Vice President, Business Development and Educational Partnerships
Sandy Hook Promise
On-site
Vice President, Business Development and Educational Partnerships
About Sandy Hook Promise
Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) envisions a future where all children are free from school shootings and other acts of violence. As a national nonprofit organization, SHP’s mission is to educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes, and communities. Creators of the lifesaving, evidence-informed Know the Signs prevention programs, SHP teaches the warning signs of someone who may be in crisis, socially isolated, or at-risk of hurting themselves or others and how to get help. SHP also advances school safety, youth mental health, and responsible gun ownership at the state and federal levels through nonpartisan policy and partnerships.
SHP is led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.
Commitment to Belonging, Community, Engagement, and Respect
SHP strives to ensure its culture and work environment reflect the values of belonging, community, engagement and respect. We actively seek to understand and respond to the diverse perspectives and lived experiences of individuals across socioeconomic backgrounds, rural and urban communities, and diversity of thought, in addition to traditional protected categories. We are committed to ensuring that every SHP employee feels heard, valued, and a true sense of belonging. SHP encourages individuals who share our commitment to these core values and to our mission to apply.
Location
We are a U.S. based organization and most of our staff work remotely. This role will require 30-40% travel (on an as-needed basis).
About the Role
Under the limited supervision of the Chief Program Officer, the Vice President of Business Development and Educational Partnerships will lead both the Business Development and Partner Success teams. This role is responsible for driving SHP’s national and targeted state growth strategies across programs and services. The VP will oversee the cultivation and management of strategic partnerships across SHP’s program portfolio, ensuring a relationship-based, consultative approach grounded in continuous quality improvement.
The ideal candidate is a forward-thinking leader with a strong innovation mindset to keep SHP at the forefront of the field, paired with a disciplined approach to operational excellence. This includes leading strategic planning, setting clear team and individual performance goals, establishing systems for accountability such as quarterly business reviews, and providing regular written updates to fellow VPs to promote cross-departmental alignment and collaboration.
Job Responsibilities Include (but are not limited to)
Strategy Development & Execution
- Oversee an educational partner growth strategy to include targets, multi-year pipeline, and sector-specific cultivation tactics for the suite of SHP programs and educational products.
- Establish and oversee an Out-of-School (OST) Time partnership model for national youth development organizations and in partnership with the VP, Implementation and VP, Innovation, Research, Evaluation & Quality Improvement, define the implementation model based on place-based project learnings and OST feasibility.
- Oversee the relationship development and management lifecycle to support partnership sustainability.
- Develop a business model for the Crisis Center that leverages its competitive edge within the for-profit and nonprofit sectors.
- Manage and seek expansion opportunities across the K-12 sector such as public, private, charter, independent schools; community-based organizations and out-of-school time providers; statewide and capacity building networks.
- Develop and manage competitive funding models for the Say-Something Anonymous Reporting system.
- Determine Request for Proposal (RFP) prioritization for state, regional state service centers, and other agencies and oversee the internal RFP processes and approach for engaging external 3rd parties in RFPs.
- In partnership with Federal Grants, help to establish federal grant funding pipeline for the suite of SHP Programs and initiate cultivation tactics for the pipeline.
- In partnership with Development, help steward Individual, Corporate, and Foundation partnerships to include but not limited to participating in prospect meetings, aligning program strategies, developing materials for and presenting in pitch meetings.
- Broker new relationships and strengthen existing relationships.
- Convene leaders across K-12, out-of-school time, the public and private sectors to discuss/plan cross-sector violence prevention strategies, partnerships and to establish SHP presence with collective impact partnership opportunities.
- Represent SHP at select conference opportunities and in affinity networks to advance SHP presence.
- Define and develop a suite of external collateral resources to support partnership cultivation, initiation, management, and sustainability.
- In partnership with Federal Grants, oversee partnership cultivation and development for federal grants.
