Partner Manager - Early Childhood Focus

About the position

First Book is seeking an energetic, highly motivated, business-minded, entrepreneurial relationship manager with a strong track record of success to join the National Engagement Team. The National Engagement Team resides at the forefront of First Book’s growth trajectory, as it is responsible for growing the network of programs and teachers we serve and for driving usage of First Book’s resources. A larger network with a higher volume of usage drives down the cost of the books for the programs we serve, and as a result, expands the number of books and educational resources that reach low-income children worldwide. The Partner Manager, National Engagement is responsible for cultivating, managing and leveraging partnerships within the nonprofit sector to generate awareness for First Book, connect new recipient groups to First Book’s network, and stimulate usage of First Book resources via these partnerships – resulting in the delivery of more books to children in need. This role is focused on building and fostering relationships and on delivering a measurable impact. This particular position primarily focuses on partnerships with national organizations and associations operating within and in support of early childhood education, with additional responsibilities managing partnerships in other areas of focus as well.

Essential duties and responsibilities:

  • Partnership Development – Maintain a level of knowledge regarding your focus areas. Understand the landscape of partners in your focus areas. Educate yourself on prospective partners. Work with the Director and Vice President to identify, cultivate and manage key partner relationships, with a primary focus on large-scale organizations in the early childhood education partner landscape. Determine action steps for moving new partnerships forward. Be entrepreneurial in your space
  • Relationship Management – Develop a deep understanding of partner needs and obstacles to maximizing use of First Book’s resources; translate insight into partner strategy. Be “in the know” and aware of internal and external issues facing your specific partners. Develop a comprehensive understanding of how First Book can support the mission and goal of each partner; utilize that knowledge to create mutually beneficially partnership strategies. Be creative about ways to proactively support your partners. Approach each existing partnership with a strategic outlook and build action plans accordingly. Design and implement partner marketing strategies and communication plans. Foster direct and open lines of communication with partners. Provide exceptional customer service, responsiveness, project management and extraordinary attention to detail on behalf of your partners. Act as the “voice of the partner” internally, understanding and representing your partner’s needs within First Book and advocating on behalf of your partners. Create quarterly and annual wrap-up reports by partner
  • Engagement Stimulation – Look within your partner accounts and identify measurable opportunities for registration and usage stimulation. Prioritize your partner accounts accordingly. Work with partners to develop high-impact proposals that define and implement relevant strategies to stimulate usage of the First Book Marketplace and the First Book National Book Bank in large-scale ways. Identify new funding opportunities, and package them in a way that can be presented to potential funders. Impact the development of the FBMP inventory by collecting relevant partner input and providing it to internal stakeholders. Help develop new engagement opportunities based on partner objectives/goals. Develop a deep knowledge of internal capacity, and leverage this knowledge to match internal abilities with out-of-the-box partner opportunities and big ideas. Make recommendations to Director around strategies/action plans for connecting with assigned partner networks/affiliates/sub-organizations, and execute resulting initiatives
  • Project Management -- Lead execution of partner-related initiatives. Draft strategic briefs, lead cross-functional planning meetings, create project plans, execute flawlessly, and measure and report on results. Understand how to navigate and coordinate internally among cross-functional teams
  • First Book Representation – Represent First Book at partner meetings, conferences, panels, receptions and speaking engagements. Draft presentations and partner facing collateral accordingly. Host webinars

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

  • Communication Skills
    • Must have exceptional oral and written communication skills
    • Must have proven ability to successfully manage and clearly communicate in a cross-functional environment
  • Relationship Management Skills
    • Experience building and fostering relationships in either the private or nonprofit sector required
    • Must have demonstrated ability to be extremely responsive to external partners and advocate internally on behalf of partners
    • Experience in tracking and reporting on client activity/progress preferred
    • Experience working in the early childhood education sector is a plus
  • Project Management Skills
    • Must be highly organized and have the ability to manage for results. Must be able to meet and/or exceed project goals and deadlines. Must possess a strong attention to detail
    • A minimum of 5 years project management experience required
    • Event management experiences a plus
    • Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office programs required
  • Cultural Fit
    • Must have an innate entrepreneurial spirit, proven track record for showing initiative, and a solutions-oriented approach to opportunities and challenges
    • Must possess a private sector head and a public sector heart. Ability to leverage private sector experience in public sector preferred.
    • Must have a creative approach to problem solving, can-do attitude, and ability to multi-task and thrive in a fast-paced environment
    • Must be able to work both independently and collaboratively within a team environment
    • Experience working successfully with cross-functional teams preferred
    • Must be flexible and adaptable. Must be extremely comfortable with and motivated by change
    • Interest in working in a fun and creative professional environment a must

Education and/or Experience:

  • Five years of work experience
  • Bachelor’s degree required
  • Experience in the nonprofit sector preferred
  • Marketing experience a plus
  • Ability to travel to conferences, First Book National Book Bank distributions, partner meetings, networking events, etc. (10% travel)

TO APPLY:

Candidates are invited to submit a resume and a cover letter to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - please be sure to put ECPF in the subject line of your email. No phone calls please.