Director of Strategic Partnerships (Government & Community)
- Job Title
- Director of Strategic Partnerships (Government & Community)
- Job ID
- 27722276
- Work Hybrid
- Yes
- Location
- Bronx, NY, 10451 Hybrid
- Other Location
- Description
-
Start Date: March 2024
Employment Type: This is a full-time exempt position
Location: Atlanta, GA; Bronx, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Newark, NJ - (hybrid)
Reports to: Senior Director of Strategy & Innovation
Organization Overview
The Knowledge House’s mission is to empower and sustain a talent pipeline of technologists, entrepreneurs, and digital leaders, who will lift their communities
The Knowledge House (TKH) approach is to (1) close gaps in the education-to-employment pipeline in underserved communities in the Bronx NY, Newark NJ, Atlanta GA, and Los Angeles CA, neighborhoods by teaching young adults aged 16-35 skills to launch careers or ventures in technology, and (2) support links between local youth, tech innovation, and business development that bring positive community impact.
Headquartered in the South Bronx, the poorest congressional district, TKH has served more than 2,000 students since 2014. Current core programs include our Innovation Fellowship focused on software engineering, cybersecurity, and digital design for adult job trainees, and our Karim Kharbouch Coding Fellowship for high school students learning computational thinking and web design.
TKH team members value the opportunity to: apply their skills while giving back to low-income youth and other underrepresented communities; lead innovation in the emerging tech movement in the Bronx, Newark, Atlanta, and Los Angeles; and join a scaling nonprofit where every team member is expected to contribute to strategy, create solutions and helps shape improve organizational culture.
Role Overview
The Knowledge House is growing and seeking a dynamic and experienced Director of Strategic Partnerships (Government & Community) who will lead the research, promotion, and execution of new strategic partnerships. This role will aid in identifying and securing new partners, customers, and funding to further scale The Knowledge House’s impact, through multiple revenue streams and partnership offerings. We plan to onboard an individual to develop alliances with new and existing partners including corporate entities, government clients, school districts, and community-based youth programs.
The Director of Strategic Partnerships will be responsible for building deep and broad relationships with local leaders and decision-makers for the purpose of scaling the following offerings: Career Development and Digital Equity Workshops, Tech Development Services, and Partnership-based Programs. The position requires knowledge of (and the ability to discover) school and agency funding streams and program adoption timelines. It also requires the ability to build relationships with decision-makers at the school, agency, and government levels that result in strategic partnerships to expand our digital equity impact.
This job will require frequent virtual and in-person meetings with partners in New York City. Occasional regional and national travel will be required. The role will report to the Senior Director of Strategy & Innovation during onboarding and eventually report to our incoming Chief External Affairs Officer, upon hire. This role will also work to identify potential partners and funding sources, determine their needs and how our programs and services can meet them, and enlist them in supporting or purchasing our programs. Then they will work cross-functionally to define the scope, identify the resources, and outline the implementation plan in partnership with Programs and External Affairs team members.
As an ideal candidate for this position, you are energetic, entrepreneurial, and highly self-directed, with a proven track record of successful relationship management including securing clients and closing sales. You possess strong relationship-building skills and the capacity to establish a strong rapport with existing partners. You are also deeply committed to The Knowledge House’s mission and vision for digital equity via our programs, services, and partnerships. You will be well positioned for the role if you have experience in establishing and nurturing a pipeline of partners for program partnerships and/or ed-tech services in government, education, startup, or nonprofit industries.
Key Areas of Responsibility
Business Development (60%)- Drive meeting or exceeding annual revenue goals, in partnership with broader Innovation and External Affairs teams.
- Cultivate relationships with existing partners and maintain those relationships through a high level of service and professional empathy.
- Identify and cultivate new potential partners among companies, schools, school districts, community-based organizations (CBOs), and government agencies for TKH’s programs and services.
- Build and nurture a pipeline of partnership leads including researching relevant sources of public funding and identifying potential clients for cultivation.
- Identify third-party payers (e.g. foundations or intermediary organizations), that recognize the value in TKH’s programs and services.
