Manager of Strategic Partnerships

We are seeking a dynamic individual with strong event planning skills, the ability to steward large corporate donors, and the willingness to travel nationwide to deliver shoes to children in need to join our team as the Manager of Strategic Partnerships.

The Manager of Strategic Partnerships stewards and grows partnerships with corporations and individual donors who have the resources to help hundreds or thousands of students at a single shoe delivery event and/or via a shoe distribution plan. In conjunction with the donor (“strategic partner”), the Manager will identify schools and students in need of assistance and plan and execute large shoe delivery events and/or distribution by school staff.

The incumbent will travel frequently throughout the United States to meet with donors and oversee in-person shoe delivery events at schools. The position reports to the Senior Manager of Strategic Partnerships and works as part of collaborative and supportive team. The position works out of our office in Claremont, CA.

Strategic Partner Strategy and Management:

• Develop and implement partner-specific strategy and marketing efforts, including but not limited to facilitating exploratory calls and meetings, setting delivery timelines, and drafting marketing collateral and proposals.

• Manage outbound strategy for potential leads (cold calls, email outreach, etc.).

• Steward high-level Strategic Partner donors and larger partnership opportunities.

• Research potential and new strategic partner opportunities.

• Execute partnership agreements and manage the corporate workflow in project management tools (currently Airtable and Salesforce).

• Maintain primary day-to-day management of workflow as assigned to help steward relationships with partners.

Event Management (High Profile Donors):

• Travel nationwide (50%) to fully execute and lead shoe delivery events for partners.

• Coordinate with school staff and strategic partner volunteers.

• Order shoes for events and ensure the orders are fulfilled and shipped by the Shoes That Fit warehouse team in a timely manner.

• Effectively execute and oversee the development and distribution of pre-event materials, such as run of show, schedule of events, etc. Execute and oversee a signage plan for each event. Conduct a post event analysis. It will be the responsibility of the Manager to maintain industry best practices.

• Coordinate with PR team to attract press coverage and serve as main point of contact on event day for media requests.

• Manage photography/videography and other in-event components.

Team Management and Operations:

• Provide feedback to help strengthen team strategy and operations regarding workflows, processes, and procedures.

• Manage overall workflow of Back-to-School, holiday, spring, and summer events as needed.

• Troubleshoot and assist team members with delivery issues or challenges as needed.

• Manage shoe orders and delivery timelines.

• Assist in reviewing and drafting grants, request for proposals (RFP), proposals for partners, etc.

• Serve as the first point of contact for inbound requests.

• Assist in developing marketing collateral and materials for strategic partners and prospects as necessary and as assigned.

• 3 to 5 years of experience in event coordination; nonprofit fundraising; and donor relations. Relevant experience in sales and account management with large corporate partners will also be considered.

• Bachelor's degree from four-year college or university is preferred.

• Ability to travel nationally via air, automobile, car transportation services and other modes of transportation is required. The incumbent will travel approximately 50% of the time. Travel may require some weekends. Prior job experience that involved traveling is preferred.

• Excellent attention to detail, organizational skills, and ability to manage multiple tasks with competing timelines at once.

• Must be a self-starter, yet able to be a team player and take on other projects, as needed.

• Experience with Salesforce is preferred.

• Experience working in a non-profit environment preferred.

• Experience managing volunteers is helpful but not required.

• Proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel). Ability to constantly operate a computer and other office equipment.

• When in the office, must be able to remain in a stationary position for 50% of the time. When traveling, must be able to meet the physical demands of traveling via air, automobile and other forms of transportation. When at an event, must be able to meet the physical demands of the event including standing, walking, bending, and lifting boxes of shoes and other supplies (up to 35 pounds) for the duration of the event, usually several hours.

• A sense of humor and love of children required!