Associate Director, Business and Program Development

About the Milken Institute

The Milken Institute is a globally minded, publicly supported, non-partisan, and nonprofit think tank headquartered in Santa Monica, with offices in Washington, DC, New York, London, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore. For the past three decades, the Milken Institute has served as a catalyst for practical, scalable solutions to global challenges by connecting human, financial, and educational resources to those who need them. Guided by a conviction that the best ideas, under-resourced, cannot succeed, we conduct research and analysis and convene top experts, innovators, and influencers from different backgrounds and competing viewpoints. We leverage this expertise and insight to construct programs and policy initiatives. These activities are designed to help people build meaningful lives in which they can experience health and well-being, pursue effective education and gainful employment, and access the resources required to create ever-expanding opportunities for themselves and their broader communities.

The Milken Institute's events and programmatic activities, involve the exchange of ideas with leaders from around the world. The Institute hosts more than 200 events each year, with our annual flagship event, Global Conference, bringing together 4,500+ participants from around the world, featuring more than 900+ speakers throughout 200+ sessions over the course of the event.

About the Position

The Milken Institute seeks an Associate Director to join our Business and Program Development team. Members of this team oversee the fundraising and stakeholder engagement throughout all of the Milken Institute's marquee events and programs, including our flagship Global Conference. They will bring organization, attention to detail, and creativity to bear, adding value to the Institute's programmatic reputation and event execution.

The incoming Associate Director will join the core team focused on the development of our bi-annual Dialogues event series and events surrounding our flagship Global Conference. This position will also work closely with the Milken Institute Global Programming team as well as our CEO and Chairman's offices.

Responsibilities

• Relationship Management and Supporter Engagement:
  • Identify and cultivate new meaningful relationships for the Institute and collaborating on enhancing engagement for existing relationships, particularly with existing Institute supporters and prospective donors
  • Support speaker outreach and relationship management when drafting speaker invitations, researching principal expertise
  • Prepare and design supporting documents sent to speakers to support a seamless engagement experience - including session-specific briefing materials, bespoke itineraries, etc.
• Topical Research and Content Development:
  • Contribute to creative ideation between programming colleagues, business development, and Chairman's office to ensure the most relevant, innovative, and action-oriented content is highlighted at our events.
  • Stay abreast of important trends connected to the Milken Institute's mission and research on timely global challenges, priorities, and trends to help inform program development, session descriptions, thought leadership, and talking points within speaker briefing materials.
  • Research and identify prominent and emerging leaders, including social entrepreneurs, innovative corporate executives, leading researchers, and public influencers to complement the existing high-level Milken Institute network.
  • Drive content curation and session development, draft session descriptions and briefing documents, ensure program materials have mission-aligned narratives and clear, timely objectives.
  • Project manage between multiple stakeholder groups in close coordination with President and Chairman's offices - creating strong communication paths and working relationships
• Internal Coordination:
  • Support inter- and intradepartmental communications to ensure smooth collaboration, effective processes, and deadlines are met for relevant deliverables.
  • Keep relevant databases and Institute CRM up to date with accurate and thorough information.
  • Ensure internal processes are followed and enforce process adherence by program contributors.
  • Maintain collaborative working documents within the programming department, business development department and across other teams as necessary/relevant.
• Event Execution:
  • Travel should be anticipated to attend and staff regional events as needed to support BPD team and assist with execution of a successful event.

Milken Institute Dialogues

• Dialogues Project Management and Program Development
  • Serves as core member of the leadership team focused on the bi-annual Milken Institute Dialogues in the Hamptons and South Florida, working with and supporting a cross-functional team on an ongoing basis leading up to the event to ensure successful execution
  • Contribute heavily to the content creation and session development of the program - a unique content stream to match intimate setting and audience of invitation-only events.
  • Serve as main point of contact for Institute staff, and advisors regarding their queries and contributions related to the Dialogues program.
  • Oversee program execution, including speaker confirmations, and ensure wider team is meeting event goals, deadlines, and objectives.
  • Serve as primary liaison between the Global Programming team and research pillars regarding content curation, session development, and speaker recruitment as it relates to our Dialogues audience and goals.
  • Serve as primary point of contact between the Business and Program Development team, Global Programming team, and Chairman's Office regarding programmatic suggestions and contributions to Dialogues agenda.

Global Conference (and other year-round events)

• Global Conference
  • Co-lead private events leading into Global Conference, including weekend events
  • Liaise with President and Chairman's office to create smooth transition and clear communication lines to further Institute priorities.
  • Duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required.
• A minimum of five to eight (5-8) years of relevant experience with increasing responsibility.
• Excellent writing, editing, and analytical skills. Effective communicator, both oral and written.
• Sophistication in fostering and managing high profile stakeholder relationships.
• Positive personal attitude that includes being outgoing, entrepreneurial, action-oriented, flexible, with a willingness to adapt to changing situations and having a good sense of humor.
• Willingness and ability to travel, work across time zones, and ability to work evenings and weekends as needed.
• Experience with Salesforce (or similar CRM), Sharepoint and Microsoft Office suite
• Successful completion of background checks required upon hire.

Working Conditions & Travel Requirements

This position will work in a professional office environment on a hybrid schedule consisting of three (3) days per week reporting in-person to the New York office location (Tuesday - Thursday), with the remaining two (2) days working remotely. Please understand, this schedule is subject to change at the Institute's sole discretion.

This person will also be required to travel occasionally to other offices and/or venues to assist with events as needed, requiring occasional work outside of traditional hours. Domestic travel is possible. Additionally, this position requires interacting virtually on a regular basis with Milken Institute staff based in other locations in the United States and around the world.

Note

The statements herein are intended to describe the overall nature and level of work being performed by employees and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the employer.

We are interested in qualified candidates who are eligible to work in the United States. Please note, we are not sponsoring visas at this time, being authorized to work in the U.S. is a precondition of employment.

Please submit resume and cover letter illustrating how your experience and skills will contribute to the department and any unique qualities you bring to the position. If applying via Indeed, please upload your resume and any supporting documentation as one attachment. Any application that does not include both a resume and cover letter will be rejected. If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact our Human Resources department to ask for an accommodation or an alternative application process.

Our Culture

The Milken Institute is proud to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or status as a veteran.

Every person at the Milken Institute is treated with respect, supported with resources and training, and exposed to a broad range of experiences. We foster a space for growth with opportunities to share knowledge and passion with both clients and colleagues. We are committed to building a diverse workforce and creating an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive. Our leadership is actively involved in our commitment to diversity and inclusion, and fostering a culture that creates opportunities for everyone.

Benefits

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• Retirement Plan - 403b (5% match)
• Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
• Paid Time Off (Personal, Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
• Family Leave (Maternity & Paternity)
• Fertility Support
• Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
• Flexible Spending Account (FSAs)
• Pet Insurance Discount
• Training & Development:
• LinkedIn Learning - over 15,000 self-guided classes offered
• Annual Mentor Program
• Wellness Resources:
• Employee Assistance Program
• CALM app membership