Senior Manager, Strategic Alliances and White Oak Collaborative

Blue Star Families; United States; Remote; USD 69,000 - 88,000; Full time

Job summary

A nonprofit organization supporting military families is seeking a Senior Manager, Strategic Alliances to drive strategic partnerships and manage projects aimed at improving the lives of military families. This remote role requires strong communication skills and experience in leadership, data analysis, and project management. Ideal candidates are self-starters who thrive in fast-paced environments and are passionate about making a measurable impact.

Benefits

403(b) with matching

Flexible Spending Accounts

On-the-job professional development training

Workplace flexibility

Qualifications

• 4-7 years experience coordinating high-profile organizational relationships.
• Minimum of one year experience as a team lead or project lead.
• Experience working with and managing contractors.

Responsibilities

• Manage operational activities for the White Oak Collaborative.
• Build cross-sector partnerships.
• Support the VP-SAWOC in strategic planning.

Skills

Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Ability to analyze data

Strong attention to detail

Project management skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a related field

Tools

Salesforce

Google applications

Microsoft applications

Job description

Senior Manager, Strategic Alliances and White Oak Collaborative

Remote within the Washington, DC Metro Area

Job Title: Senior Manager, Strategic Alliances and White Oak Collaborative

Department: External Affairs

Location: Virtual/Remote within the Continental US (National Capital Region Preferred)

Reports to: Vice President, Strategic Alliances and White Oak Collaborative

Classification: Exempt

Position Type: Full-Time Employee

Pay Band: $69,000 - 88,000

Blue Star Families is the largest nonprofit dedicated to making military life better for families. Each year, we support over 1.5 million military- and veteran-connected family members through a national network of 300,000+ members and local chapters in communities across the country.

Our mission is simple and bold: We make military life awesome for families.

We listen, share, partner, and act to deliver evidence-based, data-driven solutions that work for real people. We’re a lifestyle organization, a friend and neighbor, and a trusted partner. Our approach is collaborative, human-centered, and designed with the whole family in mind.

A Blue Star Family is one with an immediate family member — a spouse, parent, or child — actively serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, including the Guard and Reserves. These families face unique challenges: frequent relocations, deployments, career disruption, and isolation. We respond with research-informed programs that create connection, build resilience, and foster a true sense of belonging.

We serve with urgency but build trust over time — because change happens at the speed of trust. Whether we’re driving spouse employment, supporting caregivers, or helping communities welcome military families, we strive for upstream solutions.

Who We’re Looking For:

• Bold thinkers. Fast movers. Smart collaborators. People who want to build, lead, and drive measurable change — and who care deeply about making an impact that matters.

What You’ll Do Here:

• Solve complex challenges with data, heart, and humility
• Build cross-sector partnerships that get things done
• Help military families feel at home wherever they live

If you're ready to work in a high-performance, mission-driven environment — and to make life better for those who serve — Blue Star Families is where you belong.

General Description

TheSenior Manager, Strategic Alliances and White Oak Collaborative (SM-SAWOC), will be a critical thought partner and force multiplier for the Vice President, Strategic Alliances and White Oak Collaborative, as Blue Star Families seeks to strengthen and grow its multi-sector coalitions. As part of a lean team, the SM-SAWOC will be expected to work seamlessly with internal and external stakeholders, inspiring and motivating people and organizations to be as excited as we are about our mission and about changing the way America supports its military.

The SM-SAWOC will serve as the day-to-day point of contact and operational lead for the White Oak Collaborative and must exhibit exemplary communications and administrative management skills. As primary support to the VP-SAWOC, the SM-SAWOC will help develop and implement strategy for the Do Your Part initiative broadly, will lead some core components of the Do Your Part initiative, and will coordinate implementation of of other elements across the organization. Because this work will include incubating, accelerating, and elevating data-backed great ideas; building a strong coalition of support; and bringing new partners to the table to solve problems, the SM-SAWOC will need to be an innovative, relational, human-design-oriented thinker who enjoys strategic problem-solving and can effectively motivate others to join them.

The SM-SAWOC will also support the VP-SAWOC in maximizing the impact of Blue Star Families’ relationships with critical non-profit organizations. In this capacity, they will proactively “connect the dots” internally to help ensure that Blue Star Families internal stakeholders are aware of existing org-org relationships. As appropriate, the SM-SAWOC will support the VP-SAWOC in identifying new opportunities of engagement with existing non-profit partners, and proactively research and identify best-in-class organizations with whom we should partner.

