Strategic Partnerships Director, Philanthropy

About Pursuit

Our mission is to create economic transformation. By training low-income adults to launch and advance careers as software engineers, we help our Fellows go from earning $18,000 to over $90,000 starting salary on average, adding an estimated $2M in lifetime earnings. Pursuit partners with leading companies like Blackstone, USV, Citi, Peloton, and Uber to employ Fellows in career-defining engineering roles and supports them with on-the-job training to ensure potential translates to performance. Since 2013, Pursuit has created ~$1B in total lifetime wage gains, creating lasting economic mobility that spans generations. 

Pursuit’s proven solution is built on two interconnected components: training (which includes community development, Core pre-job training, and Commit on-the-job training) and a financial product (known as Bond). However, growing training alone will not meet the magnitude of need nor solve new societal challenges ahead. The typical expectation is to expand our training to other cities, but this will not come anywhere close to creating good jobs for millions of low-income Americans. Instead, our strategy for scaled impact is to evolve our financial product and create tools for other organizations, jobs, and places. We believe that this will not only create good jobs for millions of low-income Americans but will also generate a new trillion-dollar market directly tied to results in the long term.

We are One Big Team

The passionate and collaborative team at Pursuit gives its all to achieve our mission. And it’s not just staff. We work with employer partners that love hiring our Fellows because they are so well prepared, ranging from big financial firms to scrappy startups, and everything in between. We also activate and engage hundreds of volunteers that come from all areas of the tech industry. 

As the Strategic Partnerships Director, you will be responsible for establishing new partnerships with philanthropic entities and other partners to fund strategic initiatives. While others on the team will be focused on raising funds specifically to support workforce development, this role will lead partnerships and fundraising for strategic, systems-level initiatives that may sit outside of or adjacent to workforce development and be focused more broadly on economic transformation through impact investment and capital mobilization, wealth gap and inequality, research and policy, or capacity building. Examples include Randomized Controlled Trial, a new Queens Tech Hub, a Tech Apprenticeship implementation plan for the city, or an employment strategy with Venture Capital firms.

These opportunities are typically based on a consultative sales approach, require extensive relationship mapping and building, may require alignment and buy-in from multiple sets of decision-makers and functions across an organization, and may require external partnerships and coalition building efforts. Because these initiatives are more complex, the process is less application-based, and more relationship-based and non-linear. 

These opportunities will typically range from $250,000 to +$1,000,000. Anticipated annual volume for this role is expected to be at least ~$2-3M total.

As the Strategic Partnerships Director you will: 

• Establish new partnerships with philanthropic entities and other partners, estimated $250,000 to $1,000,000+ per opportunity
• Leverage a consultative sales approach, relationship mapping, and building to gain alignment from multiple stakeholders to secure partnerships and funds.
• Uncover new pools of capital that will ultimately fit Pursuit's fundraising needs and simultaneously achieve our partners’ goals.
• Identify broader philanthropic opportunities beyond workforce development which are aligned with Pursuit’s mission to create economic opportunity and mobility. 
• Partner with cross-functional team members and members of the wider Pursuit BD team to achieve an annual fundraising goal of $10M+

What you need to be considered for the Strategic Partnerships Director position: 

• At least 10 years of professional experience in business development, partnerships, fundraising within foundations, institutional philanthropy, or impact investment. 
• Incredible relationship-builder with an ability to engage, connect, and maintain relationships with a wide diversity of individuals.
• Expert understanding of and well-developed skills in sales, partnerships, and business development, including identifying leads, building relationships, storytelling, negotiating, closing, account management, etc.  
• Proven track record of building new & complex business relationships. 
• An analytical approach to defining an opportunity.
• Data-driven and results-focused.
• Creative, flexible, and solution-oriented.
• A team player working cross-functionally to provide additional opportunities for various Pursuit engagements.
• Extremely motivated and inspired by Pursuit’s mission. 

Where you’ll work: 

• On site, 3-4 days per week in our Long Island City Office. Remote Fridays!
• We are working on updating our office policy, and some roles may require 4+ days on site per week.  

Salary & Benefits:

The salary range for this role is $150-175k base, plus incentive compensation based on team and organizational goals.

The compensation range above is for the expectations as laid out in the job description, however, we are often open to a wide variety of profiles and recognize that the person we hire may be less experienced (or more senior) than this job description as posted.  If that ends up being the case, the updated salary range will be communicated to you as a candidate.

Pursuit offers: 

• Great culture where transparency, respect, teamwork, and kindness are valued
• Competitive compensation in base, plus bonus and a full benefits package
• 401k Match
• Unlimited PTO and an all-Pursuit summer break the last week of August and a week-long holiday the last week of December
• Flexible, hybrid work schedule with catered lunches once a week and delicious snacks
• An opportunity to work at the intersection of tech and social impact, and make a direct impact on the communities of those we serve.

Pursuit values diversity: 

Our team has a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, and we value the richness that diversity brings to our organization. We welcome new perspectives and affirm that all employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, national origin, age, familial or marital status, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuit is an equal opportunity employer.