Senior Director of Partnerships & External Affairs (Volunteer)

Senior Director of Partnerships & External Affairs (Volunteer)

PromiseBridge | Strategic Partnerships, External Relations & Opportunity Development

Organization: Mentor A Promise (MAP)

Division: PromiseBridge

Location: Fully Remote — United States

Type: Volunteer Senior Leadership Role

Commitment: Approximately 5–10 hours per week

Minimum Commitment: 6-month commitment required

Reports To: Chief of Partnerships & External Affairs

Works Closely With: CEO, PromiseBridge leadership and team members, PromisePrograms, PromiseRise, PromiseGiving, PromisePublic, PromiseVoice, and other MAP divisions

About Mentor A Promise

Mentor A Promise (MAP) is a New York City–based nonprofit supporting children and youth ages 5–18 experiencing housing instability through mentorship, education, literacy, social-emotional learning, creative expression, career development, advocacy, and community-centered opportunity.

Our work depends not only on what MAP can build internally, but also on our ability to bring organizations, institutions, professionals, and communities together around meaningful opportunities for young people and families.

About PromiseBridge

PromiseBridge is MAP's partnerships and external affairs division.

The division builds relationships that expand MAP's reach, resources, expertise, credibility, and opportunities for the children, youth, and families we serve.

PromiseBridge develops relationships across:

• Corporations and businesses
• Colleges and universities
• Schools and educational institutions
• Nonprofits and community-based organizations
• Foundations and philanthropic institutions
• Government and public agencies
• Professional associations
• Cultural institutions
• Healthcare organizations
• Workforce and career-development organizations
• Technology companies
• Media and creative organizations
• Community leaders
• Professional networks

The purpose is not to accumulate partnerships.

It is to build the right relationships—and turn those relationships into meaningful outcomes.

Role Overview

MAP is seeking a Senior Director of Partnerships & External Affairs to serve as the senior operational leader supporting the growth and execution of PromiseBridge.

Reporting directly to the Chief of Partnerships & External Affairs, the Senior Director will help translate MAP's external-relations strategy into a disciplined partnership pipeline, strong institutional relationships, cross-divisional opportunities, and measurable results.

This person will help lead the day-to-day work of PromiseBridge, coordinate partnership development across MAP, support and develop team members, cultivate high-value relationships, and ensure opportunities move from conversation to commitment to implementation.

The Chief establishes the division's strategic direction and executive-level external priorities.

The Senior Director makes sure the partnership organization can execute them.

Key Responsibilities

Partnership Strategy & Execution

• Translate PromiseBridge strategy into actionable priorities, work plans, and partnership initiatives.
• Help identify organizations and institutions aligned with MAP's mission and strategic priorities.
• Develop targeted partnership strategies rather than relying solely on broad outreach.
• Maintain visibility into active prospects, conversations, proposals, commitments, and next steps.
• Identify gaps in MAP's external network and develop strategies to address them.
• Help prioritize relationships based on potential mission value, feasibility, organizational capacity, and long-term alignment.
• Ensure partnership development remains connected to MAP's actual needs and priorities.

Partnership Development

Cultivate relationships with organizations that can contribute:

• Expertise
• Volunteers
• Mentors
• Career professionals
• Internship opportunities
• Educational programming
• Technology
• Creative collaboration
• Professional services
• In-kind resources
• Space
• Community connections
• Research collaborations
• Institutional credibility
• Funding opportunities
• Other mission-aligned resources

Develop relationships through thoughtful outreach, virtual meetings, presentations, introductions, proposals, and ongoing stewardship.

External Affairs

Help strengthen MAP's relationships with external stakeholders and institutions.

Responsibilities may include:

• Representing MAP in external meetings
• Developing institutional relationships
• Coordinating introductions
• Supporting executive outreach
• Preparing partnership briefings
• Identifying strategic convenings and networks
• Supporting relationships with civic and community stakeholders
• Coordinating external opportunities across divisions
• Helping leadership understand emerging external opportunities and risks

The Senior Director should be able to represent MAP with credibility while knowing when a conversation requires the Chief, CEO, or another organizational leader.

