Chief of Strategic Partnerships

What You'll Do

The Chief of Strategic Partnerships will be a critical member of Manresa Island Park's Leadership Team, realizing the vision of this once-in-a-generation park. The Chief of Strategic Partnerships will serve as the key executive responsible for cultivating and stewarding the full range of the park's external partners, including research institutions, universities, funders, community associations, and others. While the park's build-out is fully funded, there will be compelling opportunities for supporters to fund research initiatives and special programs; the Chief of Strategic Partnerships will be responsible for developing the strategies and systems to bring these mutually beneficial partnerships to fruition.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Serve as an organizational leader overseeing the park's partnerships efforts

• Lead strategic external partnership planning, with potential local, state, national and global partners and goals, to enhance the mission, goals and vision of Manresa Island Corp.
• Effectively communicate and build meaningful relationships with external stakeholders, including foundations, individual donors, research institutions, major non-profit organizations, local, regional, and national associations, and others
• Partner with colleagues to ensure accurate and compelling storytelling
• Represent the park in discussions with current and prospective partners, such as the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, developing mutually beneficial plans to achieve organizational goals
• Present to the Manresa Island Park Board on an ongoing basis, providing visibility into key partnership development efforts, where applicable
• Coordinate with external partners and the internal Manresa Island Park team to manage collaborative projects, set priorities, and develop timelines to enable launch, and ongoing park stewardship and success
• Participate in organization-wide visioning, planning, and budgeting related to the park's revenue streams

Manage and expand Manresa Island Park's community of partners

• Identify new collaborators, including but not limited to:
  • academia, such as research institutions, universities, students, and faculty
  • education-based organizations (e.g.: schools, state education programs, summer camps)
  • non profit organizations
  • art and culture based organizations
  • community associations
  • and others
• Build a durable and sustainable set of relationships that enable park visitors and users to access the park, while providing a steady stream of revenue to support the park's activities
• Proactively and strategically cultivate new relationships, effectively representing and aligning with Manresa Island Park's goals and mission and identifying points of collaboration
• Create systems for coordinating multiple concurrent partnership initiatives
• In collaboration with the Executive Director, ensure seamless relationship management, excellent execution, and overall stewardship of existing partners
• Map and monitor the broad fields in which Manresa Island Park operates (conservation, parks, cultural institutions, community development, etc.), identifying opportunities for creative connections between people and institutions
• Lead every aspect of research, analysis, and subsequent action to identify, pursue, and secure major funding relationships

Community Relations

• Lead the marketing and communications team in working closely with the Executive Director, economic and operational consultant, to create an engagement program design for site and community
• Serve as community engagement lead during construction phase, leading community activation in both pre-construction and post-construction

Who You'll Work With

• You will report to the Executive Director.
• You will partner with organizations including, but not limited to local, state and federal governments, academic and educational partners, local and regional operational partners, and the arts and culture community, among others.
• You will manage a team that is responsible for Partnerships, Marketing and Communications, and Development.
• You will frequently collaborate with peers on the leadership team, including the Chief of Staff, Chief of Design and Construction, Director of Finance, Director of Facilities, and others.

• At least ten years of overall partnership development experience, with at least five years in a senior leadership role
• Leadership experience, having worked collaboratively with a diverse group of peers and colleagues within a fast-moving, dynamic, and entrepreneurial organizational culture
• Demonstrated ability to develop strategic initiatives encompassing multiple internal and external stakeholders, and to keep those initiatives moving forward
• Relational, high-touch approach to building relationships, and a demonstrated track record of working effectively with executive-level stakeholders
• Proven success developing, refining, and leveraging systems to track projects, budgets, and relationships
• Experience with and strong working knowledge of philanthropy is preferred
• Experience working at the executive level, with direct experience forging deep and lasting relationships with high-net-worth families, philanthropic institutions, operational partners, educational institutions and others
• Exceptional strategic thinking with a strong bias for action and implementation
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a strong ability to tailor the messages for different audiences

Manresa Island is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, or current employment status.

Manresa Island Park is in Norwalk, Connecticut. The office is an easy ten-minute walk from the South Norwalk station, which is approximately 65 minutes from Grand Central Terminal. Staff can work a hybrid schedule, and the Chief of Strategic Partnerships is expected to be on-site, as needed, in order to effectively manage relationships with partners.

Compensation

The salary range for this position begins at $170,000 per year and is commensurate with experience.

Benefits