Associate Director, Regional Partnerships

About KABOOM!:

KABOOM! is the national nonprofit committed to ensuring that every kid, in every community, has an amazing place to play. Our mission is to end playspace inequity – the reality that playspaces are not available to every child, especially in communities of color. We unite with communities to build kid-designed playspaces that can spark joy and foster a sense of belonging for the kids who are often denied opportunities to thrive.

Position Summary:

The Associate Director, Regional Partnerships is responsible for building, providing strategic direction for, and leading a dynamic portfolio of municipal system partners who are committed to ending playspace inequity. This individual will lead relationship development and management with elected officials and municipal agencies such as school districts, parks and recreation departments, housing development agencies, etc. to establish and grow deep partnerships to advance playspace equity as part of the KABOOM! 25 in 5 Initiative to End Playspace Inequity. The Associate Director, Regional Partnerships, will lead internal cross-functional teams tasked with designing and building municipal system initiatives, securing revenue, collecting and analyzing data, conducting measurement and evaluation, advancing policy and thought leadership, and executing playspace projects with the goal of ending playspace inequity.

The ideal Associate Director, Regional Partnerships is a passionate, organized, and racial equity-focused individual who understands the potential and responsibility of municipal systems to address playspace inequity, enjoys thinking creatively about approaches to address playspace inequity, is skilled at managing cross-team functional working groups, has experience developing and implementing initiative-level plans, is comfortable evaluating and evolving processes to meet current circumstances, can communicate with ease across many platforms, and is a skilled problem-solver. Associate Directors at KABOOM! consistently demonstrate our values and norms; remove barriers to progress; support others to be creative and action-oriented; and take a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to their work.

Primary Position Objectives

Regional Strategic Partnership Management

• Serve as the leader of our work to advance playspace equity in designated regions; provide overall management, planning, execution, and leadership of partnerships in these regions.
• Position KABOOM! as a leader in playspace equity, as well as establish effective partnerships and collaborations with communities, government officials, other community associations/non-profits, and public and private funding sources.
• Create and execute responsive and localized strategies that advance the mission across specific systems and integrate fundraising, state and local advocacy, measurement and evaluation, thought leadership, and strategic partnerships.
• Develop and execute detailed project plans to monitor and track progress of work.
• Lead cross-functional teams established for each system partner; serve as main point of contact within the organization for each system partnership.
• Lead external partners through initiative planning workshops and follow-up meetings to establish progress towards community-determined goals.
• Establish and track progress against organizational goals.
• Provide comprehensive program updates as needed for internal and external partners, including funding partners, municipal partners, and other nonprofit organizations.
• Integrate green playspaces and other innovative programs into initiative planning for municipal system partnerships.
• Work closely with Finance and Development team members to support the creation of an overall initiative budget and fundraising plans.

Partnership Development

• Develop a thorough understanding of local community and key stakeholder priorities, needs, and barriers to identify appropriate partners to form alliances that significantly accelerate playspace equity in a system.
• Build relationships with municipalities, community-based organizations, and other entities to inspire partners to initiate and grow partnerships with KABOOM!.
• Communicate KABOOM! mission, values, and programs to external groups including municipal agencies, community-based nonprofits, schools, and corporate and foundation funding partners.
• Seek paths to fund partnerships, independently or jointly with external partners.

Program Design and Development

• With partners, co-create initiative objectives, intended outcomes, parameters, and fundraising strategy.
• Draft, revise, and collaborate with partners to negotiate scope of work and formal agreements.

Education and Experience Required:

• At least 5 years of experience and demonstrated record of success working with municipal-level government, either as a partner or from within, particularly as it relates to public-private partnerships and/or municipal capital projects, policy, and budgeting.
• Established track record building relationships and partnerships with influential stakeholders, and designing goals for multi-year, data-guided initiatives.
• Understanding of and relationships with national state and local organizations (e.g., National League of Cities, National Governors Association, U.S. Conference of Mayors, etc.).
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with local officials and all levels of municipal agency staff with professionalism and integrity.
• Experience mobilizing groups to identify, establish, and implement initiative plans and goals, organizing others and yourself against immediate and long-term timelines and working collaboratively across job functions and teams to realize the organizational mission.
• Established track record of initiative, self-motivation, and ability to quickly and easily adapt to changing organizational needs.
• Demonstrated ability to proactively identify issues/problems and recommend and take the lead on solutions.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with experts in data collection and analysis, measurement, evaluation, policy, advocacy, and thought leadership.
• Strong oral and written communication skills to support municipal partnership development, funding proposal development, research and/or data reports/memos, and publications/promotional materials.
• Strong interpersonal, relationship development, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment related to controversial and/or culturally sensitive subjects.
• Strong strategic thinking and creative problem-solving skills and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances and to advance the work in the face of ambiguity.
• Ability to build trusting relationships across lines of difference.
• Professional experience managing complex, long-term, impactful projects from beginning to end.
• Technologically savvy and a quick learner of new tools and platforms.

Priority consideration given to candidates who have:

• Bachelor’s Degree or Master’s degrees in government and/or public policy.
• Advanced education or training in state and/or local government, public-private partnerships, and nonprofit fundraising and partnerships.
• Experience with climate, resiliency, and/or sustainability initiatives.
• Experiencing collaborating with landscape architects, environmental engineers, urban planners, and other experts who design and build vibrant public spaces.

Other Logistics:

• This position is full-time

• Location: Bethesda, Maryland/Hybrid, California/Full Time Remote

• Salary: $85k-$100k

Our goal is to have competitive and equitable compensation. We have a market-based compensation approach which means that we benchmark each role from reputable data sources. We compare our benchmarks against similarly sized non-profit organizations with comparable annual budgets and geographical areas. We pay the same rate for the same roles and adjust to comply with statutory mandates.

We take care of our employees by providing benefits and perks which include but not limited to the following:

• Annual bonus based on team and individual goal attainment

• Robust benefits package, including options for medical, dental, vision

• Generous 403(b) match of up to 6% of employee contribution

• Flexible time off inclusive of PTO, floating holidays, and special days

• Opportunities for professional development

Equal Opportunity Statement

Building an inclusive, high-performing team that is diverse across lines of personal identity is integral to our success and we are proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. This means we do not discriminate against any job applicant or employee because of their race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This applies to all terms and conditions of employment.