Senior Associate, Strategic Partnerships

Position Overview

The Senior Associate Strategic Partnerships supports key Foundation initiatives in building strategic partnerships and alliances and mobilizing capital and other resources to scale the Foundations people-centered climate strategy. Reporting to the Director Strategic Partnerships this role will support the Foundations program teams with the identification cultivation and stewardship of funding partners to leverage its investments and execute its organizational strategy to promote the well-being of humanity and reverse the climate crisis.

Hiring Range: $95000- $112700. This represents the present low and high ends of the Foundations pay range for this position. Actual pay will vary based on various factors including but not limited to experience.

Work Schedule:This role is on a hybrid work schedule and required to be in the office on Mondays Tuesdays Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Conduct thorough background research on stakeholders organizations and prospective partners aligned with The Rockefeller Foundations priority initiatives using donor prospecting tools databases and secondary research sources.
• Contribute to analytical work supporting the Foundations Strategic Partnerships and Resource Mobilization strategy; draft memos and synthesize insights to promote cross-team collaboration and strategic alignment.
• Support the full lifecycle of partnership formationincluding proposal development negotiation relationship management and impact reportingto ensure effective and sustainable collaborations.
• Assess existing partnerships to identify growth opportunities and recommend strategies to deepen engagement and expand impact.
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with current and prospective partners serving as a key point of contact and steward of RFs values and priorities.
• Track and manage the Foundations partnership pipeline ensuring timely updates and strategic visibility across teams.
• Maintain and update Salesforce to ensure accurate documentation of contacts partner interactions and engagement history; support data integrity and reporting needs.
• Assist in drafting refining and promoting processes and policies related to Resource Mobilization; champion adoption across the organization to improve consistency and effectiveness.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teamsincluding RFCC Programs Legal IT Connected Leaders and Strategic Communicationsto support partnership goals and ensure operational alignment.
• Provide logistical organizational and administrative support for events convenings and outreach activities ensuring smooth execution and stakeholder engagement.
• Invest in personal development by participating in training coaching and development planning activities to build capabilities and contribute meaningfully to team success.

Education Experience and Skills

• Generally expected to have at least 5 years of relevant experience in business development fundraising strategic partnerships and/or resource mobilization ideally within mission-driven or philanthropic organizations.
• Bachelors degree or equivalent experience.
• Familiarity with the philanthropic sector and/or government grants and contracts with an understanding of funding mechanisms and partnership dynamics.
• Demonstrated skill in Salesforce and advanced use of Microsoft Office Suite; able to navigate multiple platforms and quickly adapt to new tools.
• Strong written and verbal communication with experience producing professional materials and visual representations of program outcomes for diverse audiences.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities under pressure balancing competing demands while maintaining quality and timeliness.
• High attention to detail and a strong commitment to accuracy in documentation reporting and communications.
• Excellent interpersonal skills including diplomacy patience and the ability to build collaborative relationships across teams and stakeholders.
• Proactive and strategic thinker with an entrepreneurial mindset; takes initiative and contributes creatively and effectively to team goals.

Qualifications and Competencies

• Data Oriented: Consistently achieves results by approaching work informed by data.
• Decision Quality: Makes good and timely decisions that keep the organization moving forward.
• Communicates Effectively: Develops and delivers multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences.
• Strategic Learning: Actively learns through experimentation when tackling new problems using both successes and failures as learning fodder.
• Values Differences: Recognizes the value of different perspectives commits to being self-aware and respectful and seeks to learn from new and different voices.

About The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science technology and innovation that enable individuals families and communities to flourish. We make big bets to promote the well-being of humanity. Today we are focused on advancing human opportunity and reversing the climate crisis by transforming systems in food health energy and finance. For more information sign up for our newsletter at and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn.

The Rockefeller Foundation offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that includes health insurance programs tuition reimbursement and student loan repayment a generous 401K parental leave and various forms of paid time off all to help our employees feel energized cared for and engaged.

As an organization we focus on six values to advance our culture and continue our success. We are dedicated to being Transparent Optimistic Accountable Collaborative Trusted and Equitable. We operate from a strong commitment to equity diversity and inclusion in everything that we do. It is not only the right thing to do we could not make an impact without our team members diverse perspectives and experiences. We expect all employees at the Foundation to contribute by developing their unique perspectives and talent challenging conventional wisdom through evidence and reason and amplifying marginalized voices.

The Rockefeller Foundation is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity and compliance with all federal state and local laws concerning employment discrimination including the Americans with Disabilities Act. To this end the Foundation ensures equal opportunity to all employees and applicants regardless of race color age gender sexual orientation religion marital status national origin or ancestry citizenship lawful alien status physical mental and medical disability veteran status liability for service in the United States Armed Forces or any other protected status.

The Rockefeller Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer.