The mission of the Berggruen Institute (BI) is to ask questions and develop foundational ideas about how to reshape political and social institutions in a transforming society. We work across cultures, disciplines, and political boundaries to engage great thinkers in developing and promoting long-term answers to the biggest challenges of the 21st Century.

The Berggruen Institute’s “Future Humans” program launched in Fall 2022 and is a developing program within the Institute. Its research traces how the category of the human is shifting and asks, what life will become in the future?

The program has developed original ideas through publications and programming with intellectual and institutional partners and now seeks to further develop original ideas with extraordinary thinkers and propagate them in the world around core Research Areas of Time & Consciousness, The Alien, and Embodiment. The ultimate goal is to contribute to a new
episteme of life.

Reporting to Claire Webb, Associate Director of Future Humans, the Senior Program Manager will support the program’s operations, logistics, and network development. Along with the Program Coordinator, this position will drive the successful implementation of the program’s
unique model of experimental and experiential philosophical exploration.
To be successful in this role, the Senior Program Manager will bring excellent program and project management experience to the team to support the development and delivery of experimental platforms, immersive experiences, and publications. These processes and outputs
will grow the frameworks and texts originating from the Future Humans program across a broader global community to include collaboration with the Institute’s Europe and Asia Centers, network of research and cultural institutions, as well as continue to cultivate a focused cohort of world-class scholars, scientists, speculative fiction writers, futurists, and creators to elevate the work through original intellectual and creative projects.

Key Areas of Responsibility will be to support:

Robust, regular, and formalized internal and external stakeholder engagement plan

The formalization of the Future Humans model for immersive experiences, signature events, and workshops that support our theory of change.

A rubric to establish, develop, and execute the Future Humans project pipeline that balances effort with impact. This includes supervising the program coordinator as well as managing external vendors and contractors.

An aggressive publication strategy that will support the popularization and propagation of new categories of knowledge-building

A Comms and PR plan that will broadly promote the work of Future Humans to generate a steady pipeline of high-quality, original, and thought-provoking content in novel forms

A development plan devoted to creating an efficient pipeline for finalizing and promoting Future Humans outputs: essays, films, lectures, artworks, conversations

Bachelor’s degree required, master’s degree a bonus

Minimum of 3-5 years of progressive experience in both Project &amp; Program Management with specialization in creative and experimental event and media production

Excellent communication and interpersonal relationship-building skills

Practiced in managing multi-dimensionally to ensure successful project implementation and reports to key stakeholders

Experienced in managing individuals and teams to ensure appropriate goals are set and deliverables met

Posses a systems mindset to work, creating repeatable and easy-to-navigate structures and processes that allow for flexibility and iteration to achieve scale

Confident working independently as well as building collaborative coalitions to identify gaps and bring solutions / resources to drive projects

Familiarity with collaborative platforms such as Slack, Asana, Google Suite, and other tools to drive execution of projects, deliverables, and events

Proactive and biased towards action; can confidently navigate ambiguity and create clear pathways to realize ambitious and experimental projects through deploying internal and external resources

Confident acting as subject matter expert on all things project operations, processes, and budget; comfortable interfacing with senior leadership, external stakeholders, and internal collaborators

Familiar with established and emerging art and media forms (fine art, new media, design, architecture) and experienced in managing collaborative creative projects

Excited about realizing an emergent episteme of life that Future Humans will contribute to defining in the 21st century and beyond

Curious about science, technology, philosophy, and design, and motivated to expand and deepen knowledge through practice

The hiring range for this position is $90,000 - $110,000 per year commensurate with experience.

Please email the cover letter and resume to 

Berggruen Institute is a proud equal opportunities workplace. We firmly believe employing a diverse workforce is important regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity,
gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Berggruen Institute is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.

