1871 - Head of Partnerships

ABOUT 1871

The story of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 isn’t really about the fire. It’s about what happened next: A remarkable moment when the most brilliant engineers, architects, and inventors came together to build a new city. Their innovations – born of passion and practical ingenuity – shaped not just Chicago but the modern world. What started 150+ years ago continues to this day.

1871, a global non-profit innovation hub, exists to inspire, equip, and support founders, growth scalers, and innovators in building great businesses from all backgrounds. We deliver unfair advantages at scale. We are the only organization in the world that we know of that supports the full maturity curve of a business - idea to Fortune 50. The team supports ~450 early stage companies, 200+ growth stage members, and 100+ partners made up of the brightest digital designers, engineers, and leaders shaping new technologies, disrupting old business models, and resetting the boundaries of what’s possible.

1871 is a place where you can share ideas, make mistakes, partner with others, work hard, grow professionally, and, with a little luck, change the world. If that sounds like you, join us.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

The Head of Partnerships is a pivotal role for 1871. In this role, you will work closely with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO),  Chief Experience Officer (CXO), Chief Product Officer (CPO) and other leaders cross-functionally in refining and leading the partnership strategy to drive new business. You will oversee sales strategy for  all of our major personas, covering the full business maturity curve, primarily focusing on growth/late stage companies, large private companies and traditional corporations. You will join a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment where you will have the opportunity to shape the future landscape of 1871. This role is designed to help scale 1871’s flagship products (e.g. Innovation Labs, Innovation Challenges) supporting our local, national and international community, while also growing our larger member base.  This is a critical area of growth for 1871 and will require significant focus and energy. We expect to onboard 150+ growth members and 20+ new Corporate members and partners over the course of the next 12 months.  

Reporting to the CXO, the Head of Partnerships will manage the Partnership team internally. This includes outbound sales, inbound sales and sales operations; owning the customer journey from identification through signed contracts. This role will also be responsible for identifying new sales channels, creating sales collateral in conjunction with the 1871 marketing team, and creatively identifying partnership opportunities with corporates. Once new members and partners are contracted they will be transitioned to the Member Experience team for ownership. The role will work closely with the Product team which is responsible for designing and delivering the programs and resources for our Corporate members and partners, as well as the Marketing team for sales collateral and strategy execution. The goal of this role is to bring in a community of raving fans and lifelong members to the broader 1871 ecosystem.  

Success in this role is determined by your ability to  increase  new membership (startup, partner and corporate) and secure engagement and sponsorship across our core product objectives (e.g., Innovation  Labs and Challenges). This position has KPIs and goals focused on acquiring new members (across all stages), and sponsorships of events and programs.

We are looking for someone who thrives in a team environment, and  who is motivated by closing deals and exceeding expectations. It’s imperative that this individual is comfortable with public speaking, building relationships with C-suite executives and representing 1871 as an ambassador for all that we offer. We expect our new Head of Partnerships to have a strategic mindset with passion for connecting and building relationships, strong communication skills, attention to detail, and is looking to expand their career by immersing themselves in one of the leading digital technology hubs in the world.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Business Development: 

• Manage the sales pipeline ensuring accurate tracking of leads, opportunities, and partner interaction (via Hubspot)
• Lead sponsorship and partnership outreach efforts to support 1871 product suites and achieve 2024/2025 growth targets
• Collaborate with Marketing, Events and broader Experience Team to help drive inbound conversions (e.g. event attendee > member)
• Identify and research potential members and partners aligned with our products (right quality and mix of partners/members)
• Manage startup scouting for key programs and deal flow
• Initiate and nurture relationships with key decision-makers in potential partner organizations and track through formalized pipeline

Collaboration and Engagement:

• Work with Marketing and Product teams to build out collateral / benefit guides and revenue/headcount targets across product suites and core memberships
• Collaborate with Membership Experience Lead and Development teams to support sponsorship and fundraising efforts
• Identify opportunities through community strategy (workshops and events) to foster new leads
• Strategy & Operations
• Partner with senior leadership to optimize the Growth & Corporate strategy, value proposition, and delivery model for acquiring and retaining members and partners for each of 1871’s product suites

Data Analysis and Reporting

• Utilize data and analytics to track trends and insights to refine strategies and optimize performance
• Responsible for the tracking and reporting on metrics related to customer growth and overall effectiveness of membership
• Serve as the escalation point for ongoing issues (new members / inbound and outbound) and manage projects that impacts initial member experience

Team Leader

• Serve as 1871 ambassador within the greater technology community
• Lead the Partnership Team to own filling partners / members across product suites and
• Manage and oversee professional development of Partnership Team
• Foster a collaborative and inclusive team culture

THIS ROLE IS A FIT FOR SOMEONE WHO IS…

• A sales and partnerships enthusiast – you enjoy thinking creatively to delivering the best experience possible and finding ways to craft win-wins that are financially successful
• A team player -- you appreciate your team depending on you and therefore you work hard to play your part to drive the bigger mission of the organization
• A relationship builder - you enjoy creating and nurturing relationships, and can cultivate mutual benefits along the way
• A critical and strategy thinker – you are able to evaluate problems at an enterprise-level and surface solutions in an objective way  
• Goal-oriented and highly resilient -- you are focused on surpassing goals and enjoy finding new ways to problem-solve to achieve them
• Able to juggle multiple priorities -- you are able to manage multiple projects and always on deadline
• Enjoy building – you are energized by the idea of getting to build out a new team and experience strategy leveraging your creativity and expertise
• A connector - you are passionate about finding and connecting leaders in technology and innovation to build partnerships that just might change the world
• A team leader -  you are passionate about growing and coaching the experience  team 

Requirements

• 7+ year of experience in partnerships, sales, business development, and/or corporate innovation
• Demonstrated success in strategy development and execution and passion for problem solving and continuous improvement
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to follow-through on commitments and communicate relevant information to internal and external stakeholders
• Data-driven decision-making with proficiency in data analysis tools
• Experience maintaining CRM data (HubSpot experience a plus)
• Strong leadership, people management and team building skills
• Ability to create branded sales collateral as needed and proficient in drafting sales proposals and agreements

Benefits

In addition to our impressive benefits, there are other fun reasons to work with us.

• Work at the center of Chicago tech innovation.
• Unparalleled access to opportunities and networking with some of the biggest players in tech.
• Convenient downtown location
• Casual environment and dress code
• Work as a part of a diverse team
• Remote work opportunities [This role has a hybrid format - virtual 2 days a week and in person from the 1871 space in the Merchandise Mart for 3 days a week]

1871/CEC is an equal employment opportunity employer with a strong focus on crafting an inclusive and diverse environment. We encourage individuals of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to apply for this position.