Business Development Manager, Partnerships

The Organization: Merit America

The American economy is broken. Today, 53 million working adults–nearly half of the U.S. workforce–do not earn a living wage. These talented workers have few options to advance: college is too long and expensive, full-time boot camp programs don’t offer enough flexibility, and online courses don’t have the structure or support to translate learning into a new career. The result? Talented workers, disproportionately people of color and women, get stuck in low-wage roles with no way to build a better life for themselves and their families.

Merit America is a national nonprofit that creates pathways to family-sustaining careers for Americans stuck in low-wage work. Our fast, flexible solutions are built for working adults: We start by analyzing tens of millions of job postings to identify in-demand, high-paying tech careers and then work with industry-recognized partners to train for these roles with part-time programs that combine flexible online learning with best-in-class coaching. Finally, we support our learners in their job search, helping them connect with a broad constellation of local and national employers such as JPMorgan Chase and Infosys to land higher-earning, family-sustaining jobs. Merit America is on a mission to build a scalable pathway for workers to join the middle class through merit, not money. Since our founding in 2018, we’ve generated a projected $1 billion in near-term wage gains for our learners.

Role Overview

Partnerships are critical to Merit America’s success over the next several years. We leverage partnerships to fuel our mission, drive awareness of our programs, and amplify our outcomes.

We are looking for a Business Development Manager to serve as a force multiplier for the Partnerships team. This role will work closely with the Managing Director, Partnerships to increase pipeline quality and velocity, strengthen positioning and preparation, and ensure high-quality opportunities move efficiently from introduction through launch.

This role is not about driving high-volume; It is about identifying and cultivating a targeted pipeline of strategically aligned partnership opportunities that can meaningfully advance our mission and goals.

The Business Development Manager will drive strategic prospecting, executive-level outreach, proposal drafting, internal coordination, and meeting preparation to ensure opportunities move efficiently from initial introduction through negotiation and partnership launch.

This role works closely with the Managing Director, Partnerships and plays a critical role in strengthening our enterprise partnership engine. This role will also serve as a strategic thought-partner to the MD, Partnerships and help shape new initiatives; products and partnership models. This role will work cross-functionally with Executive leadership, Program, Communications, and Development teams to ensure partnership alignment and impact.

Success in this role means: building and maintaining a $10M+ qualified partnership pipeline, strengthening executive preparation and positioning for high-stakes external conversations, and bringing structure, process rigor, and playbook thinking to a growing partnerships engine.

Responsibilities:

The responsibilities of the Business Development Manager will include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Proposal Development & Deal Advancement (40%)
  • Draft executive-level concept notes and partnership proposals for six and seven figure partnerships
  • Create and regularly refresh one-pagers, case-studies, and partnerships collateral
  • Drive pipeline momentum by tracking deal progress, spotting stalled opportunities, and partnering with MD, Partnerships to drive next steps.
  • Serve as deal lead for 1-2 smaller partnership opportunities (approximately 10% of time in H2), owning execution from early qualification through launch, with MD guidance and support
• Meeting Preparation & Executive Support (30%)
  • Develop executive briefing memos, research summaries, and meeting agendas
  • Attend senior-level partnership conversations and synthesize insights.
  • Draft follow-up emails and recap communications
  • Track action items and proactively advance next steps
  • Partner with the MD to refine positioning strategy and tailor messaging for different executive stakeholders (HR, Talent, Operations, CSR, etc.).
• Data and Process Discipline (15%)
  • Maintain accurate data and reporting on pipeline health
  • Ensure accurate and organized data in Salesforce for all prospects, contacts, and partnerships.
  • Develop clear transition process and account documentation to ensure seamless handoff to Partner Success Team
  • Continuously refine and optimize processes, codifying best practices and insights into a structured, evolving Partnerships BD playbook.
• Idea and Insights Generation (15%)
  • Proactively identify new partnership ideas, sectors, or engagement models
  • Analyze industry trends and market signals
  • Experiment with improvements to outreach strategy and messaging
  • Attend senior-level partnership conversations and synthesize insights to continuously strengthen our enterprise sales approach and playbook.