Partnership Pipeline Management

Build a disciplined process for moving relationships through stages such as:

Research → Qualification → Outreach → Conversation → Opportunity Design → Internal Review → Commitment → Activation → Stewardship → Renewal

Maintain appropriate systems for tracking:

• Prospective partners
• Relationship owners
• Contact history
• Opportunities
• Next steps
• Commitments
• Deadlines
• Deliverables
• Internal stakeholders
• Partnership status
• Renewal opportunities

A promising conversation is not yet a partnership.

The Senior Director helps ensure good conversations become clear commitments and clear commitments become action.

Opportunity Development

Work across MAP to understand what each division needs and where external relationships can create value.

Examples may include:

• Career professionals for PromiseRise
• Employers for internships and experiential learning
• Universities for research or student engagement
• Corporate volunteer programs
• Professional expertise
• Creative collaborations
• Educational partners
• Technology partnerships
• Community referrals
• In-kind support
• Institutional partnerships
• Capacity-building opportunities
• Strategic introductions

The strongest partnership function begins with organizational needs—not with whoever happens to respond to an email.

Relationship Management & Stewardship

• Maintain consistent communication with key partners.
• Establish clear expectations and points of contact.
• Coordinate internal follow-through on MAP commitments.
• Provide appropriate updates to partners.
• Recognize and acknowledge contributions.
• Identify opportunities to deepen successful relationships.
• Address partnership challenges early.
• Support renewals and long-term engagement.
• Ensure partners experience MAP as organized, responsive, thoughtful, and trustworthy.

Partnership development does not end when someone says yes.

That is where stewardship begins.

Team Leadership

• Help build and lead the PromiseBridge team.
• Support Partnership Directors, Coordinators, volunteers, interns, and other team members.
• Recruit qualified partnership professionals as the division grows.
• Establish clear responsibilities and expectations.
• Hold regular meetings with direct reports.
• Coach team members on outreach, relationship development, meetings, follow-up, and stewardship.
• Review partnership communications and proposals when appropriate.
• Develop emerging leaders.
• Create accountability without unnecessary bureaucracy.

The Senior Director's responsibility is not to personally own every relationship.

It is to build a team capable of developing and maintaining strong relationships at scale.

Cross-Division Partnership Coordination

Work closely with MAP divisions to ensure external relationships are coordinated rather than fragmented.

Partner with PromiseRise on employers, career professionals, internships, and workforce opportunities.

Partner with PromisePrograms on programmatic and community partnerships.

Partner with PromiseGiving when relationships involve philanthropy, sponsorship, grants, or fundraising opportunities.

Partner with PromisePublic on community, advocacy, and public-facing relationships.

Partner with PromiseVoice on external communications and partner recognition.

Coordinate with other divisions based on the purpose and scope of each relationship.

PromiseBridge should help MAP operate as one organization externally.

Executive Relationship Support

Support the Chief of Partnerships & External Affairs and CEO with strategically important relationships.

This may include:

• Prospect research
• Meeting preparation
• Background briefs
• Relationship histories
• Talking points
• Opportunity analysis
• Meeting coordination
• Follow-up
• Internal assignment of next steps
• Tracking commitments through completion

Senior leadership should never leave an important external meeting wondering who owns the follow-up.

Partnership Quality & Due Diligence

Evaluate prospective relationships for:

• Mission alignment
• Reputational considerations
• Youth safeguarding implications
• Privacy and data considerations
• Conflicts of interest
• Operational feasibility
• Financial implications
• Organizational capacity
• Mutual expectations
• Long-term value

Coordinate with PromiseTrust, PromiseShield, PromiseFinance, or other appropriate teams when specialized review is required.

Not every opportunity should become a partnership.

Knowing when to say no is part of building a strong external affairs function.

Measurement & Performance

Develop meaningful partnership indicators, which may include:

• Qualified prospects
• Meetings
• Active partnerships
• Opportunities generated
• Resources secured
• Professional volunteers engaged
• Internship or career opportunities created
• In-kind contributions
• Program collaborations
• Partner retention
• Renewals
• Partnership outcomes
• Internal partner satisfaction
• External partner engagement

Avoid measuring success primarily by outreach volume.

One partnership that creates sustained opportunity for young people can be more valuable than hundreds of unanswered emails.

