Regional Partnerships Director, Central U.S.

Regional Partnerships Director, Central U.S. (Remote – U.S.)

LENA seeks a Regional Partnerships Director - Central U.S. to achieve LENA’s growth goals in support of our strategic objectives and mission. In this role, you will oversee growth and strategy implementation in the Central region, including partnerships throughout the relevant states. We’re looking for a track record of scaling sales in complex markets. If an incredibly purposeful mission is what you’re seeking, read on.

Company Summary:

LENA is a national nonprofit on a mission to transform children’s futures through early talk technology and data- driven programs. Research shows that back-and‐forth interaction between children and their adult caregivers in the earliest years is a key to long‐term outcomes. We integrate our “talk pedometer” technology into innovative programs to support parents, caregivers, and teachers to accelerate children’s language development, school readiness, and social-emotional health.

LENA has expanded dramatically in recent years, and we’re poised for even greater and multi-dimensional growth and impact in early childhood. Our revenue model relies on business-to-business sales of technology, cloud-based software, and services. You will report to LENA’s Director of Partnerships and Growth, and you will help drive our next exciting phase of expansion and deepened reach, revenue, and impact.

In this role, you will:

• Oversee growth and strategy implementation in the Central U.S. region, including partnerships throughout the relevant states.
• Develop and execute a strategy to build our portfolio of Head Start programs, childcare resource and referral agencies, school districts, and other community-based organizations adopting LENA’s transformational technology-enabled programs.
• Be responsible for devising a regional pipeline strategy to meet your ambitious targets, and for closing new business and expanding on existing partnerships.
• Drive sales and increased awareness in your region as a creative and authentic relationship-builder.
• Build partnerships and ensure relevance with presence at the appropriate roundtables, collaboratives, and meetings regarding early childhood and its ecosystem across your region.
• Utilize a consultative sales approach focused on listening, learning, problem solving, and influencing.
• Effectively leverage sales and associated technology to inform approaches to lead development.
• Communicate effectively and with impact, conveying LENA’s mission and value proposition to a variety of audiences, leveraging persuasive storytelling skills and cultural competencies.
• Take the initiative to get the job done while embracing the value of working collaboratively within the Growth team and cross functionally.

You could be a good match for this role if you are:

• Mission-driven. It matters to you that your work makes a positive and durable impact on the world, and LENA’s mission speaks to you. You are culturally competent and have empathy with communities and contexts we serve (e.g., underserved populations, bilingual and/or multicultural environments, child-care settings).
• Thoughtfully entrepreneurial. You have sharp business acumen with a knack for turning daunting sales goals into reality. You’re an entrepreneurial risk taker but do so deliberately, defining the hypotheses you’re testing and then capturing and activating the resultant learning. You understand the value of balancing the long game in relationship cultivation with timely persuasiveness to move things forward now. You combine a personal humility and sense of curiosity with fierce resolve to collectively achieve audacious goals.
• A consistently great communicator. You are clear in your thinking and convey it with skill whether verbally or in written form. You listen to understand rather than to respond. You can read the room and possess the confidence to speak effectively with a range of audiences. You take the time to make the complex sound simpler. You are known for timely and consistent follow-up.
• Reflective and growth oriented. You look back on your wins and challenges to find the opportunities to grow and improve. You view feedback as a gift, seeking and incorporating feedback from your colleagues and partners to increase your personal impact in your role, as well as LENA’s impact in the field.
• Committed to equity and access to opportunity for all children. You understand the headwinds children, families, and caregivers face, particularly in under-resourced communities, and are dedicated to ensuring that all children have the tools to fulfill their potential from the earliest age.

Qualifications:

• Residence in the state of Texas
• A minimum of 3 years’ experience in sales, business development, or comparable partnership/fundraising experience, particularly with complex products or programs
• A track record of prospecting, generating leads, converting leads, and successfully closing district, county, state, and system wide deals.
• Experience in rapidly building a productive network of connections.
• Familiarity with the early childhood ecosystem (Head Start, Workforce Solutions, etc.), which may include experience in policy, as a teacher/director, or working in a similar role.
• Experience with driving both successful implementations and expansion of reach or impact over time (pre-sales to ongoing cultivation) as well as working in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool such as Hubspot, Salesforce, etc.

Compensation:

LENA’s team is passionate, fun, and collaborative. To learn more, visit our website. We have an excellent benefits package (including medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, PTO, 11 holidays, and a 401k with match). This role’s expected salary range begins at $100,000, with compensation based on experience.

Location and Travel:

The Regional Partnerships Director, Central U.S. will be based in their home office. Strong preference will be given to candidates located in or near the state of Texas. Expect travel up to a couple times a month in 2-to-4-day increments, depending on schedule, conferences, and meetings. Mileage and expenses are reimbursed.

LENA is an equal opportunity employer. All employment is decided based on qualifications and business needs. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, identities, perspectives, and skills.

To apply:

Please submit a cover letter with salary/compensation requirements and resume as a single pdf document to HR@lena.org. Please mention in the body of your email that you discovered his job on Foundation List. We love cover letters --- we really do read them. Channel LENA’s “persevere to simple” value to tell us in a way that is authentically yours why this role is the best next chapter for both you and us!