Corporate Partnerships Manager

Arbor Day Foundation•Lincoln, NE

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Corporate Partnerships Manager builds and grows strategic corporate partnerships that generate revenue and advance the Arbor Day Foundation’s mission. The role connects with corporate decision-makers to understand their priorities and develop customized solutions that create shared value and measurable environmental impact. Opportunities may include reforestation, disaster recovery, carbon, water, biodiversity, urban forestry, and employee engagement. The position reports to the Director, Corporate Partnerships and works closely with Sales and Service, Product, Science & GIS, Mission Delivery, Marketing, Finance, Legal, and other teams. It is hybrid in Lincoln, Nebraska, with U.S.-based remote candidates also considered. Lincoln-based team members work in the office Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, with optional remote work Wednesday and Friday. Travel is 3–4 times per quarter, representing 20–30% of the role, for meetings, training, and Foundation events; domestic and international travel ability is required. The manager develops new business, leads consultative discovery, creates tailored partnership recommendations, advances and negotiates opportunities, and builds long-term partner relationships. The role also manages CRM and pipeline information, supports forecasting and planning, shares market insights, and represents the Foundation at partner meetings, conferences, webinars, industry events, and speaking and networking opportunities. Success includes opening new doors, building a healthy qualified pipeline, advancing complex opportunities, and creating partnerships that grow over time while delivering sustainable revenue and environmental impact.

Requirements

Passion for the Foundation’s mission, nature, environmental stewardship, and people.
Demonstrated success creating and advancing revenue-generating opportunities through consultative B2B sales, business development, strategic partnerships, fundraising, account development, or comparable work.
Experience proactively building pipeline and creating new opportunities rather than relying solely on inbound leads or an established portfolio.
Strong consultative discovery skills and ability to understand customer goals, challenges, priorities, and decision-making processes before recommending a solution.
Ability to build credibility and relationships across multiple stakeholders and decision-makers, particularly in complex Fortune 500 organizations.
Ability to translate customer needs into customized solutions rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach.
Experience presenting ideas, recommendations, proposals, or solutions and advancing opportunities toward a decision or agreement.
Strong relationship-building, listening, communication, presentation, negotiation, and influencing skills.
Motivated, self-directed approach with initiative, resilience, and persistence to create momentum and determine next actions.
Ability to collaborate across teams, involve appropriate subject-matter experts, and coordinate work without direct authority.
Experience using CRM systems to manage relationships, opportunities, pipeline activity, and forecasting.
Strong organization and follow-through, with the ability to manage multiple opportunities and priorities.
Ability to travel domestically and internationally.

Nice To Haves

Experience in corporate sustainability, climate solutions, environmental services, CSR/ESG, corporate partnerships, employee engagement, community impact, philanthropy, or other mission-driven work; valuable but not required.

Responsibilities

Identify and develop new corporate partnership opportunities through targeted outreach, referrals, networking, conferences, territory development, existing relationships, and other business-development activities.
Research prospective partners’ businesses, sustainability and climate commitments, priorities, and potential partnership opportunities.
Identify and connect with stakeholders and decision-makers, moving opportunities from initial outreach through discovery and agreement.
Lead discovery conversations to understand partner goals, priorities, challenges, decision-making processes, and partnership interests before recommending solutions.
Build credibility across multiple stakeholders and translate customer needs into opportunities across the Foundation’s portfolio.
Develop customized partnership recommendations that connect partner objectives with Foundation programs, products, and environmental solutions.
Coordinate internal subject-matter experts to develop credible and executable solutions.
Develop and present proposals, presentations, and partnership materials tailored to prospective and existing partners.
Own opportunities throughout the partnership lifecycle, from prospecting and discovery through solution development, proposal, negotiation, and agreement execution.
Present recommendations to customer decision-makers and navigate multiple stakeholders, priorities, and complex decision processes.
Negotiate partnership terms and agreements within established Foundation guidelines and contribute to partnership, revenue, and growth goals.
Build trusted, long-term relationships with corporate partners and identify opportunities for renewals, additional solutions, referrals, and deeper engagement.
Coordinate with Partner Relationship Managers, Mission Delivery, and Corporate Partnerships colleagues to support successful execution and identify continued growth opportunities.
Maintain accurate prospect, contact, opportunity, activity, and agreement information in the CRM.
Monitor pipeline health and use CRM and reporting tools for forecasting, prioritization, planning, and decision-making.
Share customer feedback, market insights, and emerging opportunities with internal teams.
Represent the Arbor Day Foundation at partner meetings, conferences, webinars, industry events, and speaking and networking opportunities.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision coverage, with multiple plan options including PPO and HDHP.
Company-paid basic life insurance of $15,000, with voluntary options.
Company-paid short- and long-term disability coverage.
Employee Assistance Program with free, confidential counseling and resources for employees and families.
Optional accident, critical illness (including infertility coverage), and hospital indemnity insurance.
401(k) retirement plan with immediate eligibility and company match up to 5%; full vesting after five years.
Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Account for pre-tax healthcare and dependent-care savings.
Eight paid holidays, one floating holiday, and annual “Unplug Time” during the holidays.
Paid parental leave: 12 weeks for birthing parents and two weeks for non-birthing parents; adoption is also included.
Paid time off, vacation, sick leave, and volunteer time off.
Professional development access to LinkedIn Learning and tuition reimbursement.
Annual learning goal encouraging 40 or more hours of development.
HealthJoy app with health-plan enrollment for care navigation.
Wellness incentives and recognition gifts for work anniversaries and birthdays.
Exclusive discounts and free admission to Tree Adventure, Arbor Lodge State Historical Park, golf, and more.