Future Humans Senior Program Manager

The Berggruen Institute (BI) is looking for an experienced Associate Producer to assist in the creation and ongoing production of its first inaugural podcast series, 

Hosted by BI’s Nils Gilman and produced by Studio B (BI’s production arm) in partnership with Realm of Possibility (REALM), the weekly show will consist of 40 episodes, each approximately sixty to ninety minutes in length. The podcast interrogates the following: Every so often, throughout human history, an idea emerges that is so radical, so profound, that it alters the course of humanity itself. From Plato to NATO, such ideas redefine the prevailing worldview. In other words, a 

With each season, we will explore visionary ideas with the power to set in motion such transformational change for the 21st century. Episodes will include the voices and perspectives of a diverse and heady mix of pioneering scientists, philosophers, politicians, and artists, a uniquely “Berggruen Institute” approach.

This is a hands-on contracted role lasting for 8-10 months with the potential for longer term opportunities. The pay is $8,000 per month with the associate producer ideally beginning the project immediately.The project will begin pre-production in September and run through a period of banking of episodes, with the 40-week episode release window beginning in April 2025. Contractor must be based in the greater Los Angeles area, as the majority of episode recordings will be occurring in Studio B’s Downtown LA location.

Collaborate directly with the Realm and Studio B leads to develop the production calendar with deliverable deadlines clearly defined.

Represent BI through production, acting as point of contact between BI and Realm, facilitate all production, including guest booking, host schedule coordination, and tape management

Work with Realm to schedule recordings and manage logistics for interviews happening at Studio B and remotely (via Riverside).

Create prep docs and make sure BI talent is informed on all matters for episode interviews

Sit in on interviews to ensure quality and content. At this time we do not anticipate a set recording schedule and we do expect recordings to happen periodically on weekends and evenings.

Conduct interviews with all relevant secondary and background sources

Act as point of contact between Realm, Studio B, and hosts through editing rounds on each episodes content and metadata (up to two rounds of revisions per episode)

Assist in creation of an archiving and file management system for podcast documents and records.

Coordinate promotional efforts between Realm and BI talent (in podcast and on supplemental channels)

Attendance at all planning and production meetings, which may occur on weekends or evenings, taking detailed notes to ensure action items are documented and enhance collaboration.

Calendar & internal production workflow creation

Other related pre-production tasks to support audio / video

Support development of style guide for video / audio assets

Support Project Management of Recording, Editing, Approval Process

Support development of promo assets for 11/23 teaser launch

Work with internal / external teams to develop, traffic, and monitor performance of advertising and other promotional assets

: April, 2025 (Weekly Releases through EOY)

Duties as required to support launch & distribution

: April, 2025- TBC (dependent on scheduling / events)

Archiving & Data Storage System Design and Implementation

Organize and catalog all research, scripts, audio/video, promo materials

Superior written and verbal communication and people skills

Meticulous attention to detail with strong organizational skills

Enthusiasm for problem solving and working through logistical issues

Strong technical aptitude and desire to use new technologies and tools to work efficiently

Familiarity with a tape cutting abilities in DAWs a plus

Please email your cover letter and resume to 

Associate Producer, Paradigm Shifts Podcast

The mission of the Berggruen Institute is to ask questions and develop foundational ideas about how to reshape political and social institutions in a transforming society. We work across cultures, disciplines, and political boundaries to engage great thinkers in developing and promoting long-term answers to the biggest challenges of the 21st Century.

The Berggruen Institute is seeking a detail-oriented, systems-minded, storytelling practitioner to join our team as a Senior Program Manager responsible for Integrated Communications & Design. In this role you will be responsible for planning, executing, and managing the Institute's integrated Communication & Design projects in a variety of registers. You will work closely with various teams to ensure our Communication & Design strategies effectively promote our initiatives and elevate our global presence. Versed in shaping stories as well as operationalizing their production and dissemination, the ideal candidate for this position will feel equally confident generating copy, briefing a design team and populating a production workflow. This is a highly collaborative role within the Institute and requires excellent teamwork.