Key job functions

White Oak Collaborative Management

• Applies design-thinking to all elements of the WOC experience
• Plan, manage, and execute all White Oak Collaborative (WOC) meetings including the bi-weekly meetings, Steering Committee, Board of Oversight meetings, and other events.
• Leads outreach to WOC participants and directs their roles in events and meetings.
• Execute recruitment of Board of Oversight Committee and Steering Committee members, and development-related efforts and outreach related to their participation and leadership.
• Ensures a full calendar of WOC events that are professionally rewarding to all participants.
• Supports, tracks and helps develop and execute all planning efforts for post-presidential election policy and personnel recommendations for the next administration or a second term of the incumbent.
• Makes recommendations to the Vice President of Strategic Alliances and the White Oak Collaborative for all WOC priorities and events.
• Leads the development of WOC impact tracking and develops plan to regularly report this information to WOC participants.
• Proactively identifies ways to enhance the WOC experience for members.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Do Your Part Initiative Support

• Assists with or leads the planning for national events and high-profile Do Your Part projects in conjunction with members of the Brand Marketing, Events, and Chapters teams.
• Plans, manages, and executes Blue Star Families’ elements of the 4+1 Commitment.
• Leads the development of DYP impact tracking and develops a plan to regularly report this information to core stakeholders.
• Proactively applies design-thinking to the DYP initiative, identifying ways to enhance the DYP experience for participants.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Non-profit Relationship Support

• Maintains strong relationships with peers at partner organizations
• Proactively identifies and recommends ways to strengthen relationships with critical partners.
• Breaks down information silos within the organization in order to create an environment that incentivizes stronger collaboration with existing partners.
• Proactively identifies and recommends new non-profit partners aligned to organizational priorities.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Tactical Functions

• Creates presentations and proposals for senior leadership review
• Tracks implementation and completion of internal strategy documents
• Collaborates with event participants - outreach, invites, prep
• VIP coordination - tracks all correspondence, create read-ahead materials, legal reviews, security coordination, post-event personalization, etc.
• Works with supervisor to manage ongoing conversations with external partners, government and Department of Defense leaders and spouses, and other high-level VIPs
• Works with the Development team to ensure funders are being thanked and represented properly
• Performs other duties as assigned

Required experience, skills, background

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field
• 4-7 years experience coordinating high-profile and/or critical organization to organization relationships
• A minimum of one year experience as a team lead, project lead, or supervisor
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Familiarity with the MSO/VSO space
• Self-starter, familiar with working in a fast-paced environment with little supervision, comfortable pivoting quickly between multiple projects with overlapping deadlines
• Ability to quickly and effectively gather information by means of interviews, research, etc.
• Ability to analyze data and quickly identify strategic solutions
• Ability to organize information for effective presentation in publications and other media
• Ability to work collaboratively
• Ability to produce high-quality work on deadline; comfortable managing multiple projects, priorities, and deadlines in a fast-‐paced environment
• Strong attention to detail
• Flexibility with work schedule in support of deadlines and events
• Travel is required to attend meetings, training, events, etc. Limited out-of-town and overnight travel is required.
• May be required to work nights, weekends, and holidays as necessary to carry out key job functions

Desired experience, skills, background

Familiarity with the military community

• Experience working with and managing contractors

Experience with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems; familiarity with SalesforceFamiliarity with Google and Microsoft applications

More About Blue Star Families

Blue Star Families empowers military and Veteran families to thrive by connecting them with their civilian neighbors — both people and organizations — to create strong communities of mutual support. We believe we're all stronger when we take care of one another.

Our groundbreaking research is raising the nation's awareness of the unique challenges of military family life. With the help of neighbors across the country, Blue Star Families is overcoming the isolation and alienation of frequent moves, deployments, and reduced support from the government. Our innovative programs are solving specific challenges for military families, including fighting economic insecurity with resources that foster spouse career development, creating family strength with rich family programming, and providing critical peer support for caregivers, whose numbers are only increasing.

Blue Star Families is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

EEO Policy

Blue Star Families is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Why Blue Star Families?

Virtual/remote nonprofit organization that moves with you (position specific)
Career growth opportunities
Excellent benefits (403(b) with matching, Flexible Spending, Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability, Communications Allowance, and more)
Permanent Change of Station (PCS) Leave for Active-Duty Military Spouses
On-the-job professional development training
Front-line opportunity to positively impact the military experience
Competitive salaries
Workplace flexibility

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