We are an early-stage workforce development startup that partners with public agencies and employers to train job seekers for high-paying skilled trades such as trucking, HVAC, and diesel technology. The team is small, fast-moving, and focused on turning training programs into real employer placements across multiple states.
As Senior Partnerships Manager, you will build and own the employer network that hires program graduates. You will prospect, pitch, and close employers in high-demand trades, take relationships from first touch through signed hiring commitments and first hires, then hand off to account management.
Responsibilities:
- Prospect, pitch and close employers in high-demand trades who commit to interviewing and hiring program graduates.
- Own the employer relationship from first touch to signed commitment to first student hired, then hand off to account management.
- Work with the founding team and operations to grow the employer network needed to deliver on government workforce allocations.
- Build and instrument the partnerships funnel with leading and lagging indicators reported weekly; re-engage partners who go quiet.
- Negotiate commitments that hold (interview slots, hiring targets, onboarding support) and hold partners accountable through the pilot stage.
- Write and maintain the partnerships playbook, target-industry one-pagers and clean CRM data.
This is an on-site role in New York, NY, working closely with the founding team in an operationally intense, placement-driven environment.
- 4+ years in business development or partnerships with a track record of personally sourcing and closing win-win commercial partnerships (not only managing inherited accounts)
- Experience as an early partnerships hire at a seed or Series A startup in an operationally intense category (healthcare, logistics, edtech, or marketplaces), and/or Fortune 500 partnerships experience
- Owned your own pipeline in a CRM and reported funnel metrics on a regular cadence
- Track record turning employer or customer commitments into real hires or fulfilled outcomes
- Strong cold outreach and real-economy BD skills, including negotiating hiring or placement commitments
- Ability to build partnerships playbooks, one-pagers, and clean CRM data from scratch
- Must work on-site 5 days a week in New York, NY
- US citizen or Green Card holders only; no visa sponsorship
- No relocation support
- Comfortable with startup pace, including extended hours when needed
- Bonus: experience placing students or job seekers with employers through education or workforce programs; former founder; consulting, teaching, or service background
- Equity grant