Director, Partnerships

Hybrid - Irvine, CA

Our Purpose

Easterseals is leading the way to full equity, inclusion and access through life-changing disability and community services. For more than 100 years, we have worked tirelessly with our partners to enhance quality of life and expand local access to healthcare, education, and employment opportunities.

Vision and Impact Plan

By 2030 Southern California will be the most inclusive place for people with disabilities to live, learn, work, & play.

About Easterseals Southern California

Easterseals Southern California (ESSC) is a premier nonprofit and a trusted expert and provider of autism services for children and adults for Southern California. Mark Whitley is President and CEO and, since assuming the role more than 30 years ago, has overseen the organization’s growth from a $1.5 million to a $500 million + organization, making it the largest of Easterseals’ 70 affiliates nationwide. Currently serving more than 18,000 people through 75-plus service sites and hundreds of community partnership locations across Southern California, Easterseals Southern California offers the highest-quality autism therapies, adult and senior day services, child development and early education programs, independent living services, and employment services for individuals and their families with disabilities. With a vision to make Southern California the most inclusive place in the country for people with disabilities to live, learn, work, and play by 2030, Whitley has developed a team of more than 2,600 professional staff committed to leading the way to full equity, inclusion, and access for people with disabilities, veterans, and seniors in their communities through services and advocacy. The organization is the go-to disability inclusion organization in Hollywood and across media and entertainment, earning its reputation through award-winning, multi-media campaigns as well as through the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge and the Media Access Awards Presented by Easterseals.

PARTNERSHIPS

Ten years ago, Easterseals Southern California (ESSC) leadership had a vision to continue innovating and expanding their organization as a leader in disability inclusion. Uniquely positioned in Southern California, ESSC saw the opportunity to change the way the world views disabilities through entertainment media. Today, ESSC has a robust portfolio of entertainment, corporate, and sports partnerships that further the mission to change the way the world defines and views disabilities through equitable employment practices, inclusion in TV shows and media and sports team employee and fan activation events.

THE OPPORTUNITY

ESSC forges strategic partnerships that advance its mission through traditional sponsorships and innovative programs. The partnerships team is led by Brynne Jones, Senior Director, Partnerships, a seasoned marketing, and partnerships professional from entertainment media, who celebrates a 50% growth in partnerships over the last 3 years. The current verticals are Entertainment (e.g. Amazon Studios/Disney), Sports (e.g. Angels/ Lakers) and Brand (e.g. CVS and Albertsons).

Each partnership is carefully crafted to create mutual benefits for both ESSC and its partners. For example, ESSC provides educational workshops on inclusion for Netflix staff. With the sports franchises they gain advertising exposure and promote employee engagement programs and, with their brands implement Point of Sale campaigns.

A notable example of this innovation is the Easterseals’ Disability Film Challenge which is a weekend-long filmmaking contest that gives participants a span of five days to write, produce, and complete short films that promote disability inclusion. This chalglenge has gained significant traction in the entertainment industry, attracting high-profile judges and mentors from major studios, networks, and talent agencies.

The partnership teams’ marketing, design, and communications needs, like the rest of the organization, are supported by a robust strategic marketing and communications department. Amongst the traditional marketing and communications functions, there is a strong social media and graphic design team.

This is an exciting juncture to join the partnership’s team which is poised for greater expansion. Brynne has formed a solid foundation, cultivating a network of existing and new promising partnerships. The incoming Director will have the advantage of being introduced to both existing and new potential partnerships providing a springboard for further relationship-building and strategic alliances.

The Director, Partnerships will have a deep passion for social impact and disability inclusion and will be ready to place their mark on developing robust relationships and additional partners leveraging years of innovative programming, supporting its vision in creating the best place to be for people with disabilities by 2030.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Reporting to Brynne, the Director, Partnerships is responsible for identifying, securing, and stewarding relationships with industry partners across three key areas – Entertainment, Sports, and Brand. The Director, Partnerships executes events and initiatives that generate revenue for ESSC’s service lines and furthers the mission to change the way the world defines and views disability.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

In conjunction with Chief Advancement Officer and Sr. Director, Partnerships, supports change vertical of the ESSC Vision and Impact Plan.
Identifies and cultivates partnerships at local and national levels and develops mutually beneficial relationships with a portfolio of partners, acting as primary point of contact.
Manages strategy, planning, execution of partnership events, panels, and social impact initiatives.
Peer leadership of Manager, work closely on tracking prospects, events calendar, communications and logistics.
Supports strategy and execution of the organization’s partnerships including, but not limited to, working with marketing team on creative assets, executing hospitality events, and collaborating with project manager (EPMO) to track contractual benefits and measure results/ROI.
Maintains a portfolio of 75+ partners and prospects through ongoing communication (i.e. regular newsletter) and solicitation; ensure timely renewals, and continued partnership growth YOY.
Interacts at the highest level within the organization, including Board members and leadership team members.
Supports Senior Director in the growth of DEI partnerships across industries and in the management/renewal of consulting relationships.
Collaborates closely with Development team to enlist corporate sponsors for fundraising events and create synergy between individual giving and partnerships.
Stays current on consumer trends, cause marketing practices, digital, corporate sponsorship and corporate philanthropic funding; converts insights into actionable programs and new revenue streams.
Develops and presents creative and impactful presentations and proposals for corporate partnership opportunities.
Travels to industry conferences and meets with existing partners and solicits new partners while serving as a Brand Ambassador for the organization.
Establishes an environment for high performance, a commitment to quality, welcomes and encourages collaboration, and fosters both intra- and inter-departmental dialogue and respect.
Passion for the Easterseals mission of disability inclusion, can-do attitude, and appreciation for teamwork.
Other duties as assigned.

Professional Experience and Qualifications

Passion, imagination, vision, leadership, and integrity.
Bachelor’s degree (BA, BS) with emphasis in marketing, communications, or another related field; or commensurate experience required.
Minimum of ten (10) years of experience in related fields such as account management, corporate responsibility, nonprofit development, partnerships, PR, events, sales, or a combination of related fields.
A mature and seasoned executive who can work independent of direction given by their supervisor.
Demonstrated ability to successfully plan, set goals and objectives, organize, and implement strategic initiatives.
Experience with event planning and execution.
A strong set of interpersonal and communication skills and a demonstrated ability to work effectively with and gain the respect and support of varied and changing constituencies including program and support staff, volunteers, existing and potential donors, and other key stakeholders.
Meticulous attention to detail.
Highly proactive and autonomous, with experience meeting deadlines and balancing competing priorities and administering budgets.
Outstanding partnership development, customer service, and relationship management skills.
Experience using relevant software applications, including database management, graphics, spreadsheets, calendaring, and word processing; MS-Office preferred.
Ability to work mornings, evenings, and/or weekends that coincide with events and meetings, and multiple worksites.
Ability to exercise a high level of discretion in handling confidential data and information.
Effective communication skills with all levels of employees to create and maintain effective partnerships, internal and external to the organization.
Knowledge of general employment laws and regulations.
Ability to interface with all levels of management.
Open to feedback and willing to strive to improve your own performance based on feedback.
Ability to obtain and maintain a criminal record/fingerprint clearance from the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation per Easterseals Southern California and/or program requirements.
Must pass all drug testing required by ESSC.
An ability to juggle many responsibilities simultaneously, and to operate both independently and with the flexibility and collaborative spirit to be part of a high-performing team.

Compensation

This position offers a base salary of $127,000 to $159,000 plus comprehensive benefits, based upon qualifications and experience.

Director, Partnerships

Subscribe now!