North America Partnership & Strategic Growth Manager

Title

North America Partnership & Strategic Growth Manager

Hybrid in the Chicago IL area or Remote from Illinois

$120,000 – $154,000 per year plus bonus

Griffith Foods is a family-owned business founded in 1919, headquartered in Alsip, Illinois. It specializes in innovative product development across seasons, marinades, coatings, and sauces that benefit both people and the planet. As a North America Partnership & Strategic Growth Manager, you will develop and lead our North America 2030 partnership strategy, strengthening thought leadership and driving progress across the three Aspirations: partnering to create sustainable food system networks, developing a nutritious and sustainable portfolio, and serving nutritionally and socioeconomically underserved populations in new markets.

• Advance Griffith Foods’ 2030 aspirations through meaningful partnerships with innovation partners, customers, NGOs, technology partners, and research institutions focused on regenerative agriculture, nutrition, and inclusive access to food in North America.
• Translate global and regional priorities into action by designing partnerships that deliver tangible business value creation on a 2–5‑year time horizon.
• Serve as a trusted bridge between internal teams and external partners, aligning values, capabilities, and commercial contracts.
• Design partnerships for long‑term ecosystem impact by establishing clear goals, governance, success measures, and hand‑offs that endure beyond individual relationships.
• Collaborate with global and regional teams to define clear policy stances and key messages aligned with aspirational priorities and business needs around regenerative agriculture and nutrition.
• Map and lead engagement with relevant policy groups, trade associations, and thought‑leadership forums in North America to strengthen regional storytelling by coordinating with external marketing and public relations partners.
• Represent Griffith Foods as a thoughtful and credible leader by engaging with policy groups, trade associations, and thought‑leadership forums, and supporting authentic regional storytelling.

• Enjoy working in complexity and ambiguity and is comfortable leading through influence rather than authority.
• Thrives in a matrixed corporate entity or large institution.
• Has experience identifying, applying, and deploying public or private grants – and managing long‑range reporting requirements as a or alongside program managers.
• Aligns mission with business reality and believes the strongest impact happens when both move together.
• Is energized by building trust‑based relationships that turn shared ambition into real‑world collaboration.
• Has passion for contributing to a broader impact vision that can be translated into practical actions for partnering with teams that can be delivered annually.
• Rolls up sleeves and gets to work.

• Bachelor’s degree in business, agribusiness, economics, public health, public policy or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in partnerships, CSR, external corporate government affairs, stakeholder engagement, or strategic relationship management, preferably in the food, agriculture, or CPG industries.
• At least 2 years of relevant experience in creating impact metrics or KPIs and measuring accountability of cross‑functional team members as more than an individual contributor.
• Understanding of building trust‑based relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Experience structuring agreements between two or more entities, preferably with demonstrable dollar value or in‑kind support.
• Strong facilitation, project management, and communication skills – as demonstrated by training or qualifications in design thinking, PMP, operations management, etc.
• Willingness and ability to travel 40% of the year throughout the US, Canada & Mexico, and sometimes globally.
• Qualified candidates must possess unrestricted access to work in the US; the company cannot provide work visa sponsorship for this role.

• MBA, MPH or MS in Food Science, Policy or a technical related area.
• Government/regulatory policy exposure, government…