ABOUT GENERATION
At Generation, we believe in the power of employment to change lives. We are a global nonprofit organization that supports adults to achieve economic mobility through employment. Generation trains and places adult learners of all ages into careers that are otherwise inaccessible, working in partnership with governments, employers, and other system actors. We also conduct original research and share data insights on high priority global workforce transition topics to inform decision-making by workforce system stakeholders. Launched in 2015, Generation comprises a global hub (Generation You Employed, or GYE) and a network of in-country affiliates. To date, the network has 100,000+ graduates and 11,000+ employers across 46 professions and 17 countries.
When learners join Generation, 91% are unemployed, of which nearly half are long-term unemployed. Three months after completing our program, graduates have an 78% job placement rate, rising to 88% within six months. Of our employed graduates, 68% are hired by repeat employers who have previously hired Generation graduates, and 89% are in jobs directly related to the profession for which we have trained them. Employed graduates immediately earn an average of 3-4X their previous earnings. Two to five years after graduation, 77% of our alumni from upper-middle income countries continue to meet their daily financial needs and 63% can save for the future. To date, Generation’s global graduates have earned more than $1 billion in wages. Generation graduates typically have a secondary school background, 54% are female, 34% have dependents, and the majority identify with underrepresented communities in their country.
JOB OBJECTIVES
The Global Partnerships Manager plays a pivotal role in designing and executing a lead generation strategy aimed at identifying, engaging, and converting new funders of all types (e.g., foundations, corporations, high-net-worth individuals, governments, etc.). S/he will be responsible for ensuring that prospects identified turn into promising leads, compelling partnership proposals, and strategic funding support for GYE’s high-impact projects to advance our global impact agenda.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Lead Generation:
• Actively contribute to Generation's growing fundraising pipeline by identifying new funders, with a focus on GYE, unrestricted, multi-year funding
• Assess funding opportunities by providing a rigorous review of Access, Belief, Capacity and Geography to ensure alignment and assign prioritization for any strong prospects
• Produce internal briefings for the Global Partnerships team and the Leadership team that inform scoping, decision-making, donor discussions, and proposal development
• Reach out to high-potential funders and partners identified through personal networks or prior research and establish a first connection with a pre-identified access point
• Own the proposal development process, from identification to submission, and engage internal stakeholders in contributing high-quality material as needed
• Prepare and execute timelines for proposal submissions, accounting for rounds of reviews, iterations, and potential platform issues
• Lead the budget design process with the Global Grants Lead (and the Finance team as needed), functional teams, and country teams
• Lead the program design process with functional teams and country teams, ensuring the budget is sufficient to cover the programmatic interventions
• Create detailed work plans breaking down proposals into tasks, activities, and milestones
• Draft external deliverables of high quality (grant requests, proposals, decks, concept notes, etc.) requiring minimal oversight
• Finalize partnership proposals, ensuring that those that have multiple stakeholder inputs have a clear structure and are written in ‘one voice’
• Identify and implement opportunities for improved fundraising processes and analytics (via dashboards, processes, trackers, etc.)
• Maintain opportunities and leads updated on Salesforce
2. Strategic Planning and Development:
• Conduct thorough research in the field of workforce development and economic mobility to inform partnership proposal design and strategic decision making
• Proactively identify the need for, and oversee the creation of, new resources that will make our team more efficient and effective (e.g., proposal templates)
• Contribute to the Partnerships team’s Proposal Development Library, a valuable repository of grant writing resources to address donors’ frequently asked questions that will assist our leadership, Global Partnerships team, and Affiliate and GenDirect teams in being more efficient in their proposal development and grant writing process, sharing consistent messages, and preserving the institutional memory of our organization
• Contribute to the strategic development of Generation by providing insights, recommendations, and innovative ideas related to partnership program design, partnership opportunities, and growth initiatives centered around economic mobility.
• ctively contribute to the design and improvement of fundraising processes and analytics (via strategies, dashboards, processes, trackers, etc.)
3. Team Management and Collaboration:
• Help manage and motivate the team, providing clear strategic direction, guidance on prioritization of workstreams, and input and coaching on key deliverables
• Develop Partnerships Associates through informal coaching and formal professional development
• Collaborate closely with our functional teams to ensure smooth proposal development
• Provide ongoing support and guidance to country teams, fostering a collaborative and supportive work environment
• Keen sense of cross-functional collaboration to conduct productive alignment discussions on proposal development to clearly articulate different work streams, timelines, and KPIs, and translate technical functional inputs into accessible, clear, and compelling messages for funders, making it appear as if our deliverables were written with a single voice.
WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
Internal:
• Partners with global Chief Partnerships Officer, Partnerships Director, and other members of the global Partnerships team to develop new partnership programs and manage existing accounts that fuel the growth of Generation
• Coordinates with country leadership, country partnerships teams, and regional leads across the Generation network to help develop new cross-regional partnership program opportunities and manage reporting for existing ones
• Works collaboratively with the Global functional leaders for the development of new partnership program concepts, proposal development, and reporting on existing accounts
• Works closely with the Global Grants Lead and global finance team to ensure high-quality delivery and management of partnerships
External:
• Helps develop and maintain relationships with external funders who support Generation.
KEY METRICS
• Grant proposals leading to new partnerships.
• Partnership renewal with our active accounts (when possible).
• Collaborative work environment with functional and country teams.
Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field; Master's degree is a plus
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in fundraising. Experience in the field of workforce development and economic mobility is strongly preferred
• Proven experience in building and/or cultivating strategic partnerships
Behavioral Skills and Mindsets
• Curiosity and understanding of the big picture to integrate the 'why' of each action and follow through with initiatives to achieve the desired outcome, no matter the path taken
• Active listening with prospects, partners, functions, and country teams and capacity to surface key elements that enhance our value propositions
• Ability to ask ourselves and our partners the right questions to scope collaboration opportunities, make interactions and partnership follow-up as efficient as possible, and address key issues for effective partnership management
• Critical thinking, problem-solving, and judgment to actively contribute to our Partnerships efforts
• Keen sense of cross-functional collaboration to conduct productive alignment discussions on proposal development to clearly articulate different work streams, timelines, and KPIs, and translate technical functional inputs into accessible, clear, and compelling messages for funders, making it appear as if our deliverables were written with a single voice
• Responsiveness and sense of duty in addressing the requests of stakeholders to enhance trust, collaboration, and produce quality deliverables within a given time frame
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build and nurture relationships based on mutual respect, trust, recognition, and effective communication
• Keen sense of organization and ability to orchestrate and follow up on multiple tasks and deadlines and promptly report unforeseen issues with a solution-oriented mindset
• Optimism, risk tolerance, and resilience in the face of uncertainty and the volatile nature of fundraising, along with the agility to handle rejection and learn from each experience
• Extreme attention to detail in both narrative and quantitative aspects
• Ability to work under the pressure of multiple deadlines imposed by our partners and deliver quality deliverables within the constraints of time and budgets
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to craft persuasive proposals
• Demonstrated leadership qualities with the ability to collaborate with others from different backgrounds and cultures in an efficient and effective way, while building trust-based relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Full proficiency in English. Proficiency in any other language used across the Generation network is a plus
• Proficiency in data analysis and reporting tools (PowerBI)
• Proficiency in CRM systems is a plus (Salesforce)
• Passion for Generation's mission to change lives through fulfilling employment and an unshakeable belief in the talent of the learners we serve