McKinsey & Company and the Australian Scholarships Foundation are offering 100 emerging leaders from the not-for-profit sector the opportunity to apply for a scholarship to attend McKinsey’s Young Leaders Forum in October 2022.

Program overview 

A foundational leadership program designed to accelerate the development of rising leaders. 

Emerging leaders are operating in an increasingly complex and ambiguous context. Leadership teams know that great leadership talent is scarce. It is great leaders at all levels of an organisation – more than rewards, job opportunities, and the company itself – that drive distinctive outcomes and engagement at scale. With a focus on strengths and stretch, the Young Leaders Forum develops unique, inspirational, and supportive leaders through the layers of your organisation. 

What to expect: 

Participants will join a cross-industry cohort for an interactive program.  

Participants will: 

  • Attend a 3-day virtual event to explore their personal leadership and the foundations of leading high performing teams 
  • Explore concepts in small groups of participants and create an external support network for ongoing peer-coaching and support. 

Course dates for 2022 

Virtual forum: Midday, Tuesday, 25 October – Midday, Friday, 28 October 2022 

Who should apply 

The Young Leaders Forum is designed to benefit high potential future leaders with approximately 7-12 years of work experience. 

Participants are typically making the transition into people leader roles and ‘stepping up’ to take on greater degrees of responsibility for driving business unit strategy and execution. 

Eshna-Khadka headshot

Eshna KhadkaMcKinsey Young Leaders Forum scholarship recipient (2021)

Eshna Khadka is Operations Manager, NDIS, Castle Personnel Services.

Completed the Young Leaders Forum in November 2021 Eshna shares, “The Young Leaders program was one of the best leadership programs I have ever attended. The program was structured in a very engaging way whereby we had time to connect in the group, engage with speakers, lead the groups and most importantly connect with like-minded individuals. These group conversations were equally powerful and listening to participants’ stories was very inspirational. YLF was not just a leadership program that was four days for me, the takeaway from this program will continue to support me in the long run both personally and professionally. I highly recommend anyone in their leadership journey give this program a go.”

Scholarship inclusions 

There are 100 scholarships available to staff and directors of not-for-profit organisations Australia-wide thanks to McKinsey’s generous contribution and commitment to not-for-profit development. Each scholarship is valued at $4,000 and will grant recipients full access to the Young Leaders Forum.  

Employer contribution  

This scholarship requires an Employer Contribution of $800 + GST from each recipient’s supporting not-for-profit organisation. 

This amount is payable to the Australian Scholarships Foundation following written acceptance from the scholarship recipient and upon receipt of an invoice.  

What is the Employer Contribution?  The Employer Contribution is paid directly to the Australian Scholarships Foundation and allows us to expand the number of high-quality programs we can provide, assists with service delivery costs and enables us to invest in research and development that strengthens the NFP sector. The Employer Contribution is a way for not-for-profits to facilitate learning and development for their organisation via a small contribution to any scholarships the Australian Scholarships Foundation awards to their employees. McKinsey does not receive any portion of this contribution. 

Find out more about the Employer Contribution here

Key scholarship dates 

Date Timeline 
23 May 2022 Applications open 
3 July 2022 Applications close 
17 August 2022 Scholarship awarded  
19 August 2022 Written acceptance from scholarship recipients  
25 – 28 October 2022 Virtual forum 

Please reserve these important dates in your calendar. 

Eligibility criteria 

Applicants must:  

  • Be an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident  
  • Be currently employed by an Australian not-for-profit organisation* 
  • Have approximately 7 – 12 years of work experience** 
  • Fulfil Australian Scholarships Foundation’s general eligibility requirements available on our FAQs page

*Board members are also welcome to apply, provided they meet the general criteria of ‘beginning to lead people’

**Please note, this is a general guide and does not exclude those with a little more or less experience.  

Supporting documentation 

As part of the application process, you are required to upload an endorsement letter written by your supporting organisation, i.e., the CEO (or member of the Board if you are the CEO of your organisation). If you are a non-executive director, you may obtain a letter from a fellow board member (ideally the Chair) or the CEO of the organisation. 

Please see #12 of our FAQ’s page for some tips on what to include in the endorsement letter. 

Jamie McGleave headshot

Jamie McGleaveMcKinsey Young Leaders Forum scholarship recipient (2021)

Jamie McGleave is the General Manager at Propel Youth Arts WA.

After completing the McKinsey Young Leaders Forum in 2021 he noted, “Being able to participate in this year’s Young Leaders Forum allowed me a rare opportunity to step back from my day-to-day work and really examine my own approach to leadership on a holistic level. I have been able to take my learnings back to my organisation and have started developing productive and sustainable new habits as a result of the forum.”

Application process 

To apply for a scholarship, please complete the following steps: 

  1. Click ‘APPLY NOW’ at the top of the page 
  1. Follow the prompts to sign in or create a profile (this will be a hub from which you can apply for any scholarships in future) 
  1. Complete the online application form 
  1. Follow the prompts to upload an employer endorsement letter*  
  1. You will receive an automated confirmation email once you’ve submitted your application successfully 

* Please see #12 of our FAQ’s page for some tips on what to include. 

More information 

Have questions?Check our FAQs page for answers to the most common questions. If you need assistance with the scholarship application process, please contact Australian Scholarships Foundation via [email protected].  

Applications for the 2022 McKinsey Young Leaders Forum scholarships closed on Sunday 3 July 2022 at 11.59pm AEST. 

McKinsey YLF winners 2022

Winners announced!

Ninety-one recipients have been selected to join the Young Leaders Forum program in October this year. Read the full winners list here.