Associate Director of Partnerships & Community

CHICAGO SCHOLARS FOUNDATION•Chicago, IL

About The Position

The Associate Director of Partnerships & Community Engagement develops and manages strategic community relationships that generate resources, opportunities, and long-term value for Chicago Scholars and the Scholars it serves. Reporting to the Managing Director of Partnerships, the role manages relationships with community-based organizations, nonprofits, advocacy groups, civic and government leaders, coalitions, and other mission-aligned stakeholders. It identifies ways to turn these relationships into funding, in-kind resources, referrals, collaborative programming, volunteer engagement, advocacy, increased visibility, and expanded opportunities for Scholars. The Associate Director also strengthens the infrastructure behind Chicago Scholars’ partnerships by managing partnership reporting, stewardship systems, agreements and renewals, relationship intelligence, and cross-functional partnership projects. The role represents the organization in Chicago’s community and civic networks and leads significant partnership-related projects, including the annual Ticket to the Future event and Leadership Hub operations at the organization’s signature annual event.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
Five to seven years of progressive experience in partnerships, community engagement, external affairs, business development, nonprofit leadership, institutional advancement, government relations, higher education, or a related area.
Ability to participate in occasional evening or weekend events.
Ability to meet Chicago Scholars’ location and residency expectations.
Demonstrated success managing external relationships, particularly community, civic, coalition, government, or nonprofit partnerships.
Experience leading complex projects with internal and external stakeholders and providing project leadership or coaching without formal supervisory authority.
Experience developing or improving portfolios, functions, systems, workflows, operating models, and documentation practices, including administering MOUs or institutional partnership agreements.
Experience using Salesforce or another CRM to maintain records, develop dashboards, pipeline reports, engagement metrics, and portfolio reviews, and translate information into actionable insights and recommendations.
Strong written, verbal, facilitation, and presentation skills, with the ability to represent Chicago Scholars professionally in community, civic, partner, and executive settings.
Experience identifying, cultivating, supporting, or generating revenue through partnerships, fundraising, sponsorships, or business development.
Excellent judgment and attention to detail.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of Chicago’s nonprofit, civic, community, education, workforce, government, or philanthropic landscape, or the ability to develop that knowledge rapidly; established relationships across Chicago preferred.
Experience in college access, economic mobility, education, career development, workforce development, or youth-serving organizations.

Responsibilities

Build, manage, and grow a portfolio of community, nonprofit, philanthropic, civic, government, and other mission-aligned partners and prospects.
Identify and cultivate partnerships that generate funding, in-kind resources, referrals, programming, expertise, advocacy, visibility, and opportunities for Scholars.
Develop customized engagement and stewardship strategies to deepen priority relationships and increase organizational value over time.
Maintain an active prospective-partner pipeline and conduct research, outreach, discovery conversations, and qualification.
Develop partnership concepts, proposals, presentations, value propositions, and engagement plans in collaboration with internal stakeholders.
Collaborate with Development colleagues on aligned funding opportunities, donor cultivation, sponsorship strategies, and proposals.
Assess and segment the partnership portfolio based on mission alignment, Scholar impact, strategic value, engagement, relationship health, and growth potential; recommend whether partnerships should be deepened, maintained, reimagined, transitioned, or concluded.
Maintain accurate, accessible partnership information, including relationship history, commitments, contacts, opportunities, and next steps.
Partner with Data and Development teams to establish and improve partnership data standards and processes.
Develop dashboards and reports covering partnership engagement, retention, agreements, renewals, opportunities, risks, and relationship health.
Translate partnership data into actionable insights and recommendations for the Managing Director and organizational leaders.
Support consistent adoption of partnership processes and documentation across relationship owners.
Manage partnership agreement and MOU workflows from development and internal review through signature, storage, CRM documentation, and renewal.
Manage the administrative infrastructure for College Partner agreements while the Managing Director retains strategic relationship ownership.
Track agreements and renewals and proactively flag upcoming renewals, outstanding commitments, risks, and needed decisions.
Coordinate documentation and handoffs across Partnerships, Development, Finance, Operations, and Program teams, and strengthen systems for timely, complete, well-documented agreements.
Represent Chicago Scholars at community events, coalitions, convenings, conferences, public meetings, and other relationship-building opportunities.
Build relationships across Chicago’s nonprofit, education, civic, workforce, government, and philanthropic communities.
Increase awareness of Chicago Scholars’ mission, Scholars, alumni, programs, impact, and partnership opportunities.
Identify opportunities for Chicago Scholars to serve as a connector, collaborator, and convener within Chicago.
Partner with Marketing and Communications to elevate partnership impact, community relationships, and organizational expertise.
Translate partnership priorities into clear project plans, responsibilities, timelines, deliverables, and follow-through.
Lead cross-functional partnership projects involving internal teams and external stakeholders.
Plan and lead the annual Ticket to the Future event celebrating partnership and scholarship recipients.
Lead Leadership Hub operations at Chicago Scholars’ signature annual event.
Facilitate portfolio, pipeline, agreement, and renewal reviews; track decisions through Chicago Scholars’ project-management systems.
Coordinate handoffs across relevant teams, surface risks early, and recommend practical solutions.