"Senior Director, Leadership (SDL)"

Schwarzman Scholars invites nominations and applications for the position of Senior Director, Leadership (SDL). Building on more than a decade of success, the inaugural SDL will serve as the head of the Schwarzman Scholars’ leadership development pillar—one of the program’s three core pillars alongside academics and student life—at Schwarzman College, located within Tsinghua University, one of the world’s most prestigious institutions.

Reporting to the Executive Director of Schwarzman Scholars (New York) and the Dean of Schwarzman College (Beijing), the SDL is a senior member of the leadership team and works in close partnership with the Chief Student Affairs Officer and faculty colleagues at Tsinghua University. Based on site in Beijing, the SDL plays a critical role in translating the program’s ambition—preparing future global leaders with a deep understanding of China—into leadership learning that is coherent, rigorous, experiential, and globally relevant.

Founded in 2013 through a partnership between Stephen A. Schwarzman and Tsinghua University, Schwarzman Scholars is a fully funded, one-year master’s degree program in global affairs designed to prepare the next generation of global leaders. The program offers a dynamic curriculum grounded in the pillars of China, leadership, and global affairs, with learning opportunities in and beyond the classroom, including leadership training, senior mentors, high-level interactions with Chinese leaders and visiting speakers, career development guidance, and Deep Dive trips across China. Each year, 150 Scholars from a wide range of geographies, industries, and academic backgrounds are selected from a highly competitive global applicant pool (approximately 5% admit rate).

Although now more than a decade old, Schwarzman Scholars remains a builder’s environment. Each year hosts a new cohort, faculty and international visitors cycle in and out, and the institution continues to evolve. The Senior Director, Leadership plays a central role in bringing coherence and continuity to the leadership pillar—ensuring that leadership learning is experienced not as a set of disconnected moments, but as an intentional developmental journey that integrates academic study, immersive experiences across China, and daily life in residence.

Central to this work is engaging thoughtfully with global leadership traditions, helping Scholars understand leadership across cultures, political systems, and institutional contexts without privileging a single model. The SDL serves as a connector and translator between academic content and lived experience, working closely with senior staff, faculty, visiting dignitaries, and global practitioners to ensure quality, alignment, and intellectual integrity across offerings.

The SDL is responsible for designing, delivering, and continuously refining a leadership development framework that integrates academic and experiential components and resonates with a globally diverse cohort of early-career professionals. The role calls for a practitioner-scholar: someone with lived leadership experience, strong facilitation skills, intellectual credibility, and the presence to engage and challenge high-performing Scholars in both formal and informal settings.

The successful candidate will bring significant leadership experience in contexts that may include government, international organizations, NGOs, diplomacy, or global institutions. A traditional academic career or PhD is not required. The SDL will bring a global orientation, high emotional intelligence, sound judgment, and comfort navigating ambiguity and sensitive conversations. Experience designing and delivering experiential learning and leadership development programs is essential, as is the ability to work effectively across cultures. Prior experience in China is not required, but curiosity about the country and its role in the world is essential.

As an employee of both the Stephen A. Schwarzman Education Foundation and Tsinghua University, this position comes with a competitive salary, a fully furnished apartment and meal plan at Schwarzman College, and a comprehensive benefits package. For further information, to submit recommendations, or to express interest in the role, please contact: SchwarzmanEDLL@russellreynolds.com.