Skills & Competencies:

We recognize that some individuals from underrepresented backgrounds may hesitate to apply if they don’t meet 100% of the listed qualifications. Please don’t let that discourage you from applying! We value the unique skills, experiences, and perspectives that each applicant brings, and we encourage you to apply if you believe your background demonstrates the required skills and competencies.

Must Haves for all roles at Merit America:

• Committed to Merit America’s mission to pave pathways to family-sustaining careers, break the poverty cycle, and create upward mobility for low-wage workers
• Demonstrated history of embodying our values, which inform our work and drive our organization's culture
• Shared sense of responsibility and ownership for our collective work in making a positive impact on the community we support, true to our value of Win & Lose Together
• Committed to continuous learning and growth in advancing inclusive excellence and closing gaps across lines of difference
• Passionate about fostering a workplace culture that embraces and values individual differences, aligned with our core value of inclusivity

Must Haves for the role:

Business Development & Partnerships Experience

• 5+ years relevant experience in business development, partnerships, consulting, recruiting, or related external-facing roles
• Ability to independently correspond with senior external stakeholders in writing, on calls, and in meetings
• Experience conducting research and building targeted prospect lists

Communication & Writing Skills

• Strong written communication skills, including drafting executive-level communications and proposals
• Proven ability to manage up effectively and coordinate across senior stakeholders

Technical & Organizational Skills

• Proficiency with Salesforce and sales engagement tools
• Strong organizational and project management skills
• High ownership mindset and ability to operate proactively

AI Fluency & Technology Adoption

• Comfort using AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity) to enhance productivity, research, and content development
• Demonstrated ability to leverage technology to work more efficiently and effectively

Nice to Haves for the role:

• Experience supporting enterprise-level sales or business development efforts
• Experience working in workforce development, talent acquisition, or employer partnerships
• Comfort analyzing market data or job trends
• Experience with AI-assisted research, proposal development, or prospect intelligence

Other Logistics

• Travel: Occasional travel required (approximately 10% of time) for partnership meetings and events
• This position is full-time: 4-day work week (Fridays are an operating day if there is a holiday closure during the week)
• Location: Remote
• Salary: $118,000.00

Our goal is to have competitive and equitable compensation. We have a market-based compensation approach, which means we benchmark each role from reputable data sources. We compare our benchmarks against similarly sized non-profit organizations with comparable annual budgets and geographical areas. We pay the same rate for the same roles and adjust to comply with statutory mandates.

We take care of our employees by providing the following perks and benefits*:

• 4-day work week (Fridays are an operating day if there is a holiday closure during the week)
• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance (100% Paid Employee Only Coverage)
• Flexible Spending Account and Health Savings Account
• Dependent care Flexible Spending Account
• Health Reimbursement Account fully funded by Merit America
• Education & personal development reimbursement
• Catalog of course for professional learning and development
• Short and long-term disability
• Unlimited vacation (after a 90-day introductory period)
• Paid Parental Leave and Adoption benefits (after one year of employment)
• 11 federally recognized holidays
• 2-week holiday office closure in December/January
• 401(k) retirement plan with automatic Merit America contribution
• Wellness Benefits/Wellness Resources
• Discount perks at work program
• Phone/technology stipend
• Home office setup stipend
• Affinity groups and community building via virtual, in-person, and/or regional meetups
• Eligibility for some benefits may vary based on employment states, full-time or part-time, and eligibility will be outlined during the hiring process or upon hire.

Remote Work & Sponsorship

Candidates must be residents of one of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia and authorized to work in the same location. We do not sponsor employment visas, and positions are not located in U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Building a high-performing team that fosters a fully inclusive environment where all qualified individuals can thrive is integral to our success, and we are proud to be an equal-opportunity employer.

This means we do not discriminate against any job applicant or employee because of their race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This commitment applies to all terms and conditions of employment.

We actively strive to evolve, develop, and maintain fully inclusive workspaces. We encourage candidates from all groups to apply.

Still excited about our work? You can learn more about our work in our video with our founding partner, Google.

Fair Chance Ordinance

Applicants who have arrest or conviction records and are in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County will be considered in accordance with the state’s fair chance ordinance law. Employment under the ordinance includes part-time work, seasonal work, contract work, contingent work, work on commission, and work through the services of a temporary or employment agency.

E-Verify Statement

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before the employer can take any action against you, including terminating your em