ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW  

STRIVE is a national leader with a mission to provide pathways to life-changing careers and opportunities through comprehensive professional training, intensive personal support, and self-empowerment for those who face societal barriers to advancement. Predominately operating in low-income, Black and Brown communities, STRIVE celebrates 85,000 graduates since its founding in 1984. STRIVE’s purpose is to ensure that everyone can achieve upward mobility and financial empowerment for themselves and their families and offers free programs to adults of various ages, genders, and with justice-impacted backgrounds. See why STRIVE Works in this 2-minute video or learn more at strive.org.   

STRIVE is active in 14 U.S. locations: in four directly-operated sites and through 10 licensed partners across the country. STRIVE is pursuing an ambitious growth plan to expand our impact in current and new cities. 

POSITION SUMMARY

STRIVE is embarking on an ambitious growth plan to turbo charge our growth to grow 5x over the next decade to ultimately have the capacity to serve 10,000 individuals a year by 2033. To achieve this ambitious goal, we need to significantly expand our capacity in locations we are currently in and expand to new communities that are in need of our services. As we began our journey to expand our services to new communicates, we recognized the need for a dedicated individual to lead our efforts in is position will be a key part of STRIVE’s efforts to identify, cultivate and launch STRIVE sites in new cities across the Unites States. The ideal candidate will successfully develop and manage strategic partnerships to ensure STRIVE’s growth while identifying areas which can benefit from the robust services offered by STRIVE.  

This role, the Director of Partnerships & Growth, reporting to our Vice President of Growth & Strategy, will play a critical role in shaping our efforts in identifying, establishing, and launching new site locations for our program services. This critical role will require a strategic thinker with exceptional relationship-building skills and a track record of success in expanding nonprofit services. The Director will work closely with key stakeholders, including employers, government agencies, funders, other community-based organizations, as well as internal stakeholders, to ensure the successful expansion of our programs.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

New Site Exploration and Cultivation

·      With support and guidance from the Vice President of Strategy & Growth, manage the cultivation of new STRIVE site opportunities, including project management and coordinating internal and external team members to support objectives. 

·      Establish relationships with key local stakeholders in new communities to build local support for STRIVE, while building relationships for collaboration and funding opportunities.

·      Identify and establish initial, anchor employer partnerships to provide jobs and internship opportunities to STRIVE graduates. 

·      Collaborate with STRIVE’s Chief Development Officer to engage with local funders to enhance their awareness and support of STRIVE programming with a focus on strong relationship cultivation and maintenance while identifying new funding pipelines.

·      Support stakeholder cultivation activities in new cities, which could include hosting meetings, site visits, receptions and other opportunities for engagement with local stakeholders (eg. employers, civic and community leaders, funders, etc). 

·      Expand growth opportunities for STRIVE, by outlining the benefits STRIVE can provide at a larger scale, understanding the resources needed to achieve this, and delivering this proposition to key individuals and agencies. 

·      Participate and advise Executive Team on issues which can impact the strategic planning process.

·      Understanding of local and federal labor laws.

·      Serve as a STRIVE “ambassador” in current and potential STRIVE expansion cities.

New Site Preparation for Launch

·      Support local team in developing partnerships with key local stakeholders.

·      Support development and management of local advisory or steering committees in selected sites.

·      Support hiring of local site leadership and other initial STRIVE personnel.

·      Partner with other Strategy & Growth team members to work with program leaders to establish launch project milestones and assist to ensure the new site is launched on time and within budget. 

QUALIFICATIONS

·      Strong understanding of STRIVE’s Purpose, Mission, Vision, and Values.

·      Bachelor’s degree and/or 7 to 10 years of demonstrated experience in partnership development and nonprofit program expansion; prior experience in business development, sales or other external stakeholder development will also be considered.

·      Exceptional ability to communicate to external stakeholders and clearly communicate the organization’s mission, goals, and impact to diverse audiences, tailoring messages to resonate with different stakeholders.

·      Ability to proactively identify and develop relationships with external stakeholders through a variety of methodologies. Ability to nurture relationships through communication. 

·      Entrepreneurial spirit – Resourceful and energized developing new initiatives from scratch and making outsized impact in a growing national organization.  

·      Experience working with non-profits that rely on a mix of private and public funds and how to access these funds is preferred but not required.

·      Leadership skills and ability to resolve challenges quickly.

·       Excellent organizational and time management skills, with the ability to manage complex projects, prioritize tasks and meet deadlines.

·      Collaborative and flexible work style; excited to work both cross-functionally with other departments and independently. 

·      Operational Equity. Practice and demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of group dynamics, organizational culture, diversity and inclusion. 

Location

This position can be located in any of our site locations (e.g., New Orleans, Birmingham, Atlanta or New York City operating under a hybrid workweek, two days in office. Potential for regular travel to existing STRIVE office locations and new expansion locations.

STRIVE considers applicants for all positions without regard to: race; color; religion; gender; national origin; age; sexual orientation; marital or veteran status; the presence of a medical condition, genetic information or handicap, unrelated to performing the tasks of the job; or any other legally protected status.