Lead, Partner Engagement, Centre for AI Excellence

Lead, Partner Engagement, Centre for AI Excellence 

Please Note: This role requires the ability to work on site 3 days per week per company policy.

The annual salary range for this role is $135,000-$150,000 in New York.

The World Economic Forum, committed to moving the world forward, is the international organisation for public-private cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. 

The Centre for AI Excellence (CAIE) is a global future-focused platform advancing responsible innovation through the power of AI, data, and intelligence to reshape industries, economies, and societies - unlocking transformative potential in an equitable and human-centered way. As a forward-looking global platform for multistakeholder dialogue and collaboration, we examine how AI, data, and digital ecosystems converge to create value, while driving their responsible adoption and real-world impact through a global community.   
 

The World Economic Forum’s Centre for AI Excellence is seeking a Lead, Partner Engagement. This role presents an opportunity to strategically steward and grow the Centre’s global partner community - spanning business, startups, academia, government, and civil society - ensuring sustained engagement, long-term retention, and measurable impact. The Lead will drive partner activation across the Centre’s initiatives while contributing to business development objectives and overall portfolio growth. 

Reporting Lines & Interactions  

This role will be reporting to the Head of AI Applications and Impact. The position works in close collaboration with teams across Forum offices globally (China, Japan, India, Switzerland, and the United States), and engages extensively with senior executives, founders, policymakers, and ecosystem leaders across regions. 

Key responsibilities  

Strategic Partner Stewardship & Activation 

• Own and steward the CAIE portfolio of partners across regions, ensuring sustained engagement and long-term value creation. 

• Lead senior-level relationship management with C-suite executives, AI leaders, academia, civil society and senior public sector stakeholders. 

• Develop and execute tailored partner engagement strategies aligned with institutional priorities and the Centre’s strategic objectives. 

• Ensure active partner participation across Centre initiatives, working groups, flagship events, and global convenings. 

• Identify opportunities to deepen engagement and expand collaboration within existing partner organizations. 

• Serve as the primary point of contact for partner-related matters, ensuring responsiveness, alignment, and high-quality delivery. 

• Build and continuously activate a strong global partner community, fostering collaboration and cross-sector exchange. 

Growth Enablement & Portfolio Expansion 

• Collaborate closely with the Business Development team to support partner acquisition efforts. 

• Contribute to the development of tailored value propositions, pitch materials, and engagement proposals for prospective partners. 

• Provide strategic positioning and subject-matter context during prospect discussions and onboarding processes. 

• Identify whitespace opportunities across sectors and geographies to inform partnership development strategy. 

• Support the onboarding and integration of new partners into the Centre’s initiatives and community. 

• Translate ecosystem insights and partner feedback into engagement formats and offerings, and provide structured inputs on emerging partner priorities, trends, and areas of interest to inform the Centre’s portfolio of initiatives. 

Engagement Intelligence & Performance Insights 

• Develop and maintain structured tracking of partner engagement, participation, and contribution across initiatives, events and activities. 

• Monitor portfolio health indicators, including renewal readiness, engagement depth, and expansion potential. 

• Generate insights and analysis to inform retention strategies and account planning. 

• Support leadership reporting on partner portfolio performance and engagement trends. 

• Ensure high-quality sue of Salesforces and relevant tools to maintain data integrity and enable transparency and cross-team coordination. 

• Use data-driven insights to continuously refine engagement strategies and improve partner experience. 

Requirements and Experience  

• 7+ years of experience in partner engagement, strategic account management, business development, or multistakeholder collaboration within technology, AI, or digital policy ecosystems. 

• Strong understanding of the AI landscape, including foundation models, emerging digital technologies, and their economic, policy, and industry implications. 

• Experience engaging senior executives, government representatives, and multilateral stakeholders, with strong executive communication and coalition-building capabilities. 

• Strong analytical mindset, with experience using data management systems to track engagement, assess portfolio health, and inform retention strategies. 

• Ability to leverage AI and emerging technologies to improve workflows, automate processes, enhance partner insights, and drive operational efficiency. 

• Ability to manage and grow a portfolio of partners and relationship management. 

• Ability to translate partner priorities, market trends, and ecosystem dynamics into actionable insights that inform programme development and strategic direction. 

• Ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, globally distributed environments with a high degree of ambiguity.