Harvard’s director of community relations for Cambridge is leaving his post to join a local philanthropic organization—the second high-ranking University public affairs official to depart in the last six months.

Travis McCready—who has worked in the Office of Government, Community and Public Affairs since May 2000—will become the chief of staff and corporate secretary of the Boston Foundation, a $700 million philanthropic organization focused on improving educational and social services in the city through grants and local partnerships.

“This is a great opportunity for me,” McCready said yesterday. “The Boston Foundation does some great things, and this is a chance for me to get my hands in up to my elbows in the work they do.”

McCready leaves the University at a time when relations between Harvard and Cambridge have soured over a series of building projects and perceived political slights.

“To a certain extent…I feel like I’m leaving the game in the third quarter,” McCready said. “[But] I think that even for a short stint, I’ve been able to be involved in years’ worth of work.”

Next month, at the age of 31, McCready will become one the five most senior officials at the Boston Foundation, serving as Foundation President Paul S. Grogan’s chief of staff—a role that includes managing scheduling, handling interoffice communications and coordinating some long-range initiatives.

Grogan himself left Harvard for the Boston Foundation in July, after serving for less than three years as the University’s vice president for government, community and public affairs.

Grogan approached McCready about the new position last month.

Grogan praised McCready’s personal and professional characteristics, saying he has the ideal background and experience for the job.

“He has great poise and maturity,” Grogan said. “He’s imperturbable and can deal with a lot of pressure.”

McCready received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and a law degree from the University of Iowa Law School in Iowa City. He spent two years teaching fifth grade at a public school in the Bronx, and then worked as an attorney in Minneapolis representing several non-profit clients before coming to Harvard to tackle Cambridge community relations.

McCready’s 18 months at Harvard had mixed success, as several key development projects and community initiatives led to tensions between Harvard, city officials and Cambridge residents.

Last spring, city officials responded harshly to the announcement of a $5 million commitment to Boston afterschool programs, questioning why Cambridge did not receive a similar commitment.

And Harvard’s efforts to build the Center for Government and International Affairs, on Cambridge Street continued to face community opposition before receiving initial approval last fall, and still must win backing from the City Council.

And most visibly, Harvard has faced vocal protests from Cambridge’s Riverside neighborhood over the proposed building of a modern art museum along the Charles River, with the City Council passing a development moratorium on the entire neighborhood last October.