Vice President of Corporate Partnerships

Now Hiring: Vice President of Corporate Partnerships  

Full-Time | Exempt Position

Salary: $150k/yr 

Job Summary

Join an innovative team building national corporate partnerships that fuel impact for millions of children.

Reporting to the Senior Vice President of Development, this key senior leader will be responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive strategy to acquire, grow, and steward corporate relationships that expand RIF's fundraising capacity and advance its mission—playing a pivotal role in RIF's ambitious $75 million Comprehensive Campaign.

This role is designed for an entrepreneurial business development executive who can build and sustain a national pipeline from the ground up, craft enterprise-level value propositions, negotiate large-scale partnerships, and deliver high-impact revenue that fuels RIF's mission. The Vice President will collaborate across teams—including Marketing, Programs, and Digital—to design and activate integrated partnerships, while serving as a visible ambassador to corporate leaders, the Board, and campaign volunteers.

What's in It for You

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Basic life insurance plan.
• 403(b) retirement savings plan.
• Paid time off (PTO), including vacation, personal time, and bereavement leave.
• 13 paid holidays annually.
• Short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) coverage.
• Hybrid work environment (Onsite 3x a week).

What You'll Do

Strategic Leadership & National Partnership Development

• Build and lead a national corporate partnership and business development strategy that drives revenue growth, brand visibility, and mission alignment.
• Develop and execute a national go-to-market plan to secure major corporate partnerships across retail, consumer goods, financial services, technology, entertainment, logistics, and other priority sectors.
• Identify, prioritize, and pursue companies with strong alignment to RIF's mission, audience, and growth objectives.
• Establish annual revenue targets, KPIs, pipeline metrics, and multi-year partnership goals.
• Work closely with executive leadership to align corporate initiatives with organizational goals, programmatic impact, and RIF's $75M Comprehensive Campaign.
• Monitor market and industry trends to inform strategy and identify emerging opportunities.

Prospecting, Pipeline Building & Deal Acquisition

• Build a robust national pipeline of corporate prospects—independent of existing donor or board introductions.
• Lead cold outreach, C-suite engagement, and relationship development with senior corporate decision-makers.
• Develop compelling pitches, proposals, business cases, and customized partnership offers for high-value prospects.
• Manage a portfolio of approximately 75–150 institutional donors and prospects, cultivating new relationships while deepening partnerships with existing supporters.

Partnership Architecture, Negotiation & Revenue Growth

• Structure and negotiate multi-year, six- and seven-figure partnerships that may incorporate:
  • cause marketing and consumer activation
  • national literacy initiatives
  • employee engagement programs
  • product integration, licensing, and co-branded campaigns
  • supply chain, retail, or content distribution opportunities
  • cross-platform sponsorships (digital, events, activations)
• Negotiate terms, deliverables, KPIs, marketing value, and partnership renewal strategies.
• Design and steward high-level corporate partnerships—including unrestricted support, program funding, and in-kind contributions.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Campaign Activation

• Collaborate closely with Marketing, Programs, Digital, and Communications to execute national campaigns and deliver on partnership commitments.
• Support co-branded content, storytelling, data integration, corporate employee engagement, and national/regional activations.
• Serve as a key external ambassador at industry conferences, corporate forums, and national partnership events.

Performance, Reporting & Market Insights

• Monitor performance of national partnerships using revenue, engagement, brand visibility, and impact metrics.
• Analyze market and competitive trends to identify new partnership models, sectors, and business development opportunities.
• Prepare and deliver regular reports, dashboards, and updates for the CEO, SVP of Development, and Board committees.

Team Leadership & Culture

• • Lead and mentor a high-performing team responsible for securing and managing corporate partnerships generating $12M+ annually.
  • Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, accountability, and strategic selling.
  • Build internal systems, processes, and tools supporting scalable partnership development and stewardship.

What You'll Need

• 12+ years of experience in corporate partnerships, business development, enterprise sales, strategic alliances, or a closely related field.
• (Nonprofit fundraising experience may complement but will not substitute for enterprise-level partnership experience.)
• Proven ability to secure national corporate partnerships valued at $500K+, ideally including multi-year, cross-functional agreements.
• Demonstrated success building a cold pipeline, identifying decision-makers, conducting outreach, and driving complex deals from prospecting through negotiation and close.
• Advanced experience developing and pitching high-value proposals to senior corporate executives (VP, SVP, CMO, CHRO, CSR, Partnerships, or C-suite).
• Strong contract negotiation experience, including structuring partnership terms, activation plans, KPIs, and marketing value exchanges.
• Experience leading or collaborating with cross-functional teams (marketing, program, digital, legal, finance) to deliver and activate national partnerships.
• Exceptional communication, presentation, and strategic storytelling skills, with the ability to articulate a compelling value proposition to diverse stakeholders.
• Bachelor's degree required; an advanced degree or certification in business, marketing, nonprofit management, or a related field is a plus.
• Strong analytical and financial acumen, including comfort building revenue models, valuation frameworks, and forecasting tools.
• Highly self-motivated, entrepreneurial, and adaptable, with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, hybrid work environment.
• Ability to travel up to 40% for partner meetings, activations, and industry events.

Who We Are

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) is the nation's leading children's literacy nonprofit. We focus on disrupting the U.S. literacy crisis by bringing the joy of reading to children to create skilled readers. By bringing books and reading resources to kids, we inspire the joy of reading, sparking imaginations and possibilities that put children on a path to reading proficiency.

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