Program Assistant, Critical Threats Project

The Critical Threats Project (CTP) at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) is seeking a full-time, in-person program assistant. Candidates should have a strong interest in advancing American national security and deterring threats to the US from Iran, the Salafi-jihadi movement, and great-power competition in the Middle East and Africa. The program assistant reports to CTP’s director. He or she aids the program associate in fulfilling myriad CTP operations functions and supporting a team of eight analysts, one portfolio manager, and one research manager. The anticipated start date for this position is as soon as possible.

Major responsibilities include assisting with CTP’s business functions, such as marketing and communications coordination, recordkeeping, and technical support; providing administrative support to CTP’s director and program associate; maintaining existing and developing new processes to publish and promote content; facilitating collaboration with other AEI teams and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW); and measuring CTP’s impact. A successful candidate will tackle challenges with a solutions-oriented attitude and seek opportunities to develop and expand CTP’s existing operations in new directions.

About CTP

CTP’s objective is to inform and educate policymakers, the intelligence and military communities, and all interested citizens who need to understand the nuance and scale of threats to America’s security.

• Operations (45 percent):
  
  • Support the program associate with ongoing and new CTP operations—including regular tasks, long-term endeavors, and special projects—that enable CTP’s research functions and promote its publications, which cover crises around the world.
  • Analyze existing processes and create and execute plans to boost their efficiency.
  • Measure the performance of CTP products and social media posts. Collaborate with the program associate and team leads to strategize ways to improve product performance in general and among key constituencies.
  • Lead CTP’s intern program (which includes 11 interns and runs for three terms per year) by facilitating intern onboarding and off-boarding, planning logistics, preparing training materials, and managing professional development activities, including mock interviews and cross-organization events with ISW.
  • Streamline the posting of daily updates, log publications in Salesforce, and measure products’ performance in Microsoft Excel monthly using audience engagement metrics.
• Communications and external relations (45 percent):
  
  • Develop and execute external relations strategies that increase CTP products’ web performance, particularly CTP’s voice on social media and in policy debates.
  • Build new modes of engagement with CTP’s audiences by planning original and synthetic content for social media, audio platforms, and newsletters.
  • Monitor the information space to identify topics for CTP to cover in special publications and other targeted content.
  • Coordinate with AEI’s Editing, Events, Design, Development, and Government Relations departments on CTP projects’ external marketing and engagement strategies.
  • Curate content on criticalthreats.org, collaborate with the IT team on website maintenance and security, and maintain webpages to ensure their optimal performance.
  • Support the production of CTP publications, including by using InDesign to lay out long-form documents that will be published as pdf files or in print and by using other software to create visuals that will accompany social media content.
  • Partner with other team members to post recurring updates on criticalthreats.org in the evening. Posting duties rotate among staff, averaging one evening per week per staff member, and may occur on weekends.
• Additional responsibilities (10 percent):
  
  • Collaborate with the program associate to supervise CTP’s communications and operations intern.
  • Provide additional support to CTP’s director as required.

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions at AEI

• The employee is regularly expected to stand, sit, talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer, telephone, and keyboard. This job requires close-up vision for computer work.
• The employee must be able to lift up to 30 pounds.
• The employee must be able to work in a confined area.
• Moderate noise (e.g., from computers, phones, printers, and light traffic) is expected.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential responsibilities associated with this position.

Candidates should have:

• A bachelor’s degree in international relations, history, Middle East studies, public or business administration, or a similar field;
• 0–2 years of professional experience in operations, preferably at a nonprofit or similar organization;
• A demonstrated interest in managing projects, including proactively identifying, planning, and executing new initiatives;
• The ability to handle multiple tasks and balance competing priorities and deadlines;
• Systematic thinking skills, an appropriate level of assertiveness, and excellent interpersonal skills;
• Meticulous attention to detail and superb organizational skills;
• A mission-oriented attitude and comfort working in a fast-paced environment;
• Advanced proficiency in X (formerly Twitter), Microsoft Office, and Adobe;
• Experience with task-management, database, and marketing programs—Asana, Salesforce, and Marketo are preferred;
• Advanced technical skills and the ability to learn new programs without assistance; and
• An interest in international relations and national security, preferably including Iran, the Middle East, Africa, and the Salafi-jihadi movement.

Benefits

AEI offers generous benefits, including 18 days of paid leave (15 days of paid annual leave and 3 personal/floating holidays); 12 days of paid sick leave; paid family leave; medical and dental coverage, in addition to a health savings account; medical and dependent care FSA; a tuition assistance program of up to $5,200; life and disability insurance at no cost to employees; and a 403b retirement plan with a 12% contribution from AEI, among other benefits. For more information, you can see a full summary of our benefits here.

Compensation is based on a number of factors, including but not limited to: scope and responsibilities of the position; a candidate's full-time, applicable work experience; key skills and qualifications; as well as internal and external market considerations. The salary range for this full-time, exempt position is $50,000 - $54,000. Salary is just one component of AEI’s total compensation package for employees.