Director, Strategic Partnerships

Director, Strategic Partnerships

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

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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. Mac Arthur 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 (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..

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.

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

• Serve as the primary relationship owner for a portfolio of new and existing complex donor partner relationships — managing with intentionality, consistency, and a clear…