Leadership & Decision Rights

The Chief of Partnerships & External Affairs owns PromiseBridge's overall strategy, executive relationships, external positioning, major priorities, and long-term direction.

The Senior Director owns much of the operational execution required to turn that strategy into results.

The Senior Director should have meaningful authority to manage the partnership pipeline, coordinate the team, develop relationships, recommend opportunities, and resolve routine execution issues within established MAP priorities.

Major organizational commitments, financial obligations, legal agreements, policy positions, or other matters requiring executive authorization remain with the appropriate authorized MAP leader.

The goal is clear accountability without unnecessary layers.

Ideal Candidate

Strong candidates may come from backgrounds in:

• Strategic partnerships
• Business development
• External affairs
• Corporate relations
• Institutional relations
• Community partnerships
• University relations
• Nonprofit partnerships
• Corporate social responsibility
• Social impact
• Workforce partnerships
• Stakeholder engagement
• Strategic alliances

Candidates should demonstrate:

• Significant experience developing external relationships
• Experience managing partnership pipelines or institutional relationships
• Strong executive communication skills
• Excellent written communication and follow-through
• Ability to build relationships virtually
• Strong judgment and diplomacy
• Experience managing or developing teams
• Ability to translate conversations into concrete opportunities
• Strong organizational and project-management skills
• Comfort representing an organization externally
• Ability to work across multiple departments and priorities
• Commitment to ethical, mission-centered partnership development

Existing professional networks are valuable, but they are not enough.

We are looking for someone who knows how to build relationships—not simply someone who already has them.

What Success Looks Like

PromiseBridge has a clear and active partnership pipeline.

The strongest opportunities receive attention. Every significant relationship has an owner. Meetings lead to documented next steps. Commitments are followed through. Partners remain engaged after the initial collaboration.

MAP divisions know how to engage PromiseBridge when they need external support.

The Chief can focus more deeply on strategy, executive relationships, major opportunities, and growth because the Senior Director is ensuring the division operates effectively.

Most importantly, external relationships create tangible opportunities for MAP's children, youth, families, programs, and organizational mission.

Why This Role Matters

No organization builds meaningful impact entirely by itself.

Somewhere outside MAP is a professional who can inspire a young person, an employer that can create an opportunity, a university that can contribute expertise, a company that can provide resources, an institution that can strengthen a program, or an organization whose mission intersects with ours.

But those connections rarely happen by accident.

Someone has to find them.

Someone has to build trust.

Someone has to connect the opportunity to the right part of MAP.

And someone has to make sure the promise made in the meeting becomes something real.

That is the work of PromiseBridge.

What You'll Gain

• Senior leadership experience within a growing nonprofit organization
• Opportunity to help build a partnerships and external affairs function
• Direct collaboration with senior and executive leadership
• Experience developing institutional and cross-sector partnerships
• Opportunity to build and mentor a partnership team
• Exposure to corporate, nonprofit, educational, philanthropic, government, and community stakeholders
• Experience developing partnership systems and strategy
• Professional references and recommendations based on demonstrated contribution
• Opportunity to build relationships that directly expand opportunities for young people

Commitment

• Approximately 5–10 hours per week
• 6-month commitment required
• Position is fully remote
• Regular virtual meetings with the Chief of Partnerships & External Affairs
• Regular communication with direct reports and PromiseBridge team members
• Participation in applicable MAP leadership meetings
• Consistent relationship management and follow-through
• Ownership of agreed priorities and deliverables
• Support recruitment, mentorship, and development of the PromiseBridge team
• Maintain MAP's confidentiality, safeguarding, privacy, ethical, and organizational standards

How to Apply

Interested candidates should apply directly through Idealist and submit:

• Resume or CV
• Cover Letter

Applicants should highlight relevant experience in strategic partnerships, external affairs, business development, institutional relations, corporate relations, stakeholder engagement, nonprofit partnerships, or related fields.

This is an unpaid, fully remote volunteer senior leadership position.

At this time, MAP volunteer opportunities are limited to individuals based in the United States due to legal, safeguarding, data-privacy, compliance, and programmatic requirements.

Build the relationships. Create the opportunities. Strengthen the bridge. Make sure every partnership leads somewhere meaningful.