports. Assembles and leads a project team, assigns individual responsibilities, identifies appropriate resources needed, and develops schedules to ensure timely completion of projects.
• Tracking progress, conducting analysis, as well as preparing for and facilitating project meetings. Ensuring adherence to quality standards and reviewing project deliverables.
• Performing other related work as needed.

Minimum qualifications include a college or university degree in a related field and 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred qualifications include an advanced degree (masters or higher) in a related field, management or supervisory experience, prior experience working with state government, law enforcement agencies, or other public safety institutions, and experience in program implementation, project management, or operational leadership in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment.

Preferred competencies include building and sustaining trust with senior law enforcement officials and institutional partners, driving momentum across complex, multi-site initiatives, a sophisticated understanding of program evaluation methods, comfortable bridging research and operational contexts, strong written and verbal communication skills, being organized and detail-oriented, and a commitment to rigorous, evidence-based approaches to implementation and evaluation.

Application documents required include a resume, cover letter mentioning any coursework taken in Program Evaluation, or any practical experience with it, and professional references.