Partner Engagement Lead, Stand Together Ventures (Development and Fundraising)

Socket.dev; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

6% 401(k) match with immediate vesting

Comprehensive health and dental plans

Job summary

Stand Together seeks a Partner Engagement Lead to build and run the engine that mobilizes a community of high-value partners, recruiting the right people and deepening their engagement over time.

This role blends relationship management with strategy and execution of programming; you will apply principled entrepreneurship to deliver mutual value and hold the system accountable for real results.

Qualifications

• Experience building and running high-touch relationship programs with high-value donors or partners.
• Experience designing group experiences (events, salons, cohorts) where peer dynamics create value.
• Ability to work across functions with different incentives and find common ground.
• Proven track record of recruiting and engaging partners over time.
• Willingness to challenge your own thinking and invite feedback.

Responsibilities

• Design and run recruitment and onboarding for a high-value, low-volume group of partners.
• Build referral pathways to turn advocacy into a natural byproduct of a great partner experience.
• Match partners' expertise to initiatives and tailor engagements accordingly.
• Establish concrete feedback processes to maintain active engagement over time.
• Design events, salons, and working groups emphasizing peer-to-peer value.
• Structure engagements so partners lead conversations.
• Develop 12–24 month plans with cadences and accountability.

Skills

Relationship program leadership

Group-experience design

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic planning

Partner engagement

Job description

Stand Together is a philanthropic community that helps America’s boldest changemakers tackle the root causes of our country’s biggest problems, from education to the economy, broken communities, and toxic division, among dozens of other pressing issues. We provide our partners with access to resources including funding, thought leadership, a network of peers, and a playbook for applying proven principles to transform lives and society.

Stand Together Ventures partners aren't passive donors—they're co-investors in transformation. Our success depends on partners moving from only financial contributions to actively shaping solutions and outcomes: bringing their expertise, their networks, their judgment, and their investments to the initiatives they believe in.

We are looking for a Partner Engagement Lead to build and run the engine that makes that transformation happen - recruiting the right partners, deepening their engagement over time, creating space for them to lead alongside each other, and holding the system accountable to real results.

This is a relationship-intensiverole balanced with strategy and execution of programming, and you'll be expected to apply Principled Entrepreneurship to determine the highest-value path forward. We expect you to apply your judgment and initiative to create the most value, not just execute a checklist. Mutual benefit is the standard, not a nice-to-have - every partner relationship should create real value for the partner and for the mission, not one at the expense of the other.

How You Will Contribute

Build Community

• Design and run recruitment and onboarding processes for a high-value, low-volume group of partners - identifying genuine "high potential" signals rather than surface-level markers like capacity or title.
• Build referral pathways that work because partners are proud to bring people in, not because they're asked to - turning advocacy into a natural byproduct of a great partner experience.

Drive Partner Engagement

• Match partners' expertise and interests to initiatives - including ones that weren't originally designed with them in mind - creating engagement that are tailor-made based on their interests and goals.
• Build real feedback processes (not just the concept) - concrete mechanics that keep a partner's engagement active and consistent over time.
• Design events, salons, and working groups where the value comes from peer-to-peer connection, not from content delivered top-down.
• Structure engagements for busy, high-agency individuals so they lead the conversation rather than join simply as an attendee.
• Build and execute 12\u201324-month plans - setting cadences and holding yourself and others accountable.

What You Will Bring

• Deep alignment with the Principles of Human Progress - especially self-actualization, mutual benefit, and bottom-up change.
• Enthusiasm to contribute to StandTogether's vision and principled approach to solving problems, and a commitment to stewarding our culture, which champions values including transformation and innovation, entrepreneurialism, humility, and respect.
• A track record of building and running high-touch relationship programs - major donors, LPs, board members, or a comparable high-value, low-volume group.
• Experience designing group experiences (events, salons, cohorts) where peer dynamics - not content delivery - created the value.
• Comfort working across functions with people who don't share your incentives, and a record of finding real common ground rather than surface-level compromise.
• A demonstrated habit of inviting challenge to your own thinking before it becomes expensive to change.
• Directness and humility when something hasn't worked - with leadership and with the people your mistakes affected.

What We Offer

• Competitive benefits: Enjoy a 6% 401(k) match with immediate vesting, flexible time off, comprehensive health and dental plans, plus wellness and mental health support through Peloton and Talkspace.
• A meaningful career: Join a passionate community of over 1,300 employees dedicated to improving lives and driving innovative solutions to complex social challenges.
• Commitment to growth: Thrive in a non-hierarchical environment that empowers employees to discover, develop and apply their unique talents.
• Competitive compensation: Our approach rewards the value you create through competitive salaries and bonus opportunities, allowing you to share in the success you help drive.

Our Values:

Working for an organization within the Stand Together philanthropic community is different from many other places. The culture is deeply rooted in Principle Based Management® (PBM®), a framework guided by the principles that drive human progress, such as dignity, openness, and bottom-up empowerment. PBM® empowers employees to be entrepreneurial, to innovate, and to continually drive transformation.

We believe diversity fuels creativity, broadens knowledge, and helps drive success. That is why we’re proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and strive to treat all employees and applicants with honesty, dignity, and respect.