This position will oversee Communications & Design for a diverse portfolio of Institute initiatives, developing and maintaining detailed project plans for major programs / projects, including physical and virtual events, research report / thematic program outputs, signature programs, video and audio projects, book releases, and other projects on an as needed basis. To include:

Providing overall project management and operationalizing of related Comms & Design efforts to support these initiatives, ensuring the proper resourcing (internally and / or externally) and that related Comms & Design outputs meet the Institute’s standards and program lead’s objectives.

Ensure overall content strategy alignment through the development and maintenance of an editorial calendar and tailored production, review and delivery timelines, ensuring timely and coordinated content dissemination.

Maintain and grow strong relationships with all internal departments including theme leads, Events, Design, Studio B., international centers, Institute leadership and external partners.

Develop and prepare short-term and long-range plans and budgets together with internal stakeholders based upon the broad organizational goals and objectives.

Establish and direct Institute’s Design & Comms project management workflow procedures and controls.

Together with the Chief of Staff, Design Director, Studio B., external content creators (writers, designers, videographers, etc.) and other team members, the Senior Program Manager will oversee the creation and dissemination of content including articles for web, videos, podcasts, social media posts, infographics, media releases, newsletters, etc. to ensure the production of high-quality content that adheres to brand guidelines and delivers on strategic objectives. This may involve writing, editing, proofreading, filming, recording, or design for various mediums.

Works in partnership with the Chief of Staff, Design Director and Studio B. team on channel strategy & prioritization to create a dynamic planning system that can accommodate long-lead and real-time responsiveness.

Responsible for developing content strategies, including determining the type of content needed, the target audience, and the distribution channels in collaboration with leadership, theme/program leads, key stakeholders and external partners.

Ensure creation is executed in close collaboration with Theme Leads, global offices (Europe & China), Event, signature program (Prize, Essay, Board), Design and Studio B. teams to bring Institute's brand and voice to life across every touchpoint, translating complex research on key themes such as life, technology, planetary politics, democracy, and capitalism into accessible, engaging content.

Together with Studio B & Social Media Manager provide oversight, input, review and approval of the Institute’s social media content, including Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook.

Work closely with senior staff to prepare presentations and other communications materials such as slides for talks, collateral for events, etc..

Supports media relations efforts, managing image and media requests, media databases, and tracking coverage.

Review and edit content developed by internal / external partners to maintain consistency, accuracy, and relevance, as well as to ensure it meets strategic objectives.

Work in close collaboration with internal tech team, theme leads, and Institute leadership to optimize content for search engines (SEO) and develop organic promotion strategies to reach a wider audience.

In collaboration with theme leads, Events, Design team, Studio B. and external partners, helps manage content creation budgets, ensuring cost-effectiveness and resource allocation.

Monitor content performance using analytics tools and provide reports to assess the impact of content on audience engagement and business goals.

10+ years of experience in a design & communications role leading content development and implementation.

Bachelor's Degree preferred, or equivalent experience

Expertise in understanding storytelling and strategic ways to effectively communicate complex ideas across diverse channels to create a cohesive narrative.

Experience with traditional, digital, and emerging communication channels to drive engagement.

Experience with platforms such as HootSuite, Airtable, Salesforce, Project Management software (e.g. Asana) and design tools (e.g. Adobe Suite).

Ability to manage multiple responsibilities while maintaining high-quality standards.

Excellent communication and relationship management abilities.

Proven program and project management skills.

Exceptional writing, speaking, and active listening skills.

In-depth knowledge of best practices for reaching targeted audiences via organic public relations, marketing strategy and social media.

Professional understanding of crisis management.

Strong project management skills, including time management, goal-setting, multitasking, and prioritization.

Problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.

Leadership capabilities, including training and mentorship.

$110k - $120k depending on skills and experience

If you are interested in this position, please email a cover letter and resume to 

Berggruen Institute is a proud equal opportunities workplace. We firmly believe employing a diverse workforce is important regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Berggruen Institute is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.

Careers

Future Humans Senior Program Manager

Associate Producer, Paradigm Shifts Podcast

Senior Program Manager: Integrated Communications & Design