Director, Aspen Leadership Seminars

About Us

The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Since its founding in 1949, the Institute has been driving change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most critical challenges facing communities in the United States and around the world. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Institute has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, and an international network of partners.

The Director of Seminars will serve as the architect and steward of the Aspen Leadership Seminars’ overall operations and organizational health, building and maintaining the structures that allow the department to thrive. Reporting to the Executive Director, this senior-level role ensures that the department has the processes, systems, and operational discipline needed to operate with clarity, cohesion, and impact.

The Seminars portfolio of programs is both mission-driven and revenue-generating. Through tuition-based and fee-for-service programs for individuals and organizations, the department advances the Institute’s commitment to values-based leadership while operating with the discipline of a business inside a nonprofit framework. With recent growth in seminars, staff, and increasing complexity across the portfolio, this role is critical to ensuring the expansion is supported by strong, scalable operational foundations.

This role provides operational leadership and integrative support that enables the department to run smoothly and sustainably, in close partnership with the Executive Director’s focus on vision, strategy, and program quality. The Director works collaboratively with the heads of Business Development, Marketing & Communications, and Program Delivery, and interfaces regularly with colleagues across the Center for Leadership, Aspen Global Leadership Network, and the wider Institute.

They provide partial management for the Senior Finance Manager and serve as a trusted thought partner to the Executive Director, bringing forward insights, surfacing risks and opportunities, and ensuring priorities are translated into coordinated execution across the department.

The Salary range for this position is $141,000-$151,000. In accordance with our Reimagining Work policy, the Director should be willing to be in-person with colleagues a minimum of 40% of the time while having the flexibility to work remotely for the balance.

• Oversee the overall operational health of the Seminars department, ensuring clarity, cohesion, and effective day-to-day functioning across all areas of work.
• Act as a trusted advisor to the Executive Director, translating vision and priorities into operational plans and ensuring day-to-day practices align with long-term strategy.
• Maintain deep working knowledge of departmental operations, systems, finances, and workflows, allowing the Executive Director to remain focused on strategic priorities.
• Serve as the primary point of coordination between the Seminars Department, the Center for Leadership, and central Institute functions (Finance, HR, IT), ensuring alignment, clarity, and follow-through.
• Design, implement, and steward department-wide systems, processes, tools, and standards that support accountability, consistency, scalability, and aligned execution across teams.
• Translate Institute-wide systems, policies, and initiatives into operational practices that support the Seminars department’s effectiveness, efficiency, and growth.
• Maintain visibility into the full departmental calendar and proactively flag conflicts, capacity constraints, or timing risks.
• Track and manage monthly, quarterly, and annual operational deadlines across finance, HR, and program delivery cycles.

• Provide financial leadership for the Seminars department, overseeing budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and resource allocation in partnership with the Executive Director, Design and Delivery team lead, and Senior Finance Manager.
• Ensure financial discipline and visibility, aligning spending with approved budgets, delivery timelines, and strategic priorities, and maintaining…