Director of Strategic Partnerships

Planning Implementation And Evaluat; Illinois; On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

PIE Org in Chicago seeks a Director of Strategic Partnerships to lead revenue growth, funder relationships, and elevate the organization in the social sector. This role guides the revenue pipeline, builds partnerships with foundations and institutions, and broadens PIE's profile beyond evaluation work.

The position involves cross-team leadership, coordinating with the Director of Evaluation and the Director of Operations & Administration to align funding strategy with PIE's mission and expansion

Qualifications

• Hands-on Writing Champion: A

Responsibilities

• Identify and cultivate new funding streams – foundations, grants, and institutional partnerships.
• Author, edit, and submit grant applications, LOIs, and RFP responses.
• Translate evaluation metrics into human-centered stories for funders.
• Manage pipeline using established SOP for RFPs.
• Lead foundation engagement and major funder relationships.
• Represent PIE at collaboratives and coalitions.
• Maintain presence in sector networks and media.
• Shift PIE's narrative to emphasize community impact.
• Collaborate with marketing/PR to extend sector expert reputation.
• Lead PIE Day with invitations and post-event outreach.
• Provide regular pipeline updates to senior leadership.
• Foster a values-aligned internal culture with data-driven impact.
• Oversee Monday.com CRM for pipeline tracking.
• Maintain PIE's public digital presence for foundation discoverability.
• Coordinate Newsletter and Marketing Calendar.

Skills

Writing Champion

Job description

Job Description

The Director of Strategic Partnerships is PIE Org's chief external leader, the face of the organization in Chicago's social sector and the engine behind our growth. This is not a program delivery role. It's a business development, relationship, and visibility role, focused on ensuring PIE has the funding, partnerships, and profile it needs to sustain and expand its impact. You will own PIE's revenue pipeline, build relationships with funders and sector leaders, and shift how the broader field understands what PIE does - from 'evaluation consultants' to 'thought partners for organizational learning'. You'll report to the Director of Operations & Administration, fostering a collaborative partnership to advance PIE's mission. While you champion the organization externally, you will provide high-level leadership to an exceptional, self-sufficient internal team, directly collaborating with the Director of Evaluation and the Director of Operations & Administration to ensure forward progress is being made toward the organizational goals being met so that the team can continue doing incredible work.

What You'll Do

Drive Revenue & Funder Relationships

• Identify and cultivate new funding streams - foundations, grants, and institutional partnerships - moving PIE beyond word-of-mouth growth
• End-to-End Proposal Architecture: Proactively author, edit, and submit highly persuasive, technically accurate grant applications, letters of intent (LOIs), and formal RFP responses to private foundations, corporate givers, and public agencies.
• Translate Data to Narrative: Partner with the Director of Evaluation to extract complex evaluation metrics and turn them into compelling, human-centered stories that resonate with new potential institutional funders.
• Pipeline Management: Utilize established SOP for tracking, vetting, and responding to incoming public and private Requests for Proposals (RFPs) that align with PIE's capacity and strategic goals.
• Lead PIE's foundation engagement strategy, including building relationships with major funders like MacArthur Foundation and identifying joint proposal opportunities with nonprofit partners
• Represent PIE at key social sector tables - collaboratives, convenings, and coalitions - where funding and partnership decisions are made

Build Visibility & Sector Presence

• Maintain an active presence in Forefront, Association of Consultants to Nonprofits, Council on Foundations, and other professional networks
• Champion PIE's narrative: shift the pitch from evaluation methodology to community impact - the kids served, the staff hired, the organizations strengthened
• Collaborate with PIE's marketing and PR partners to extend our Sector Expert reputation to the right media outlets and policymakers
• Lead PIE Day - curating the audience, managing invitations, and conducting post-event outreach to deepen relationships

Team Leadership

• Contribute to Senior Leadership: Facilitate communication with the Director of Evaluation and the Director of Operations & Administration by providing regular pipeline status updates so they can prepare for and manage capacity.
• Organizational Culture: Contribute to a values-aligned, high-trust internal environment that celebrates data-driven impact, professional sustainability, and shared organizational success by reporting at regularly scheduled, all-staff meetings and retreats

Manage the Pipeline & Infrastructure

• Own the Monday.com CRM: pipeline value, networking activity, and follow-up tracking must be logged for reporting purposes
• Maintain PIE's public-facing digital presence (e.g., Google Ads, GuideStar, Candid profile) for foundation discoverability
• Oversee the Newsletter and Marketing Calendar; follow up with contacts who engage with campaigns

Who You Are

Required

• Hands-on Writing Champion: A