Head of Climate Philanthropy & Partnerships

Head of Development Greentown Labs Boston, Massachusetts, United States

About this position

Location

This role requires you to be based in Boston, Houston, New York City, or California. Candidates near our Somerville, MA or Houston, TX sites work a hybrid schedule; candidates in New York or California work remotely with regular travel.

About Greentown Labs

Greentown Labs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit accelerating climate tech innovation for the planet, people, and prosperity. As the world’s largest climate tech and energy startup incubator, Greentown catalyzes ecosystems to provide entrepreneurs mission-critical access to labs, equipment, customers, capital, talent, community, and resources for business and leadership growth. Greentown is home to more than 250 startups and has supported more than 675 since its founding in 2011;

these startups, with a survival rate of 88 percent, have collectively created more than 16,600 jobs and raised more than $12.5B in funding. We are entering a new phase of growth—strengthening our platform, expanding globally, and building more structured, scalable ways to serve our two core customer bases: startups and corporate partners. For more information, visit  or follow Greentown on Linked In.

Position Overview

This position reports to the CEO and sits alongside Greentown's Growth function. Greentown Labs is hiring a Head of Development to own and drive philanthropic and partnership revenue across the organization, carrying a multi-million-dollar target and building the pipeline and relationships to sustain and grow it.

This is development reimagined for the climate era: a modern, entrepreneurial capital-mobilization mandate, not a traditional back-office development function. Its center of gravity is national major gifts and growth capital, roughly three-quarters of the role, with a meaningful secondary focus on enabling structured annual giving and sponsorship at the Boston and Houston sites. To start, this is a team of one in direct partnership with the CEO, with the potential to grow into a larger development function over time;

cross-functional support comes from site leadership, the Chief of Staff, and the CEO. You will be as comfortable with a climate philanthropist as with an energy investor or a legacy energy company, and you do not pick camps.

What you'll do

Pillar 1 — Major Gifts and Growth Capital (primary focus, ~75%)

Carry a multi-million-dollar annual revenue target and personally lead the cultivation, solicitation, and closing of gifts from $50K to $500K and well beyond

Cultivate high-net-worth individuals, family offices, climate philanthropists, corporate foundations, strategic partners, and government and foundation funders aligned with Greentown's mission

Build joint research relationships and collaborative grant opportunities with academic institutions through MoUs and research agreements

Author sophisticated, data-driven funding proposals and presentations that translate Greentown's impact into a compelling case for each funder, in writing and in the room Develop and structure blended and recoverable capital, including recoverable grants, program-related investments (PRIs), and donor-advised funds, and articulate the value proposition for a blended-finance approach to scaling climate innovation

Once funding is secured, ensure a seamless handoff for ongoing donor stewardship, compliance, and grant reporting, and partner with the Finance team to build grant budgets and structure recoverable capital

Lead funder reporting and the stewardship of government and foundation relationships

Represent Greentown externally across climate, energy, philanthropy, and industry, including energy and climate trade associations, especially in Houston Own and manage a personal portfolio of $2M to $10M and beyond, tracking pipeline movement, conversion, and renewals with discipline, and maintaining CRM hygiene and reporting as a discipline

Location

This role requires you to be based in Boston, Houston, New York City, or California. Candidates near our Somerville, MA or Houston, TX sites work a hybrid schedule; candidates in New York or California work remotely with regular travel.

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