Senior Director, Clinical Partnerships

Position: Senior Director, Clinical Partnerships

Reports to: Chief Program Officer

Location: Remote, US

Position Type: Full-time employee

Location Requirement:

We are a global organization with a mix of remote, field-based, and in-office staff. This role is U.S.-based and must be based within the continental U.S.

ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE:

For more than 43 million people, blindness is a daily reality; another 295 million suffer from moderate to severe vision impairment. 90% of these people live in low- and middle-income countries where access to eye care is limited and the challenges for those who can’t see are severe. But there is hope: 80% of this burden is treatable or preventable. For example, 17 million blind people could be cured with a 10-minute cataract surgery. Millions more suffer from corneal blindness, which is often preventable or treatable. At the Cure Blindness Project, we believe avoidable blindness can – and must – be overcome. For more than 30 years, we have worked alongside a capable network of collaborators to help people around the world retain and regain their sight by developing high-quality, cost-effective eye care systems in underserved areas of the world. With the help of partners in more than 30 countries, Cure Blindness Project has provided more than 1.6 million sight-restoring surgeries and screened more than 5 million people

to provide care and basic treatments. We’ve trained more than 20,100 eye health professionals and have established 5 eye hospitals. There is more work left to do, but we can overcome the mountain of global blindness together.

Cure Blindness Project is expanding its team to meet new challenges, scale its work, and broaden its reach. We are seeking individuals who are passionate about changing lives and want to be a part of a team that works together to reach new heights. We want leaders who can aim high, make things happen, and are invested in building a positive team dynamic to bring the work to life.

VISION: A world where no one is needlessly blind

MISSION: We enable countries to cure avoidable blindness by developing high quality, cost-effective eye care in underserved areas of the world.

SCOPE OF WORK:

A member of the Program Leadership Team, the Senior Director, Clinical Partnerships, reports to the Chief Program Officer and is responsible for leading the strategy, growth, and stewardship of a global network of volunteer ophthalmic specialists and institutional partners to advance high-quality training and sustainable eye care capacity. The role oversees recruitment, credentialing, onboarding, and deployment of volunteer faculty across subspecialties. The role ensures alignment with program priorities and compliance with accreditation standards, host-country regulations, and duty-of-care protocols. Serving as a key liaison to clinical leaders, academic partners, and professional societies, the Senior Director cultivates a high-impact engagement model that strengthens the organization’s reputation and positions volunteer participation as a premier professional opportunity.

In partnership with program and development teams, the Senior Director guides partnerships to support hospital-based training initiatives that improve clinical quality and patient outcomes at partner institutions. The role builds strategic alliances with academic medical centers, professional societies, and corporate partners to expand faculty pipelines, training exchanges, and resource mobilization, while leading recognition efforts that sustain long-term volunteer engagement and advance global eye care capacity.

Clinical Volunteer Network

• Develop and execute comprehensive strategies for the growth and stewardship of the volunteer medical professional network across all ophthalmic subspecialties
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with key opinion leaders and notable surgeons within the ophthalmology community, liaise directly with Cure Blindness Project Clinical Directors and Advisors
• Serve as primary liaison between volunteer faculty and organizational leadership, ensuring alignment between program needs and volunteer capabilities
• Design and implement systems and workflows for volunteer recruitment, credentialing, onboarding, and deployment to hospital-based training programs
• Oversee all operational aspects of volunteer engagement including documentation, visa processing, travel logistics (in collaboration with travel and country teams), and clinical placement coordination
• Ensure compliance with hospital accreditation requirements and foreign government regulations for volunteer credentialing and permissions in collaboration with country teams
• Cultivate ophthalmologists and other clinical volunteers as donors in partnership with the Development team.
• Provide subject matter expertise on duty of care protocols for international volunteer travel, collaborating with leadership, compliance, and counsel, and coordinating with security vendors and relevant agencies as needed
• Collaborate with procurement teams to standardize instrumentation and consumables for training programs
• Serve as a recognized advocate for capacity building and clinical training excellence on the global stage

