Director, Strategic Partnerships

Director, Strategic Partnerships

(Submission Deadline: June 30^th at 12pm CT)

All job applications are reviewed by a member of our hiring team. We do not use AI for this process.

About Lever for Change

Lever for Change (LFC) connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems—including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of access to economic opportunity, and climate change. Using an inclusive, equitable model and due diligence process, Lever for Change creates customized philanthropic challenges and other tailored funding opportunities for donors. Top-ranked challenge finalists become members of the Bold Solutions Network—a growing global network that helps secure additional funding for these important projects. Lever for Change, founded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in 2019, has influenced nearly $2.5 billion in grants to date and provided support to more than 500 organizations. To learn more, visit www.leverforchange.org.

About the Role

As Director, Strategic Partnerships at Lever for Change, you will be a senior revenue and relationship leader responsible for building and converting a high-quality pipeline of donor partners — expanding LFC's reach and deepening its network of committed philanthropic investors. Reporting to the Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, you will serve as a close thought partner in shaping rigorous, scalable business development processes and executing strategies that advance LFC's core initiatives — with a primary focus on the Bold Solutions Network and its connected open calls and add-on funding opportunities. This role is a key contributor to LFC's organizational goal of unlocking $10 billion in catalytic capital to the field by 2030 — and success will be measured not just by relationship quality but by capital converted.

In this role, you will be the primary executor of the Vice President's strategic vision for the partnerships function — translating priorities into pipeline, process, and results. You will manage and coach a team of Associates, providing strategic direction, mentorship, and clear accountability to ensure operational excellence across all donor partner engagement, pipeline management, and organizational processes. This is a builder's role — one that requires equal parts entrepreneurial instinct and systems thinking, and that demands someone who thrives at the intersection of relationship-driven work and results-oriented execution.

Success in this role means leading a high-performing team that measurably grows and engages the donor partner database, converts prospects into committed investors, and strengthens LFC's position as the partner of choice for philanthropists seeking to deploy capital where it matters most.

The Objectives You Will Meet

As the Director, Strategic Partnerships, you will have three major areas of responsibility: client management, project management, and business development. Success in these areas involves meeting the six growth dimensions for the role listed below.

• Proactivity
  • Leads the development and implementation of team goals and initiatives that align with organizational strategic plans

• Adaptability
  • Distinguishes between tasks that are delegated to direct reports and where their expertise should be used to ensure that timelines are met

• Growth Mindset
  • Amplifies ways of working that maximize operational efficiency and is able to suggest improvements to drive not only team performance, but also fostering conditions for belonging

• Client Orientation
  • Identifies processes and systems that enable business sustainability and new opportunities to grow relationships and existing products

• Inclusive Leadership
  • Advises on best practices that align with organizational value while role modeling ways of working that encourage belonging and high performance

• Organizational Impact
  • Uses data to drive decision making and showcase the impact the team and collaborations have on business objectives

How You Will Meet These Objectives

Donor Partner Management

• Serve as the primary relationship owner for a portfolio of new and existing complex donor partner relationships — managing with intentionality, consistency, and a clear understanding of each partner's priorities, constraints, and long-term philanthropic vision
• Build and oversee a systematic, scalable approach to materials development and preparation — ensuring that proposals, investment cases, briefings, and engagement assets for prospects, existing donors, wealth and philanthropic advisors, donor intermediaries, and Bold Solutions Network members are consistently compelling, timely, and tailored to audience
• Drive creative, research-informed approaches to donor partner engagement and cultivation — including learning opportunities, network events, and marketing of Bold Solutions Network members — across in-person and virtual formats designed for both domestic and international audiences
• Anticipate donor partner needs proactively rather than reactively, positioning LFC as a trusted advisor and strategic thought partner across the full arc of the relationship — from first engagement through long-term stewardship

Project Management

• Own the design and continuous improvement of client relationship management processes — liaising with internal teams and external stakeholders to build workflows that are efficient, collaborative, and scalable across a growing portfolio of donor partner engagements
• Establish and maintain clear visibility into the status of all active donor partner relationships, pipeline opportunities, and donor learning initiatives — creating reporting rhythms that keep leadership informed and enable timely, data-driven decisions
• Identify and resolve process gaps before they become relationship risks — bringing a systems-thinking mindset to the operational infrastructure that underlies every donor touchpoint
• Serve as a cross-functional connector within LFC, ensuring that donor partner engagement is coordinated, coherent, and aligned with organizational priorities across programs, communications, and leadership

Business Development

• Build and actively manage a results-driven book of new business — identifying, qualifying, and converting prospective donor partners into committed investors in LFC open calls and the Bold Solutions Network, with clear accountability for pipeline growth and capital conversion targets
• Develop and own best-in-class business development processes and systems that support operational excellence, enable seamless integration across the organization, and create a repeatable, scalable model for donor partner engagement from first contact through committed investment
• Lead the full development and delivery of compelling, tailored presentation materials, investment cases, and landscape analyses that align with donor partner philanthropic priorities and position LFC as the partner of choice for high-impact capital deployment
• Identify, research, and prioritize prospective donors — including foundations, family offices, corporate philanthropists, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals — interested in supporting Bold Solutions Network member organizations, and develop strategic entry points for engagement
• Manage and mentor a team of 1–2 Associates, providing clear direction, accountability frameworks, and developmental coaching that builds both individual capacity and team performance in service of business development goals
• Coordinate with the Marketing Communications team on donor announcements, thought leadership, and public-facing materials that expand LFC's visibility and presence in the field — ensuring external communications reinforce and support active business development efforts
• Support donor selection of highly effective social change organizations by preparing clear, evidence-based materials that make the philanthropic investment case with confidence and specificity

Who You Are

At Lever for Change, we welcome and embrace a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and approaches to work. We also understand the importance of being transparent in our expectations.

• Master's degree or equivalent; or demonstrated experience at the intersection of business development, capital mobilization, and social impact — we welcome candidates from philanthropy, financial services, wealth advisory, impact investing, or mission-aligned for-profit environments
• Minimum of seven years of fundraising, business development, or client relationship experience — with a track record of building and converting a pipeline, growing a book of business, and delivering results against revenue or capital goals
• Demonstrated track record of closing gifts or securing commitments of $1M or greater, with experience managing and converting relationships at the $5M–$25M+ level preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to work with high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients in a consultative fashion — an excellent listener who can anticipate and assess client needs, craft creative and compelling responses, and bring proactive advice and solutions that build long-term trust
• A natural relationship builder who is genuinely energized by client interaction and finds authentic connection to be a professional strength, not just a job requirement
• Outstanding critical thinking, analytical, and investigative skills — able to synthesize complex information quickly and translate it into clear, compelling narratives for sophisticated audiences
• Broad intellectual curiosity and genuine passion for an eclectic range of issues across social change, global development, gender equity, climate, and other areas central to LFC's portfolio
• Proven ability to manage and develop a small team — setting clear expectations, providing meaningful coaching, and holding direct reports accountable in a way that builds both performance and belonging
• Highly organized and able to manage multiple priorities, relationships, and deadlines simultaneously without losing attention to quality or detail
• Self-confident, diplomatically direct, and collegial — someone who holds high professional standards and brings others up to meet them
• Comfortable operating within a matrixed organization and skilled at building the internal relationships needed to move work forward across teams
• Willing and able to travel as needed for donor cultivation, convenings, and partnership meetings
• Proficient in Microsoft Office; experience with Salesforce, Airtable, Asana, or comparable CRM and project management tools strongly preferred