Vice President, Corporate Partnerships

Job description

The Opportunity EducationSuperHighway, the national non-profit that connected 99.7% of American students to high-speed internet and 5 million low-income households to affordable broadband, is now launching its 3.0 mission to end the reading crisis in America’s K-12 schools. Today, two-thirds of students cannot read at grade level by the end of third grade, when a student goes from learning to read to reading to learn. We know how to solve this problem - provide every student who enters first grade reading below grade level with a year of 1:1 literacy tutoring. The challenge has been funding tutoring for millions of students. The federal Education Freedom Tax Credit (EFTC) creates a new opportunity to support literacy tutoring through tax-credit-eligible giving. EducationSuperHighway is building the partnerships needed to bring this opportunity to life. We are looking for a mission-driven, entrepreneurial leader to help build and execute our employer partnerships strategy and lay the foundation for long-term growth. This is EducationSuperHighway's first corporate partnerships hire. You will pioneer a playbook from scratch, on two parallel tracks: direct employer outreach and payroll processor platform partnerships. For the next six months, you will operate as a highly independent leader: developing the pitch, building the pipeline, managing senior external relationships, and helping define what this function should become over time. As the work grows, you will help build and lead a small team. What You Will Do Track 1: Direct Employer Partnerships - Develop and execute an outbound prospecting strategy targeting employers across sectors, with strong CSR/ESG commitments and employee bases that create meaningful donation capacity - Own the full sales cycle from cold outreach through signed partnership agreement — pitch development, multi-stakeholder navigation, and close - Sell to executive leadership across HR, benefits, and CSR/ESG functions, positioning the EFTC as a transformational employee benefit and corporate impact opportunity - Track a pipeline of employer prospects with rigorous CRM discipline, reporting weekly against partnership goals Track 2: Payroll & HR Platform Business Development - Identify and pursue partnerships with payroll, HR and related platform companies integrate EFTC donation functionality into employee portals - Build relationships with platform BD, product, and partnership teams to position EducationSuperHighway as a preferred SGO and giving infrastructure partner - Explore co-marketing and partnership structures that support long-term platform engagement and promotion - Treat this track as equal in priority to direct employer outreach Playbook & Team Building - Document a repeatable sales process, pitch library, objection handling, and partner onboarding workflow that a growing team can execute at scale - Build and lead a team in preparation for the 2027 EFTC launch - Collaborate closely with the Employer Success Manager to ensure smooth handoffs and a high-quality partner experience WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR Required - 7+ years of experience in B2B partnership, enterprise BD, or platform partnerships with a track record of closing complex, multi-stakeholder deals - Proven hunter who has built pipeline from scratch and closed deals in a first-mover, startup, or ambiguous environment - Experience selling to HR, People, Benefits, or CSR leaders at enterprise and/or mid-market employers - Exceptional executive presence. You can hold a room with a CEO or CHRO and navigate a internal sales process with multiple stakeholders - Highly self-directed, and comfortable building from zero - Experience in building and leading a sales or partnerships team - AI-forward and quick to leverage AI to work smarter and faster - Genuine passion for the mission of closing the K-12 literacy gap Highly Valued - Background at a benefits consulting firm, such as Mercer, Aon, Willis Towers Watson, Gallagher, or a similar firm, especially in a hunter or new business role - Experience in a BD or partnerships role at a payroll, HR, or benefits technology company with a track record of signing platform, channel, or employer partnerships - Background in workplace or payroll giving, with a strong understanding of how employer campaigns work operationally and what drives HR teams to say yes - Proficiency with CRM platforms, such as HubSpot or Salesforce, and sales enrichment tools, such as Apollo, Clay, or LinkedIn Sales Navigator - Familiarity with corporate ESG/CSR strategy and how companies make philanthropic commitments COMPENSATION & BENEFITS EducationSuperHighway offers market-rate compensation competitive with for-profit companies, reflecting the importance of this role to our mission. - Base salary: $175,000–$200,000 - Performance bonus tied to partnership milestones and employee coverage targets - Comprehensive health, dental, and vision benefits - Generous PTO and flexible remote work - The opportunity to build a team and function from scratch and to help close the K-12 literacy gap in America