Director of Partnerships and Engagement

About Cradles to Crayons:

Cradles to Crayons (C2C), founded in 2002, provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive—at home, at school, and at play. We supply clothing, shoes, diapers, school supplies, and more, free of charge. Our vision is that one day all children will have the essentials they need to thrive.

Two in 5 kids in the United States are currently facing Clothing Insecurity, going without basic essentials like pants, shoes, diapers, and school supplies during their critical development years. Three of the top 10 reasons kids miss school are rooted in Clothing Insecurity—just one example of the significant short- and long-term social and economic costs when these needs go unmet. Cradles to Crayons keeps Clothing Insecurity at the core of our mission and is the only large-scale nonprofit organization to focus on this resource gap. Since its founding, Cradles to Crayons has distributed more than three million customized packages of essentials to children in Massachusetts, Greater Philadelphia, Chicagoland, and nationally, through Giving Factory Direct—a first-in-kind online product donation platform launched in 2021. 

Cradles to Crayons takes a three-pronged approach to mitigating Clothing Insecurity: 

In-person Engagement—through tens of thousands of children and adults volunteering at our Giving Factory warehouses to sort and package high volumes of new and like-new donations from our communities for our Service Partners to distribute to the children they serve. 

Online Product Donations—Giving Factory Direct matches product donors directly to children who need the items they have to donate. GFD is currently available in a growing number of communities as we expand our reach nationally. 

Advocacy and Awareness—Cradles to Crayons is uniquely positioned to raise Clothing Insecurity as a national issue through awareness campaigns, data/evaluation, and legislative outreach.  

Cradles to Crayons has earned the highest possible rating from Charity Navigator since 2009. Only 2% of charities nationwide have received this distinction. C2C has a budget of $20M for FY25.

POSITION OVERVIEW:

This position reports to the Executive Director and supervises the Community Engagement (CE) and Partner Relations (PR) teams. The Director of Partnerships and Engagement serves as a member of the management leadership team in Chicago and an active participant in developing and implementing strategies affecting the Chicago Market, developing sustainable partnerships with other like-minded organizations, and building engagement within communities around C2C’s mission to End Clothing Insecurity.

The Director strengthens existing partnerships and forges new relationships to help build C2C’s visibility, impact, and resources. Possessing an entrepreneurial spirit and flexibility to work in a fast-paced environment and with individuals with different work styles will be critical for success. Possessing an ability to work in a collaborative, credible manner is a requirement.

Working collaboratively with colleagues in Chicago and in other markets, the Director is responsible for overseeing the standardization and metrics for the Community Engagement and Partner Relations functions in Chicago and across the C2C network and ensures that best practices are incorporated and measured for the function across the organization. They are also responsible for building on existing partners and expanding Cradles to Crayons’ portfolio of programs/partnerships. 

The role is also responsible for overall staff management and leadership of the Partner Relations and Community Engagement  teams, providing supervision for the PR and CE managers.  This position establishes and oversees the execution of this team’s annual goals and advises the Managers regarding problem resolution associated with the market’s non-profit partners and community members. 

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Model and lead a positive “One Cradles” culture underpinned by Cradles’ Cultural Values and related behaviors.
• Model and lead a positive culture of leveraging the “Giving Factory” as an important resource for garnering product donations.
• Develop and grow community engagement network, processes & corresponding initiatives by analyzing effectiveness and processes with core communities and defining opportunities for engagement.
• Identify existing external relationships with high growth potential and work across departments to maximize product collection, revenue, community volunteer engagement, impact, and visibility for each.
• Hire and manage team members as well as team performance; train or provide adequate training and professional development for employees; coach, counsel, and motivate employees; and evaluate employees.

Community Engagement

• Establish and guide strategic priorities for the Community Engagement team that align with the priorities of the Chicago Market.
• Identify strategic communities and geographies in which to grow and develop a growth strategy with clear and measurable goals, strategies, and tactics.
• In partnership with the operations team, identify and implement optimal systems of product collection, including best methods of transportation and organizational expansion.
• Oversee the portfolio of events and initiatives of the CE team.
• Collaborate with the Development (i.e., fundraising) team to establish and refine corporate partnerships to manage product-based cause marketing campaigns.
• Develop sustainable, statewide community partnerships to support market engagement and the recycling model strategy.
• Ensure sustainability of crucial partnerships by anticipating challenges, fielding concerns, and adapting to community partnership needs.
• Set the strategy to develop and grow Community Networks and Initiatives.
• Represent Cradles to Crayons with local and statewide advocacy initiatives and governmental agencies as needed.

Partner Relations

• Establish and guide strategic priorities for the Partner Relations team that align with the priorities of the Chicago Market.
• Strategically grow our network of partnerships. Conduct outreach to prospective service partners.
• Partner with development, community engagement, and volunteer engagement to develop and implement strategic partnership opportunities with partner networks for growth and scale (i.e., speaker opportunities, community relations, etc.).
• Partner with the operations team to prioritize distribution channels and models to maximize resources and operational capacity.

Strategic Management

• Develop and implement a strategic work plan to enhance relationships with key community stakeholders and supporters.
• Establish the C2C brand as a statewide engagement and service organization.
• Develop sustainable statewide service partnerships to support market engagement, the recycle model strategy, and development initiatives.
• Actively participate in budgeting processes and follow-up.

One Cradles Impact

• In collaboration with colleagues in other markets, establish and implement best practice standards and metrics for all Community Engagement and Partner Relations across the entire C2C network.
• In collaboration with colleagues in other markets, assist with the standardization of Community Engagement and Partner Relations resources, terms, and tools for use in all markets.
• Provide administrative and technical support for the market’s Impact work, including creating and maintaining impact-specific programmatic reports.

Organizational Support

Assist with general Cradles to Crayons operations and signature events as assigned by the Executive Director.

Operations and Giving Factory production

• Perform the duties needed to run the General Sort, Clothing Sort, Sizing, Outfits, Books, Shoes, SUP, and Kitting stations.
• Assist the Partner Relations team with the fulfillment of Everyday and Emergency Essentials requests.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Experience/Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field required.
• 5+ years of experience managing staff and teams in complex environments required.
• 5+ years of experience in community engagement and mobilization programs or advocacy organizations, preferably in Cook, Lake and/or DuPage Counties in the State of Illinois.
• Experience providing superior customer service.
• Effective interpersonal, organizational, project management, and prioritization skills.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced and deadline-driven environment.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Computer literacy (e.g., PC and Warehouse Management Systems; Microsoft Office Suite- Word, Excel, PowerPoint; Salesforce).
• Team player: demonstrate a positive and supportive attitude and willingness
• to work closely with C2C team at all levels.
• Ability to work evening and weekend hours as needed.
• A car, valid driver’s license, and valid auto insurance, as well as a clear driving record.
• Strong commitment to Cradles to Crayons’ mission and a passion for non-profit works.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite; familiarity with CRM systems such as Salesforce.

DIVERSITY IS OUR STRENGTH:

Diversity and Inclusiveness are core values at Cradles to Crayons, and we continuously strive to be a team where everyone feels welcome and supported. It is the policy of Cradles to Crayons to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information and/or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. Individuals from underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply.

Working Conditions:

This is a warehouse environment, and normal temperature changes are expected while working inside the warehouse or outside, on or around the loading dock. There are no hazardous or significantly unpleasant conditions.

Accommodation:

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is possible that requirements may be modified to reasonably accommodate disabled individuals. However, no accommodations will be made by Cradles to Crayons which may pose serious health or safety risks to the employee or others, or which impose undue hardships on the organization.