Strategic Partnerships Lead — Growth & Innovation

Mars; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 108,000 - 149,000; Full time

Job summary

Mars, Incorporated and its Affiliates, based in Chicago, seeks a Manager, External Partnerships to build and operationalize external alliances that drive growth and innovation. You will govern partnership programs, design operating models, and scale opportunities with R&D, Commercial, Finance, Legal, Procurement, and Strategy.

The role blends strategy, analytics, financial stewardship, and program execution to enable Mars to capture value from partnerships across the portfolio.

Qualifications

• 1–3 years in corporate strategy, consulting, business development, or partnerships.
• Experience in CPG, innovation ecosystems, or venture-backed partnerships.
• Strong analytical, market assessment, due diligence, and executive recommendations.
• Financial acumen: business cases, budgeting, capital planning, modeling.
• Dashboard and KPI development for portfolio reporting.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the external partnership roadmap with leadership.
• Support lifecycle from discovery to scaling of partnerships.
• Conduct market research, due diligence, and partner assessments.
• Create playbooks and governance models for scalability.
• Evaluate financial investments and assist budgeting across the portfolio.
• Prepare executive briefs and decision materials.

Skills

Strategic & Analytical Rigor

Financial & Commercial Acumen

Research & Due Diligence

Data & Performance Management

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Executive Communication

Comfort with Ambiguity

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration or related field

MBA or advanced degree

Job description

Mars, Incorporated and its Affiliates, based in Chicago, seeks a Manager, External Partnerships to build and operationalize external alliances that drive growth and innovation. You will govern partnership programs, design operating models, and scale opportunities with R&D, Commercial, Finance, Legal, Procurement, and Strategy.

The role blends strategy, analytics, financial stewardship, and program execution to enable Mars to capture value from partnerships across the portfolio.