Managing Director, National Partnerships

The Rockefeller Foundation•Washington, DC

7h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Managing Director, National Partnerships is responsible for translating local insight into national impact by scaling proven approaches. This role serves as the primary relationship owner for national platforms and intermediaries operating across states, with accountability for partnership stewardship, co-funding strategies, and pathways to institutional adoption. The position leads Rockefeller’s efforts to align philanthropic, public, and private actors around effective strategies for creating and sustaining good jobs, ensuring that community-based work informs policy, institutional practice, funding strategies, and national platforms. Reporting to the Vice President, U.S. Economic Opportunity & Civic Innovation, this role collaborates closely with the Managing Director, Community Strategy, and cross-functional leaders to ensure local proof translates into durable, scalable change. This highly external-facing position is central to shaping Rockefeller’s influence as a national field builder advancing modern economic development.

Requirements

Generally expected to have 12+ years of progressive leadership experience in philanthropy, government, finance, economic development, or related fields, with demonstrated impact at a national or system-wide level.
Bachelor’s degree required.
5+ years of experience building and leading complex, multi-stakeholder partnerships and networks, including aligning diverse actors across sectors toward shared outcomes.
Demonstrated ability to design and execute scaling strategies that translate localized innovation into broader adoption through policy, capital, or institutional change.
Experience in structuring or influencing significant funding strategies, including philanthropic, public, or blended capital approaches.
Strong understanding of the intersection of policy, funding, and institutional systems in driving durable economic and workforce outcomes.
Demonstrated ability to lead and influence cross-functional initiatives in a matrixed environment.
Exceptional judgment and prioritization skills, with the ability to navigate ambiguity and focus efforts where scale is both feasible and impactful.
Executive presence and credibility with senior leaders across philanthropic, public, and private sectors, with the ability to represent the Foundation externally.
Ability to travel as required.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the Foundation’s approach to scaling impact, defining how community-based insights translate into national adoption through policy, funding alignment, standards setting, and institutional practice change, and identifying where the Foundation can play a catalytic role as a field builder and convenor.
Build and steward strategic partnerships with national intermediaries, philanthropic peers, financial institutions, employers, and public sector leaders, serving as a senior relationship owner and ensuring partnerships are aligned, durable, and outcomes-driven.
Serve as the primary relationship owner for national platforms and intermediaries designed to scale across states (e.g., multi-state workforce or economic transition platforms), owning partner management, co-funding tables, and scaling pathways, while partnering closely with the Managing Director, Civic Innovation & AI on programmatic strategy, guardrails, success metrics, and learning agendas.
Design and lead networks and coordinated efforts—including funder collaboratives, communities of practice, and aligned investment platforms—that mobilize actors around shared goals, evidence, and scalable solutions.
Structure and align capital at scale by developing co-funding strategies, pooled funds, and investment approaches in partnership with catalytic finance colleagues, ensuring resources are deployed in ways that maximize impact, reduce fragmentation, and support long-term sustainability.
Translate local learning into field-level adoption by partnering closely with the Managing Director, Community Strategy to identify which community-based insights are ready for broader adoption, and by packaging those insights into actionable tools, frameworks, and platforms that enable uptake across diverse contexts.
Advance policy-relevant scaling efforts by collaborating with policy teams and external stakeholders to inform funding reforms, administrative practices, and public investments that support the expansion of effective economic opportunity models.
Represent The Foundation externally in high-level forums and partnerships, shaping national narratives on economic opportunity, workforce systems, and place-based development, and positioning the Foundation as a credible and influential leader focused on institutional adoption, funding alignment, and durable systems change.
Provide direct supervision and leadership for managers and staff supporting national partnerships, workforce development, and communications/policy coordination, ensuring alignment across functions and effective execution of scaling strategies.