Volunteer Recognition & Appreciation

• Create and coordinate comprehensive recognition and appreciation programs that honor volunteer contributions and foster long-term engagement
• Plan and execute annual recognition events at major professional conferences (AAO, ASCRS), managing vendor relationships, contract negotiations, and logistics
• Develop tiered recognition programs that acknowledge varying levels of volunteer commitment and impact, in partnership with marketing and development teams
• Create meaningful engagement opportunities that connect volunteers to the organization's mission and impact

Clinical Training, Curriculum Design and Capacity Building

Collaborate with program and country teams to:

• Establish and oversee hospital
• based training initiatives that maximize the impact of volunteer faculty deployments and meet the evolving needs of partner institutions while contributing to sustainable improvements in eye care capacity at partner sites
• Partner with Tertiary, Outreach and Primary Programs to design and develop competency-based curricula and training content, conducting systematic skills gap assessments to advance partner capabilities across ophthalmic subspecialties
• In collaboration with program teams, develop and implement evaluation methods and tools to assess training effectiveness, skill acquisition, and improvements in service delivery and patient outcomes
• Deliver technical input, guidance, and review of clinical training plans for proposals, project plans, and monitoring and evaluation frameworks

Strategic Alliances & Partnership Development

Academic Partnerships

• Identify, cultivate, and maintain strategic alliances with U.S. academic medical institutions and ophthalmology departments to expand volunteer faculty recruitment and establish formal partnership agreements
• Create pathway programs enabling residents and fellows from U.S. academic institutions to participate in global ophthalmology initiatives at partner hospitals in low and middle-income countries

Professional Society Engagement

• Develop and manage relationships with professional specialty societies including AAO, ASCRS, ARVO, AAPOS, and subspecialty organizations to enhance organizational visibility and engagement opportunities
• Represent Cure Blindness Project at national and international conferences, managing organizational presence and building society relationships

Corporate Partnerships

• Collaborate with Development team to identify and secure gift-in-kind contributions, equipment donations, and restricted funding from corporate sources
• Serve as program lead with corporate sponsors in coordination with Development, ensuring meaningful engagement opportunities and recognition at conferences and events

QUALIFICATIONS:

Experience

• BA/BS or equivalent is required. An advanced degree is preferred.
• Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in medical education, volunteer management, professional affairs, or clinical training, preferably with an international NGO or global health organization.
• Experienced people manager.
• Demonstrated success building and managing networks of medical professionals or subject matter experts
• Proven track record of developing and managing strategic alliances with academic institutions, professional associations, and/or corporate partners with measurable outcomes
• Experience in capacity building, clinical training program development, and/or quality improvement initiatives
• Experience developing and implementing volunteer management infrastructure, systems, and workflows
• Strong understanding of international program operations, including credentialing, compliance, and duty of care requirements
• Experience with proposal development and grants management
• Background in event planning and execution at major professional conferences
• Familiarity with global ophthalmology initiatives and organizations

Additional qualifications include:

• Excitement to join a nonprofit poised to expand global operations.
• Demonstrates a highly professional and collaborative demeanor with supervisors, coworkers and partners.
• A sense of discretion and a high degree of professionalism is required, ability to maintain confidentiality of highly sensitive information.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, facilitation, and presentation skills.
• Detail oriented and able to efficiently prioritize tasks.
• Flexibility to adjust and contribute to continually evolving work situations and changing priorities.
• Excellent computer skills and technical aptitude, proficient with MS Office.
• Willingness and ability to work across multiple time zones, including participating in morning and evening calls.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally (estimated 25-30%)
• Committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.

Physical requirements:

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at a time.

Cure Blindness Project encourages applications from people of all races, religions, national origins, genders, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions, and ages, as well as veterans and individuals with disabilities.

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