The Statement Fellowship Director

About Students For Liberty

Students For Liberty (SFL) is the largest global network of pro-liberty students and alumni, with operations spanning over 120 countries. We exist to educate, develop, and empower the next generation of leaders advancing individual liberty, free markets, and free speech. Through grassroots organizing, leadership development, and impactful programming, we equip young people to become powerful agents of change in their communities and countries. With over 80 staff members, 2,500+ volunteers, and an alumni network of more than 10,000 individuals shaping the world through entrepreneurship, policy, activism, and innovation, SFL is one of the most dynamic and scalable forces for freedom today.

About The Statement Fellowship

The Statement Fellowship is SFL’s flagship leadership development program, funded by a dedicated three-year commitment. Each year, the program selects up to 30 fellows from SFL’s global volunteer network and invests deeply in their intellectual development, individual trajectories, and most ambitious projects. The curriculum is grounded in the Austrian economic tradition and applied to the policy challenges reshaping fellows’ countries. The program includes biweekly sessions, one-on-one mentorship with senior practitioners, meaningful stipends tied to deliverables, project grants, and an annual multi-day summit. The Fellowship is built to identify and develop fellows on credible paths to positions of real influence in their countries and fields.

About the role

The Statement Fellowship Director owns the end-to-end success of the program. This person builds the cohort, runs the program year, manages the donor relationship alongside SFL leadership, and delivers measurable results. The director is accountable for all aspects of the program and reports to the International Director of Programs.

Key Responsibilities

Program Design & Execution

Own the full program cycle: fellow recruitment, selection, onboarding, biweekly programming, mentorship coordination, project grant deployment, and annual summit delivery
Manage the application pipeline using SFL’s gamification platform (7,000–10,000 applicants annually), layer in regional director recommendations, and run a rigorous multi-stage interview process
Curate and manage the mentor network, matching each fellow with a senior practitioner aligned to their individual trajectory
Ensure every fellow ships a year-end deliverable: a policy paper, a launched organization, an impact project, or a measurable result

Donor Relations & Reporting

Deliver brief quarterly updates on program plans and progress
Produce a detailed annual overview of how funds were spent and what outcomes were achieved
Be part of the committee that identifies fellows for additional individual funding support, with a focus on fellows with high-leverage paths to public office

Evaluation & Measurement

Build evaluation infrastructure from day one—this is a program requirement, not an afterthought
Implement the A/B (counterfactual) evaluation design: track fellows against a matched comparison group of near-selectees from the same applicant pool over 1, 3, and 5 years to measure causal impact
Maintain a tiered KPI scorecard across three horizons: Year 1 outputs, Years 2–3 career velocity and policy influence, Years 5–10 positions held and systemic impact
Commission and manage 5–8 deep qualitative case studies per year tracing fellow inputs to real-world outcomes
Coordinate with external evaluator(s) as needed to ensure independent, credible reporting

Summit & Events

Plan and execute the annual multi-day summit with full cohort participation, structured around deliverables and rigorous peer review. Action over lectures.

Budget & Operations

Manage the full annual program budget across all line items (stipends, faculty, staffing, curriculum, evaluation, grants, summit, content, IT, legal, contingency)
Administer the project grants seed pool, including both in-cohort and cross-network grants
Track disbursement cadence and maintain financial reporting standards that the donor expects

Qualifications

Required

Deep familiarity with SFL’s global network and volunteer management
Track record of running multi-country programs or fellowships with meaningful budgets
Strong donor and stakeholder management skills—comfort operating alongside a hands-on, results-oriented funder
Experience with program evaluation beyond satisfaction surveys; understanding of counterfactual and comparison-group methods
Demonstrated ability to manage complex logistics across time zones, cultures, and regulatory environments
Alignment with the intellectual mission: familiarity with the Austrian tradition and free-market policy landscape

Preferred

Existing relationships within the global liberty movement’s practitioner and alumni networks
Experience placing or mentoring emerging leaders into policy, political, or entrepreneurial roles
Comfort with data-driven program management (gamification platforms, tracking systems, KPI dashboards)
Meaningful experience with AI

What We Offer

Ownership of SFL’s flagship program from day one
Real budget, real expectations, real consequences
A flexible, remote-first work environment
Competitive salary and benefits

Note on Branding
The fellowship is always referred to as “The Statement Fellowship” with “The” capitalized.

Interview Process

Candidates submit CV, cover letter, and a 2-pager 60-day execution plan focusing on selection of fellows and curriculum development by Friday, May 22nd 2026, to Andre Freo at [email protected]
First and second interviews conducted by SFL leadership
Third interview: shortlisted candidates meet the donor
Final selection and onboarding