Location: Detroit, MI or St. Louis, MO 

Employee Category: Full-time Employee 

Positions Hiring: 1

Salary: $70,000-$90,000 (dependent on credentials and experience)  

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer 

Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision insurance; Self-Care Stipend; Monthly Technology  Stipend; extensive company holiday schedule; yearly summer and year-end closures; 20 Days Paid Time Off; budget for professional development.

About Strategic Community Partners 

SCP is a national firm that works with organizations by advising, designing, and managing projects and initiatives that advance equity with and for communities. We partner with organizations to build capacity by pairing strategy with community and cultural context to drive forward powerful and equitable missions. 

We are passionate about and focus on capacity building in the following areas:

• Community-Grounded Research and Evaluation

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• Education (Early Childhood, K-12, and Higher Education)

• Project Management and Systems Building

• Recruitment, Retention, and Overall Talent Management

• Strategic Planning

• Youth- and Community-Based Initiatives and Events

Learn more about Strategic Community Partners here.

Position Overview

As the Director of Partnerships & Initiatives at SCP, you will play a critical role in shaping and executing high-impact strategies that drive equitable outcomes for communities. This leadership position requires a dynamic, experienced professional passionate about managing complex partnerships, designing and facilitating initiatives, and engaging stakeholders across sectors.

The Director will lead and manage day to day a portfolio of SCP’s partnerships and initiatives–including designing, planning for, facilitating, and following through on various partnership meeting, convening spaces, initiatives, and efforts locally in Detroit, St. Louis, and nationally. This is a hybrid role that combines both vision and detailed planning, project management, and execution.  

This Director will work closely with the Founder & CEO as well as our current Director of Partnerships & Initiatives–representing a well-balanced team. This individual can collaborate on efforts, manage up and down, and also work independently to move work forward internally and externally. 

Core Responsibilities

1. Partnership and Initiative Leadership, Strategy, and Execution 
   • Develop and execute comprehensive strategies for partnerships and initiatives 
   • Lead and manage high-profile partnerships, serving as the lead point of contact 
   • Designing, planning (including agenda and document creation), preparing, facilitating (including notetaking), and following through on next steps as well as ongoing engagement (e.g. meetings, convenings, various workstreams) 
   • Manage partnerships and equity initiatives, including setting goals, managing timelines, and ensuring the fulfillment of goals, contracts, agreements, and expectations
   • Manage up and down within organization and externally with partners and community, including consultant management (as applicable) 
   • Lead project management efforts, including creating detailed project plans and managing the day-to-day execution of initiatives
   • Recruit, train, and manage facilitators for convenings, programs, workshops, and events
2. Community Engagement and Facilitation
   • Lead partnerships that are with and for youth, professionals, and community members–ensuring that our work is also influenced by and engages those we see to walk alongside and serve 
   • Convene and lead discussions with community members, partners, and stakeholders to drive collaborative efforts
   • Build strong relationships with partners to further equitable opportunities in local and national communities
3. Crisis Management and Problem Solving
   • Identify and proactively address crisis management concerns during the planning and execution phases of initiative.
   • Serve as a lead point of contact during high-stakes meetings with leadership and external stakeholders

Examples of Director of Partnerships & Initiatives Work In Action 

At SCP, we work alongside passionate and powerful community members, leaders, and partners. With the above responsibilities, following are a few examples of what the Director of Partnerships & Initiatives work will look like in action: 

• Early Childhood Community Impact Incubator 
  • In February 2025, our Early Childhood Community Impact Incubator will kick-off–our fourth Detroit cohort in our incubator. On a day-to-day basis, this director will manage and oversee the execution and fulfillment of a nine-month roadmap experience for our cohort–including up to 20 home-based and early childhood center owners and directors. This will include working alongside and managing a lead facilitator (an Early Childhood expert), planning, preparing for, and executing to and through on monthly convenings, and managing technical assistance faculty support the cohort.  These are samples of responsibilities (not an exhaustive list). 
• Thriving Neighborhoods Fund
  • We are heading into our third year of our first cohort of the Thriving Neighbourhoods Fund–engaging 18 grassroots organizations across neighborhoods in Detroit. This fund is focused on building the capacity of our cohort–both financially as well as operationally. We specifically are funding continued neighborhood beautification, community programming, and additional community space activations. Each quarter in 2025, we will convene our cohort (focused on community building, technical assistance clinics, and communities of practice). Each month there is not a convening, our cohort joins us for optional technical assistance clinics and community of practice meetings. On a day-to-day basis, this director will build relationships and manage overall engagement of our cohort, plan for and facilitate quarterly convenings, prepare for and facilitate monthly optional spaces, and interface with our partners in monthly update meetings as well as preparing and submitting reporting to partners throughout the year. In addition, this director will be responsible for ongoing communication and management of technical assistants working with our cohort (also in collaboration with our Operations Manager). This director will work closely with our Communications Team to ensure the story of our cohort is told–both organizations and SCP’s impact. These are samples of responsibilities (not an exhaustive list). 
• Kanada 
  • We are nearing graduation of our third class of James Kanada Fellows in Detroit, and will be launching our fourth Detroit class as well as expanding to another community (by request of the community). The Kanada Fellowship identifies 8-12  industry and community leaders and provides them with the tools to scale equitable change for our communities. Through a nine-month initial fellowship experience, participants gain development and support that helps them envision, chart out, and act on their next level of service, leadership, and impact. Fellows also select a Kanada Executive Coach and complete a self-identified capstone project as a class. This director will leverage a curriculum roadmap to identify (with input from the team and feedback from alumni), confirm, prepare, and engage lead facilitators for each Kanada Class, as well as Fireside Chat Speakers, and Kanada Executive Coaches. Planning, preparing for, and executing to and through monthly convenings is also part of this director’s scope. This director will also engage in feedback cycles with Kanada alumni to reflect on and identify the path forward for Kanada in the future. This director will also create and execute an alumni engagement framework–ensuring fellows continue to engage after their initial engagement. These are samples of responsibilities (not an exhaustive list). 

Education and Experience Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree required
• Minimum of 5 years of experience leading, managing, and executing efforts directly related to the “Examples of Director of Partnerships & Initiatives Work in Action” section with proven results

Core Competencies and Skills

• Strategic Visioning and Planning: Strong ability to develop and execute strategic plans that achieve impactful outcomes.
• Project Management: Superior project management and organizational skills, including the ability to manage several priorities and partners simultaneously.
• Facilitation: Expertise in facilitating diverse groups and programs, from community members to high-level professionals.
• Problem-Solving: Robust problem-solving abilities, with a proven track record of managing crises and ambiguous situations effectively.
• Communication and Relationship-Building: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to build coalitions and work effectively with diverse stakeholders.
• Adaptability: Ability to work in dynamic, fast-paced environments with shifting priorities and minimal guidance.

Mindsets

• Passion for community-centered and equity-driven work.
• Commitment to excellence in all aspects of work, including process, presentation, and communication.
• Unwavering integrity and dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Intrinsic motivation and a proactive approach to leadership, with the ability to thrive in complex and time-sensitive scenarios.

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

Strategic Community Partners provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

We look forward to reviewing your application! Thank you for your commitment to mission-driven work!

Salary : $70,000 - $90,000