Senior Manager, Planting Partnerships

The Arbor Day Foundation, an organization dedicated to inspiring people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees, is seeking a Senior Manager, Planting Partnerships.

Job Location:

Lincoln Campus
- Lincoln, NE 68508. Position Type:
Full Time.

• Passion for the Foundation’s mission, nature, environmental stewardship, and people.
• Our ideal candidate has 8+ years of experience in partnership development, project development, operations, supply chain or sourcing leadership, or program strategy and operations.
• Experience identifying, evaluating, and developing external partnerships and projects.
• Experience leading and developing high‑performing teams.
• Demonstrated success developing strategies, driving operational improvements, and influencing stakeholders without direct authority.
• Experience leading complex cross‑functional initiatives and organizational change.
• Strong communication, relationship management, and problem‑solving skills.

• Experience in mission‑driven environmental, conservation, or sustainability‑focused organizations.
• Experience building scalable partner networks, operating models, or project portfolios.

• Define the strategic direction, priorities, and growth objectives for the Project Development function, ensuring the Foundation maintains a strong pipeline of high‑quality, cost‑effective projects aligned with funding opportunities and impact goals.
• Evaluate portfolio composition, market trends, partner capacity, and emerging risks to proactively respond to evolving funder needs and maximize impact per dollar.
• Grow and strengthen the Foundation’s planting partner network by identifying new opportunities and developing innovative sourcing approaches.
• Identify and implement improvements to operating models, processes, and tools that increase scalability, efficiency, and effectiveness.
• Travel 3 to 4 times a year international and domestic as needed.

• Design sourcing processes, tools, and partner engagement approaches that enable the Foundation to identify and evaluate the right opportunities faster, scale effectively, and maintain a high‑quality experience for partners.
• Establish and continuously improve partner evaluation and onboarding standards and processes that protect the quality of the Foundation’s network and ensure our work remains aligned, effective, and positioned for long‑term impact.
• Create operating mechanisms that provide the visibility, accountability, and coordination needed to steward this work well, enable effective decision‑making, and support mission delivery at scale.

• Provide clear direction, coaching, and support to 3 Project Development Leads to achieve both Foundation objectives and team member career goals – developing team capabilities in partner relationship management and strategic sourcing.
• Foster a high‑performing, mission‑driven team culture aligned with Foundation values.
• Delegate responsibilities and decision‑making authority effectively while maintaining appropriate oversight.
• Assess future capability needs and implement development plans, learning opportunities, and stretch assignments to build team capacity.

• Build trusted relationships across the organization to maintain alignment, strengthen collaboration, and advance shared goals.
• Partner with fundraising and program leaders to anticipate future demand, align project pipeline development with current and future funding opportunities.
• Translate strategic decisions into clear implications for teams, processes, and ways of working.
• Resolve cross‑functional challenges by balancing competing priorities and reinforcing shared goals.

• Develop and execute a cohesive project sourcing strategy that aligns the Foundation’s planting partner network and project pipeline with evolving funding needs across reforestation, carbon, impact fund, and community programs.
• Ensure the project portfolio can effectively respond to demand by balancing geographic coverage, cost, scientific rigor, and partner capacity.
• Expand and…