Senior Director, Global China Hub

Job Location: Atlantic Council Headquarters – Washington, DC
Employment Type: Full-Time
Seniority Level: Senior Director
Job Category: Staff

Overview

The Global China Hub researches and devises allied solutions to the global challenges posed by China’s rise, leveraging and amplifying the Atlantic Council’s work on China across its fifteen other programs and centers.

The Atlantic Council’s programs and centers produce strong content and analysis on China which have significant impact on US and allied government policies. This centralized body pulls together these various work streams into a cohesive whole, further intensifying and integrate the Atlantic Council’s China work, all focused on galvanizing American alliances to take actions to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by China’s rise.

Key desired attributes for the Senior Director include demonstrated thought leadership as a prominent public voice on China, experience living and working in China, professional-level Mandarin skills, significant experience as well on broader strategic and global issues (that a rising China influences), public-sector and (ideally) private-sector experience, a high degree of collegiality, an extraordinary teamwork orientation, superb organizational skills, and top-notch communications skills.

The ideal candidate will be able to quickly learn and operate within a matrixed organization and build consensus around common goals and objectives. The Senior Director will be a China expert within their own right and will be able to help inform the rest of the Atlantic Council’s work on China through this lens.

About the Senior Director

The Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub seeks an experienced, resourceful, well-organized, collaborative, and collegial Senior Director to manage its daily operations and help the Atlantic Council achieve its ambitious strategic objectives to galvanize allies to meet the array of challenges posed by China.

The Senior Director will be responsible for generating new work on China and helping to effectively coordinate, both internally and externally, ongoing work to achieve greater strategic impact. The Senior Director will also help empower, enable, integrate, and amplify the Atlantic Council’s programs and centers to continue to build their China programming and present it as a unified body of work whenever possible. The Senior Director will develop and execute their own portfolio while simultaneously ensuring that the Council’s China work remains coordinated across the organization, particularly with our broader body of work on alliances, geoeconomics, strategy, and US-China relations.
 

The Senior Director will strengthen the organization’s brand on this issue and further build the Atlantic Council’s robust China work. This position is based  in our Washington, DC headquarters. Pay is commensurate with experience, education, and organizational equity, with offers starting at $163,000. 

Job responsibilities

• Project Management. The Senior Director will oversee the Hub’s projects, coordinating the activities of Hub staff and internal and external partners to drive execution, overseeing the fulfillment of administrative and financial reporting requirements for these projects, and managing the relationships with government or private-sector project sponsors.
• Collaboration. The Senior Director will coordinate between the Hub and the staff of Programs and Centers at the Atlantic Council, as well as the External Relations, Finance, Human Resources, Development, and Executive Office teams on all aspects of the Hub’s operations. The Senior Director will meet regularly with counterparts in other centers to align China-related programming, research, fundraising, communications, and other cross-Council efforts.
• Fundraising. The Senior Director will work with members of the development and public sector partnerships teams to set and work toward the Hub’s own fundraising goals and coordinate with adjacent Centers’ China work to help them meet those goals. The Senior Director will craft proposals for new work, generate financial support for the Hub’s core competencies, and help build the Hub’s and adjacent Centers’ funding base for China work by sustaining current financial support and pursuing additional support from corporations, governments, international organizations, foundations, and individuals.
• Financial Management. The Senior Director to manage and coordinate all relevant center budgeting and administrative responsibilities.
• Communications. The Senior Direct will execute the Hub’s vision for communicating a coherent and comprehensive body of work on China for external audiences, including through its website, newsletter, social media platforms, and ad hoc engagement with key internal and external stakeholders.
• Supervision. The Senior Director has ultimate oversight over the activities of the Global China Hub staff, interns and fellows documenting and evaluating their performance and providing coaching and feedback.
• China expertise. The Senior Director will have deep expertise on China’s internal politics and foreign policy to provide insight to the larger Atlantic Council community. The Senior Director understands that it is of the utmost importance to help the United States work closely with its Asian and European allies to manage the challenges posed by China and will emphasize this priority in ongoing and future work across the Atlantic Council’s workstreams. As a China expert, the Senior Director will be a thought leader and will oversee the Hub’s production of China-related content.
• Writing, Editing, and Intellectual Guidance. The Senior Director will draw on their established expertise on China to guide the intellectual outputs of the Global China Hub and those of adjacent Centers. These efforts include direct research and writing and editing or providing feedback on China-related research publications from Council staff or fellows. The Senior Director will also represent the Hub during public and private events at the Atlantic Council or outside institutions by serving as a panelist or moderator or delivering opening remarks. The Senior Director understands that the highest priority of the Global China Hub’s work is to help the United States work closely with its Asian and European allies to manage and address the challenges posed by China and will emphasize this priority in ongoing and future work across the Council’s workstreams.

Qualifications

• 10 or more years of relevant work experience on China-related issues and/or other relevant areas within government service, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and/or academia;
• Established thought leadership as a prominent public voice on China;
• Professional-level fluency in Mandarin and experience living and working in China;
• Master’s degree or doctorate in relevant field;
• Significant experience in private sector and/or governmental decision-making processes and policy development;
• Extensive experience in program management and business development, preferably in an entrepreneurial environment;
• Exceptional writing, organizational, and communications skills and a willingness to experiment in outreach methods;
• Ability to multitask and prioritize appropriately, and foster those skills in Hub staff;
• Excellent interpersonal skills: must be able to manage fellows, staff, and interns, and work closely with colleagues, senior Council staff, and external officials and partners;
• Demonstrated ability and success building networks and initiating effective partnerships among expert analysts, government leaders, non-governmental organizations, international institutions, and business executives;
• Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines in a fluid, dynamic environment;
• Commitment to the Council’s mission and the ability to communicate that commitment in a compelling, motivating way;
• High degree of collegiality, extraordinary teamwork orientation, and superb organizational skills; 
• Accomplished track-record in fundraising and financial management.

To produce quality work and to successfully achieve our mission, we recognize the need for our staff to maintain a healthy lifestyle and a work/life balance. Our comprehensive benefits package helps to keep costs low for our staff and their families. Benefits include, but are not limited to comprehensive medical, dental and vision insurance, paid time off, 403(b) plan, FSA options, pet insurance, Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility, and wellness benefits.

Explore the Program

The Global China Hub researches and devises allied solutions to the global challenges posed by China’s rise, leveraging and amplifying the Atlantic Council’s work on China across its fifteen other programs and centers.

Learn more