- In partnership with Technology, define the Salesforce workflow for the partnership lifecycle and oversee operational execution of the relationship development and management processes across the Programs department.
- Serve as a liaison between the Programs Department and the Finance Department in the development and management of program funding models and partnership subsidies
- Serve as a liaison between the Programs Department and Development to develop proposals, budgets and align development opportunities to the programmatic pipeline.
- In partnership with Program departmental leadership, co-develop fundable opportunities for SHP development team and participate in cultivation processes to include but not limited to concept paper and budget development, presentations, and partner meetings.
- Conducts annual and ongoing processes including but not limited to workforce, strategic and operational planning, budget development and management, key performance indicator development and analysis.
- Collaborate with Senior and Executive Teams to co-develop and align national and targeted state growth plans.
- Communicate the vision and direction of business development and partner success, sharing ongoing progress towards goal with the various stakeholders across the organization.
- Set and monitor Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and collaborative resolve gaps in Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to ensure the organization’s ability to monitor key results.
- Master's degree and/or applied experience in Educational Policy, Educational Sales & Marketing, Organizational Change Management or related field.
- Minimum of 8-10 years of experience in vendor procurement and management, sales, marketing, training and technical assistance, change management, and/or continuous quality improvement systems. Experience with new technology and integrating into operations to strengthen effectiveness and efficiency.
- Experience defining and monitoring OKRs and KPIs to continuously assess and communicate progress to goal.
- Experience stewarding and establishing mutually beneficial relationships.
- Experience building and leading highly effective and results-driven teams.
- Performs other duties as required.
In addition to the core qualifications, candidates who bring the following skills and attributes will be especially well-positioned for success in this role:
- Adaptive Leadership
- Demonstrates the ability to guide teams through complex challenges where solutions are not clear-cut.
- Builds team capacity by ensuring a strong mix of skills and fostering adaptability and collaboration in times of change or conflict.
- Strategic Mindset
- Anticipates and interprets emerging trends in business, education, and youth development to inform strategic direction.
- Contributes to the creation of innovative, validated strategies that move organizational priorities forward.
- Market Research and Analysis
- Skilled in identifying and interpreting trends within the K–12 education landscape.
- Applies findings to shape scalable, data-informed business solutions.
- Relationship Development and Stewardship
- Builds and maintains strong networks across diverse sectors and stakeholders.
- Fosters trust and engagement through strategic partnership development.
- Research, Writing, and Communication
- Deep understanding of national education trends and best practices across sectors.
- Excellent written communication skills with the ability to craft high-quality materials including strategy documents, concept papers, and presentations.
- Adapts verbal and written communication to suit varied audiences, including clients and internal stakeholders.
- Innovative and Action-Oriented
- Proactively identifies opportunities to refine and expand strategies.
- Willing to take thoughtful risks and think ahead to shape the future direction of initiatives and programs
The salary range for this position is $147,000 - $170,000.
(SHP follows a strict internal rubric to help guide salary placement and ensure equitable pay amongst new hires and current staff. New hires should expect to be brought on at the start of the range, except in extenuating circumstances.)
- SHP offers a competitive benefits package, including:
- Unlimited PTO
- Flexible schedules
- Paid holidays and 10 days sick leave
- Paid parental leave
- Health, dental, and vision
- Employer paid life insurance and short- and long-term disability
- 401k match
- Professional development stipend
- Wellness & mental health support
- Employer Paid Employee Assistance Program.
Application Instructions
- Please send your resumes to Brian Molitor at [email protected] for consideration.
SHP is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We strive to be an employer of choice: where a diverse mix of talented people want to come and do their best work. SHP does not make employment related decisions based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. We are focused on promoting multiculturalism and inclusion so that all SHP employees feel valued and respected. We believe deeply that a diverse workforce comprised of people of all beliefs, backgrounds, and life experiences who seek to prevent gun violence and stop the tragic loss of life will make SHP a stronger, more effective organization.