Senior Director, Strategic Alliances

First Book has a mandatory Covid-19 vaccination policy (medical and religious exemptions permitted). Proof of fully vaccinated status is required before an interview.

About First Book: First Book (https://firstbook.org/) A global leader in social enterprise, First Book harnesses the strategies of the private sector to advance social change. First Book has built a family of social enterprises to serve its network of over 600K educators including the First Book Marketplace, The First Book Accelerator, First Book Insights, and a range of other efforts. In fact, since 1992, First Book has distributed more than 250 million books and educational materials to children from low-income families. Because of its record of innovation and impact, First Book has been celebrated globally by such institutions as the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, the World Economic Forum, and in case studies at Columbia Business School, Wharton Business School, the Yale School of Management, and the London School of Economics. Finally, Charity Navigator recently awarded First Book with its highest rating, including a perfect 100% score for Accountability & Transparency.

About the position: (This is not a 100% remote position/ MANDATORY IN OFFICE: Tuesday & Wednesday)

The Senior Director, Strategic Alliances will play a principal role in leading the team that oversees the growth and stewardship of First Book’s most valuable corporate relationships. Responsibilities include strategy development, relationship building, project management, budgeting, partnership marketing, and team management. The right person for this role should possess extensive experience in cause-marketing, corporate partnership development and/or consulting with the private sector.

The ideal candidate is a demonstrated leader with experience working in a fast-paced dynamic organization. The Senior Director of Strategic Alliances must have a proven track record of achieving year-over-year revenue growth of a portfolio of $10M and managing a team of fundraising professionals for long-term partnership growth. The person in this role must have be an experienced fundraiser, possess solid business writing and presentation skills, excellent verbal communication, experience with pitch formation and delivery, creative and bold thinking, exceptional critical thinking skills, and a passion for corporate social responsibility.

This dynamic leader will work closely with colleagues on the Strategic Alliances team, as well as collaborate extensively with leadership and other team members across the organization to ensure that organizational needs are met through corporate partnerships. This role reports directly to the EVP of Strategic Alliances.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

·         Collaborate with EVP, Strategic Alliances on the ongoing development of the department including overall vision, operational process review/development, staffing, professional development, performance management, etc.

·         Work with other department leaders to develop monitoring and results frameworks for key performance indicators (KPIs).   Ensure consistency in the variety of KPIs across projects, to be in alignment with overall project portfolio goals.

·         Conceptualize, develop, and present funding concepts and pitches to leading multinational corporations to renew annual corporate partnerships.

·         Develop overarching strategy to renew and maximize current relationships in collaboration with Senior Leadership at First Book.

·         Leading a team responsible for the stewardship, growth, and renewal for First Book’s existing corporate partnerships.

·         Developing and managing multiple complex and diverse cause- marketing, consumer fundraising, and highly programmatic partnerships from inception to implementation.

·         Keep abreast of corporate giving and philanthropic trends in social impact, ESG, and corporate social responsibility.

·         Bring creativity and a customer-service mentality to all corporate relationships.

·         Lead impact reporting for all partners.

·         Lead and contribute to cross-functional ideation sessions to create innovative partnership programs for existing and new potential partners.

·         Undertake innovative special projects, as directed by the EVP of Strategic Alliances and Executive Team.

·         Meet annual financial goals as determined by the Executive Team, Senior Team, and EVP of Strategic Alliances.

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required:

·         Must possess creative and entrepreneurial spirit.

·         Top core competencies to excel in the role include: Strategic Mindset, Directs Work, Organizational Savvy, Develops Talent, Optimizes Work Processes.

·         Proficiency in Salesforce preferred.

·         Possess and model the behaviors of a servant-leader with an authentic and demonstrated passion for coaching, mentoring and developing others.

·         Proven track record in account/project management, with a minimum of 10 years of experience in corporate partnership/fundraising in the nonprofit sector.

·         Minimum of seven (7) years of demonstrated experience leading a high-performing 4 person corporate partnership/fundraising team is a requirement

·         Extensive knowledge of program development and execution of corporate partnership/fundraising, cause-marketing, employee engagement, etc. programs in the nonprofit sector.

·         Strong experience developing, managing, and growing highly programmatic six – seven figure corporate partner campaigns or an industry-specific equivalent.

·         Demonstrated ability to assess, develop and optimize work processes; proactively seeks out ways to improve, innovate and re-engineer processes to standardize/streamline operations for consistency when necessary.

·         Demonstrated management experience including the ability to motivate, lead, set objectives, manage performance, and handle/facilitate conflict resolution.

·         Skilled in situational adaptability to assess and identify when an alternative approach is necessary to produce mutually beneficial outcomes.

·         Experience securing six – seven figure partnership funds from Fortune 500 companies and/or major philanthropic foundations a requirement: strong ability to retain and renew those partners year-over-year for revenue growth

·         Global partnership expertise is a plus.

·         Strong relationship management skills for dealing with a range of partners and industries.

·         Ability to communicate effectively and professionally with the internal staff and external clients/stakeholders at all levels of an organization (middle management, leadership, C-Suite, board members, etc.)

·         Excellent business writing and presentation skills.

·         Ability to manage complexity and ambiguity within highly matrixed organizations.

·         Fast learner with a strong team-focused, collaborative mentality.

·         Be self-motivated and demonstrate strong interpersonal skills.

·         Must be able to work in a fast-paced environment as a member of a vibrant team.

·         Be passionate about making a tangible, measurable difference.

·         Demonstrated ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously; Exceptional organizational skills and time management required and must have the ability to meet designated deadlines. 

·         Proficiency with MS Office products including Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook.

·         Proficiency with CRM platforms such as Salesforce, Raiser’s Edge, etc.

·         Proven budget management skills.

·         Attention to detail is critical to the role.

·         Be able to travel, as needed, up to 40% in peak partnership activation periods.

·         Must be able to maintain the highest level of confidentiality.

Education and/or Experience:

·         MBA or M.A. in a related educational field preferred. BS required.

·         Prior work experience in private and social impact sectors; consulting or agency experience preferred.

All full-time employees are eligible for the following benefits:
•    Hybrid work environment - can work from home and office 
•    Dental & medical insurance
•    Life and Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage
•    Vacation leave
•    Sick leave
•    Twelve Annual Holidays
•    401K and employer matching pension contribution
•    Transportation benefits

TO APPLY:
Candidates are invited to submit a resume, and a cover letter that details your interest in the position to https://firstbook.bamboohr.com/careers .  If you need assistance applying, please reach out to us at 202-499-5935.

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Salary : $115,000 - $130,000