Senior Manager, Impact Partnerships (Global) at Rainforest Alliance

Position summary:

The Senior Manager, Impact Partnerships, is responsible for developing and managing partnerships with a portfolio of global corporate accounts outside RA’s core food and beverage sectors, including industries such as beauty, technology, pulp and paper, and hospitality. Reporting to the Director, Strategic Partnerships, this role works closely with Revenue Operations to gather and analyze market insights and intelligence, supporting pipeline development with a clear prioritization of corporate segments in alignment with RA’s impact programs.

The Senior Manager also works with the Leadership Team and global experts to actively prospect new fundraising opportunities within the prioritized segments, cultivate key relationships, and drive opportunity development. They lead the design and delivery of pitches, collaborating with technical experts to create standardized materials for prioritized offerings. In addition, the role involves guiding the development of proposals for corporate partnerships and contributing to the broader Strategic Partnerships  approach. This is a global role and handles global accounts of all sizes, ensuring strategic alignment and value delivery across all engagements.

Responsibilities:

• Portfolio development and management: Build and manage a portfolio of corporate accounts outside RA’s core food and beverage industries, including but not limited to beauty, technology, pulp and paper, and hospitality industries, ensuring accounts are actively prospected, cultivated, and stewarded;
• Opportunity identification: Work with Revenue Operations and other resources to identify and generate new funding opportunities with the objectives of growing the relationship with portfolio accounts and building the Strategic Partnerships’ funding pipeline;
• Pipeline management: Contribute to the development and management of the Strategic Partnerships pipeline, prioritizing opportunities, and ensuring detailed and up to date pipeline information is inputted and tracked through RA’s CRM system (Salesforce);
• Partnership development: Working with Leadership and global experts, lead the scoping and development of new relationships with strategic corporate partners with the aim of advancing and scaling up RA’s impact programs.
• Offering development: Working with technical experts, lead the development of standardised pitches and materials to be offered to companies, in alignment with RA’s impact programs and priorities;
• Proposal development: lead the proposal development process for prioritized strategic partnership opportunities:
  • Coordinate the process from concept note development to full proposal submission, ensuring quick turn-around and following internal processes;
  • Contribute to project design;
  • Organise and lead the internal Go/No-Go decision-making processes for each funding opportunity;
  • Convene a cross-functional proposal development team for prioritized opportunities, ensuring the needs of corporate partners are met and the right internal stakeholders are included in the process.
• Identify co-funding opportunities: Ensure collaboration with colleagues in Institutional Relations and Individual Giving to explore opportunities for public-private-philanthropic partnerships;
• Represent RA: Represent the organization in external meetings and events as required.

Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in business administration, international or sustainable development, or other relevant discipline;
• 10 years of progressively responsible work experience in consultancy, sustainable development, business development, or corporate partnerships;
• Proven track record of securing corporate funding for programs;
• In-depth knowledge of sustainability topics, market, and policy trends related to sustainability. Strong knowledge of conservation, community development, forestry, or agriculture is preferred.
• Experience in a fast-paced, deadline-driven, work environment – preferably within a global organization; Familiarity with agile and lean ways of working is preferred.
• Excellent writing, editing and verbal communication skills in English;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with ability to interact culturally, linguistically, and diplomatically with diverse internal and external individuals;
• Experience with Salesforce or similar CRM system a plus; and
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally on occasion.