- Develop and maintain the processes, tools, and resources for effective partnership cultivation and management.
- Secure payment commitments, manage invoicing, and draft contracts.
- Ensure maintenance of accurate records of sales and prospecting activities in Salesforce (CRM), tracking sales goals on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.
Marketing Collaboration (15%)- Represent TKH to the public in meetings and speaking engagements, marketing our revenue-generating services.
- Collaborate with both Marketing and Program on sales-specific external communications opportunities as well as TKH’s convention strategy–seeking to attend several conferences each year with the purpose of generating leads.
- Work collaboratively and creatively with TKH’s marketing and communication staff to create and disseminate messages that convey the value of our programs and services— via TKH’s websites, social media, brochures, and other collateral to segmented audiences.
Innovation and Strategic Collaboration (15%)- Collaborate with program leadership to:
- ensure that program services are aligned with sales and organizational goals;
- identify new customer needs to inform program development and services that are aligned with our strategic direction.
- Analyze reports from program evaluations and customer testimonials and integrate learnings into sales efforts.
- Partner with the Sr. Director of Strategy and Innovation to provide account management for special partner initiatives, including participating in learning communities, field engagement, and special projects like TKH’s Bronx Digital Pipeline
Develop and Supervise a High-performing Team (10%)- Lead and support the hiring of a Senior Manager of Business Development, once we hit or exceed our sales goals.
- Directly supervise a small business development team including onboarding, internal learning, and capacity building, and leading weekly team meetings and departmental step-backs.
- Design functional vision and strategy, including department-level goals and milestones that drive organization-level objectives and guide individual team member goals. Hold team members accountable for reaching individual goals.
- Identifies operational and strategic issues within the department and gathers information to determine the root causes in support of resolution.
Qualifications
Experience:- 5-7 years of experience in partnership roles, social impact sales, or similar experience. Prior work experience in workforce development, government affairs, and/or edtech fields is a plus.
- 2-4 years of experience managing and leading a diverse team: building team culture, mentoring and coaching, and helping team members exceed their goals and develop professionally.
- Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent experience or education.
Skills & Approach to Work:- Sales, outreach, and/or marketing experience and track record of closing sales and/or securing revenue.
- Knowledge of the educational and workforce landscape, particularly in New York City. Knowledge of broad educational trends and the national market for workforce and digital equity programs is a plus.
- Excellent interpersonal communication and persuasive communication skills, including public speaking abilities. Demonstrated ability to represent an organization to a wide range of stakeholders and constituencies.
- Exceptional organizational skills and ability to balance multiple priorities, deadlines, and accounts in a constantly changing and fast-paced environment.
- Ability to independently produce high-quality work, delegate, and problem-solve. Additionally, ability to collaborate with teammates to drive results. Adaptive, flexible, and highly focused, demonstrating a readiness to support organizational growth.
- Familiarity with the complex challenges that educators face in their work to support youth who are the furthest from economic and educational opportunity. Service-minded, supportive, and demonstrates care and empathy for stakeholders.
- A passion and love for our fellows and their genius. A tenacious desire to smash all barriers in the way of our fellows accessing rewarding, high-paying careers in technology.
- Ability to travel occasionally and participate in evening and weekend networking events.
- Comfortable tracking revenue and managing a pipeline in Salesforce (or comparable CRM).
- Familiarity with software systems for managing contacts, projects, and revenue-generation activities (e.g. Google Suite, Salesforce, Asana, Slack, and Zoom).
Compensation- Full-time $100,000-$130,000-year salary
- Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance
- 2% 401k match
- A monthly tech stipend of $100
- Unlimited days of paid time off
How to Apply
Click on “apply” to submit your resume and cover letter (required). In your cover letter please include an answer to the following question:- Describe the role that you’ve had that is most similar to the Director of Strategic Partnerships role. What makes it similar and what did you accomplish?
It is the policy of The Knowledge House Fellowship, Inc. to promote and provide equal employment opportunity without discrimination based on age, race, creed, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, Veteran status, genetic predisposition, or carrier status.
