VP, Relationship Management & Business Operations

AARP • Washington, DC

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

AARP is the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to the more than 100 million Americans 50-plus and their families: health and financial security, and personal fulfillment. AARP also works for individuals in the marketplace by sparking new solutions and allowing carefully chosen, high-quality products and services to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the nation's largest-circulation publications, AARP The Magazine and the AARP Bulletin.
The VP, Relationship Management & Business Operations for business development, is responsible for the structured ownership, development, and optimization of the organization’s partner portfolio to drive sustained strategic value and revenue outcomes. This role ensures disciplined post‑deal relationship management, oversees portfolio health and balance, and maximizes long‑term partner performance, renewal, and growth opportunities. The VP, Relationship Management & Business Operations, serves as a critical bridge between deal execution and long‑term value realization. This role provides holistic visibility across partnership performance and enables data‑driven decisions that strengthen enterprise growth outcomes.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Management, Finance, Marketing, or a related field required; advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in enterprise business development, partner relationship management, strategic partnerships, business operations, commercial strategy within complex, matrixed organization. or a related function.
• Proven leadership experience building and managing high-performing teams, including direct reports, with a demonstrated ability to develop talent, drive accountability, operational excellence, and lead through organizational change.
• Expertise in building and executing partner relationship management strategies, including governance frameworks, stage-gate processes, executive engagement, business review cadence, performance reviews, and issue resolution processes.
• Demonstrated success managing the strategic partnership lifecycle, including onboarding, governance, opportunity expansion, renewals, contract extensions, and executive stakeholder engagement, that drive long-term partner value, retention, and growth.
• Drive executive decision-making through data-driven insights, business development portfolio reporting, dashboards, performance metrics, forecasting, and strategic recommendations that inform decisions and improve business outcomes.
• Lead complex cross-functional initiatives that improve partnership execution, operational processes, governance, establish scalable business practices, and identify opportunities for growth and efficiency.
• Deep understanding of business development operations, including deal governance, stage-gate management, portfolio oversight, operating standards, and innovative AI tools and automation that improve scalable and disciplined execution.
• Regular and reliable job attendance
• Effective verbal and written communication skills
• Exhibit respect and understanding of others to maintain professional relationships
• Independent judgement in evaluation options to make sound decisions

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Establishes structured relationship management frameworks, including governance models, performance reviews, and executive engagement strategies.
• Develops and executes relationship strategies that deepen partner engagement, expand value creation, and align with enterprise growth priorities.
• Serves as the primary point of accountability for partner health, issue escalation, and relationship continuity.
• Leads renewal strategy and execution across the partnership portfolio, ensuring timely, value-driven contract extensions.
• Provides a holistic view of partner performance across business development activity and lifecycle stages for closed / signed partners.
• Implements lifecycle management practices that ensure sustained partner performance from onboarding through renewal and expansion.
• Leads data analysis and reporting to inform leadership decisions, while partnering with cross-functional teams to identify and prioritize opportunity areas.
• Drives execution of complex initiatives, improves processes, and resolves challenges to optimize business outcomes.
• Leads deal governance and operating discipline by establishing stage gates, standards, and cross-functional processes, while enabling scalable execution through tools, dashboards, and data-driven insights that strengthen business development effectiveness.

Benefits

• 401(k)
• 100% company-funded pension plan
• health, dental, and vision plans
• life insurance
• paid time off to include company and individual holidays, vacation, sick, caregiving, and parental leave
• performance-based and peer-based recognition
• tuition reimbursement

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive