Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships

Watson Institute

31d • $80,000 - $95,000 • Remote

About The Position

The primary mission of the Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships is to identify, build, and grow new corporate and foundation partnerships.

In partnership with Google, JPMorganChase Foundation, Walmart.org, Wells Fargo, Ford Philanthropy, SAP, Truist Foundation, BMO, Comcast, Western Union, and several private foundations, Watson Institute’s programs will reach over 2,400 rising leaders this year.

Alumni of Watson Institute’s Fellowships have raised over $190 million, created over 2,300 paid jobs, and impacted over 11 million people around the world through initiatives they have helped lead. 93% of Watson Institute alums are employed, continuing their education, or building a venture. 85% of Watson Institute Alumni use a skill they learned while in a Watson Institute-powered program up to 12 years later. Watson Institute’s Alumni have been selected to Y Combinator, the Echoing Green Fellowship, and 11 have been named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 lists. Alums continue their education at Harvard University, New York University, and Princeton University, among others.

Requirements

• A deep-seated passion for Watson Institute’s mission to develop innovators, leaders, and entrepreneurs to solve the toughest challenges facing the world.
• Experience in enterprise sales/strategic partnership roles, specifically with corporations, corporate foundations, and corporate CSR teams. Previous experience should include building and growing impactful corporate partnerships that deliver on business impact (for the corporate partner) and community impact (for the Fellows and their communities).
• A natural inclination to build and strengthen relationships and partnerships to grow Watson Institute’s impact.
• A love and talent for persuasive writing, enterprise sales, and communication designed to build and grow impactful corporate and foundation partnerships.
• A systems-oriented and highly organized approach to work.
• Excel mastery, email wizardry, rapid follow-up, and data analysis.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Salesforce (or other CRM platforms) and Canva (or other graphic design platforms) are a strong plus.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate closely with Watson Institute’s CEO and VP of Strategic Partnerships to grow Watson Institute’s Fellowship model and impact through research, outreach, and relationship building with new prospective corporate partners.
• Participate in weekly prospecting meetings with the CEO and VP of Strategic Partnerships.
• Conduct research and lead outreach to aligned corporate and private foundation partners to create Fellowships powered by Watson Institute.
• Draft speaking and engagement applications for conferences that are aligned with Watson Institute’s strategy.
• Build strong relationships with conference organizers as a way to secure and strengthen Watson Institute’s presence at relevant conferences and events.
• Help design systems and processes that strengthen how Watson Institute tracks and grows prospective partnerships.
• Play a critical role in building and growing new partnerships with corporate and foundation partners to create Fellowships powered by Watson Institute.
• Write and design compelling, persuasive, tailored, and well-designed/visual impact updates for Watson Institute’s top prospects and partners. These impact updates may include decks, emails, Alumni and Fellow highlights, and more.
• Participate and lead prospect and partner meetings including associated preparation, talking points during the meeting, diligent notes, and coordinating with appropriate team members on timely and comprehensive follow-ups.
• Develop compelling concept notes, decks, and grant applications for prospects and partners. These concept notes, decks, and grant applications should demonstrate both business impact (for the partner) and community impact (for the Fellows and their communities) in a strategic and nuanced way.
• Design impactful points of ‘business connectivity’ that create connections across multiple teams within each corporate prospect and partner ranging from employee engagement to communications, brand, and supply chain connections to deepen the impact of the Fellowship.
• Coordinate with Watson Institute’s VP of Strategic Partnerships, CEO, and other members of the leadership team to ensure cross-functional input in all proposals.
• Collaborate closely with Watson Institute’s Design Team on the monitoring, evaluation, and learning process and analysis to ensure it supports partner expectations.
• Serve as the Strategic Partnerships Lead for special projects that are critical to Watson Institute’s corporate partnership strategy and growth. Examples include conducting landscape analyses for partners who are looking to bring their Fellowship to new markets and developing thought pieces/reports on current trends in entrepreneurship, corporate impact, and community impact.
• New responsibilities may develop as the position evolves.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary according to experience: $80,000.00-$95,000.00.
• Annual Happiness Fund that increases with time and seniority.
• Unlimited vacations (3 weeks required vacation time per year).
• Healthcare benefit via Thatch (ICHRA provider), where employees have the option to apply this amount towards their choice of medical plans, with the option to add vision and dental plans.
• Automatic 3% contribution to your retirement account.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed