Overview

The Atlantic Council seeks a positive, entrepreneurial, and execution-oriented individual with strong operational and program management skills to join our team and scale the Millennium Leadership Program. This role will have a split portfolio of responsibilities between working on the Millennium Leadership Fellowship and the Young Global Professionals internship program. The individual will report to the MLP director but will collaborate closely with members of the HR Department to support and administer the internship program. The ideal candidate will have prior experience in program design and management and is expected to be a self-starter who can share in the creation and implementation of the program vision.

The Millennium Leadership Program (MLP) is the Atlantic Council’s “leadership accelerator” for future global leaders, between the ages of 25 and 35. We run an annual fellowship program – the Millennium Leadership Fellowship – which takes fellows to the front lines of global challenges and equips them with the skills, networks, and understanding to make a difference. Alongside world- class convenings, skills trainings, executive coaching, and a curriculum of master classes in key international issues, a distinguishing feature is our experiential “study tours.” In recent years, these have included exploring migration near the Syrian border in Turkey and along the migrant route through the Greek islands; peacebuilding after the historic FARC deal in Colombia; and democracy after the Revolution of Dignity in Kyiv, Ukraine, among many others. Through these programs we deliver a rich and once-in-a-lifetime experience to our fellows.

Fellows are selected through an extraordinarily competitive process and include elected officials, ministers, and senior advisors to heads-of-state; rising executives at fortune 500 companies, young CEO’s and entrepreneurs; and award winning and world-renowned artists, activists, authors, academics, and others. All under 35, they are an incredible community that will shape the world for decades to come. In total, our community exceeds 500 fellows and span over eighty countries.

The Associate Director must be effective in working with colleagues throughout the Atlantic Council to coordinate:

1. Business development and fundraising opportunities to help grow the Millennium Leadership Program and the Young Global Leadership internship program
2. Outreach efforts linked to recruitment for the Millennium Leadership Fellowship and Young Global Leadership internship program
3. Support in curriculum building and strategy processes related to the Fellowship and internship program;
4. Workshops, trainings, panel discussions and other elements of the Fellowship and internship curriculums;
5. Support a cross-functional process that engages every program and center across the organization in selecting Fellows and interns.

For the Millennium Leadership Fellowship specifically, the candidate will provide:

1. Working alongside the program director in program management and facilitation, leading program content (both virtually and in-person), serving as a central point person vis a vis key partners, coaching program participants, and leading on program design.
2. Playing a leading role in our annual fundraising efforts alongside the program director, performing prospect research, preparing marketing materials, and pursuing fundraising opportunities ranging from individual donors, to corporate partners, philanthropies, and government funding. The business development cycle includes: (1) prospecting new corporate, institutional, and individual partners/donors, (2) recruiting to executive education learning opportunities (3) supporting the campaign to bring on sponsors to the program, and (4) fundraising through the pursuit of individual grants and partnership opportunities
3. Operational support to the MLP program director in scaling MLP. This includes supporting the full cycle of the Millennium Fellows program. The program cycle includes: (1) recruitment, (2) selection, (3) onboarding, (4) virtual leadership development program and master classes, (5) executive coaching series, (6) annual study tours, and (7) alumni community management.
4. Logistical planning support for our annual study tours including working with the program director and external partners to assemble agendas for 10-day expeditions around the world to the front lines of global challenges. This work practically entails a great deal of open-source research into themes, regions, and people who we might meet and visit on programs; outreach to speakers; and logistical planning including securing hotels, on-ground transportation, event venues, organizing group meals, and other necessary aspects of running in-person programs in the field. Finally, this person will be expected to travel with the team on all tours and provide in-person support to program leaders on-the-ground throughout.

A successful candidate must communicate effectively by email and in-person; demonstrate excellent administrative abilities and attention to detail; enjoy and thrive in our fast-paced and entrepreneurial environment; be capable of embracing both ambiguity and structured processes; and possess a positive, outgoing spirit that enables them to effectively build and manage relationships with interns, fellows, staff, and the senior leaders who engage with our programs around the world. The candidate must be discreet, engaging, collegial, reliable, exceptionally organized, culturally sensitive and respectful, and have an interest in leadership, education, and foreign policy.

Because this position is designed to scale a major new program at the Council – the Young Global Professionals program – and scale an existing program – the Millennium Leadership Fellowship – it has significant potential for growth tied to the expansion of these initiatives. This position will play an instrumental role in all aspects of our work, including program management, facilitation, operations, and business development. It is also unique in that it provides exposure to every center and program across the Atlantic Council.

Job responsibilities

• Work collaboratively with the Human Resources and MLP teams to execute full cycles of our fellowship and paid internship program annually for 20-30 participants per cycle. Both cycles include the following phases: (1) recruitment, (2) selection, (3) onboarding training, (4) leadership development and curriculum design (5) alumni community management.
• Work collaboratively with junior and mid-level staff throughout the organization to coordinate operational activities associated with the processes described above.
• Play a leading role in program design and facilitation of ongoing educational content.
• Support in the management of key organizational relationships – ranging from participants, to consultants, partners, and funders.
• Working alongside the program director in business development efforts – supporting on all existing efforts and initiating the pursuit of new funding opportunities
• Manage day-to-day program operations including ongoing virtual content and logistics for tours, retreats, trainings, and other in-person elements of the program.
• Travel to retreats and join study tours to provide on-ground support.\

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in the fields of education, entrepreneurship, or international relations. A master’s degree in one of the above fields is a plus.
• Relevant experience working in supporting fellowship or internship programs
• Relevant experience in the spheres of fundraising and/or sales
• Relevant experience facilitating educational content at a high level
• Relevant experience managing high-level relationships with funders and key partners Ability to see the “big picture” and break it down into parts and tasks, anticipate and orchestrate next steps, and coordinate many moving pieces simultaneously.
• Exceptional organizational and administrative skills; ability to initiate, prioritize, and follow through on plans.
• Research skills and computer literacy; proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and report/query tools preferable.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and community-building skills
• Excels working in an independent and self-motivated manner as well as part of an organization-wide, matrixed team.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Commitment to the Council’s mission and the ability to translate that commitment into compelling external communications, including social media posts, emails to partners, and program collateral materials.