Director of Strategic Partnerships

Job Location

Lifsey-Executive

Job Summary:

The Director of Strategic Partnerships serves as a member of the organization’s core leadership team and is responsible for developing and strengthening mission-aligned relationships across Middle and West Tennessee. This role focuses on building collaborative partnerships with K–12 school districts, post-secondary institutions, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, workforce entities, and community stakeholders to strengthen community impact for Goodwill.

These partnerships are essential to ensuring individuals served by Goodwill are connected to complementary resources and supports offered by other organizations, while also creating strong referral pathways for individuals served by those partners into Goodwill’s programs and services. The Director ensures partnership strategies are aligned with organizational strategic priorities that will drive measurable outcomes, while maintaining a strong external presence throughout the communities served.

The Director of Strategic Partnerships will promote a positive work environment that celebrates our vision, mission and core values in every action and interaction with team members, donors, customers, management and persons served.

Job Description

Essential Functions

• Develop and implement a strategic partnership plan aligned with organizational mission and strategic priorities.
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with K-12 school districts, including superintendents, Career and Technical Education (CTE) leaders, and district administrators.
• Build and strengthen partnerships with post-secondary institutions including community colleges, universities, and credentialing providers.
• Cultivate collaborative relationships with nonprofit organizations to coordinate services, strengthen referral networks, and ensure individuals have access to comprehensive community supports.
• Develop and maintain partnerships with government agencies, workforce development boards, human services entities, and economic development organizations.
• Identify opportunities for formalized partner agreements and execute Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) to define shared goals and responsibilities.
• Convene and participate in cross-sector meetings, advisory councils, and community coalitions to ensure alignment of services and collaborative impact.
• Collaborate with internal program and outreach teams to ensure coordinated referral strategies and consistent external engagement.
• Provide leadership and supervision to direct reports, ensuring clear accountability, strong communication, and effective partnership development practices.
• Represent Goodwill at community events, public forums, and stakeholder meetings across Middle and West Tennessee.
• Monitor partnership engagement and activity using databases and tracking systems to inform strategy and organizational awareness.
• Travel throughout Middle and West Tennessee as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Required Skills

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Education, Marketing, Public Relations, or a related field is required.

Experience

• At least five years of progressive experience in partnership development, community engagement, nonprofit collaboration, education systems engagement, public sector engagement, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience building and sustaining cross-sector relationships.
• Experience supervising staff and leading collaborative initiatives is required.

Knowledge / Skills

• Strong relationship-building and interpersonal skills with the ability to engage diverse stakeholders, including individuals with disabilities, nonprofit partners, educational leaders, board members, and public officials.
• Demonstrated leadership ability with a collaborative, team-oriented approach and experience supervising staff.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including development of presentations and partnership materials.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities with strong attention to detail, accuracy, and follow-through.
• Knowledge of K–12 school systems, post-secondary institutions, nonprofit organizations, and public sector operations.
• Strategic thinking skills with the ability to align partnerships to organizational priorities.
• Understanding of budgeting and resource alignment principles.
• Proficiency with database/CRM systems and Microsoft Office applications.
• Ability to travel throughout Middle and West Tennessee as required.