Vice President, External Relations

Vice President, External Relations, The Partnership To End Homelessness

Full-time, Exempt

About The Partnership To End Homelessness

The Partnership To End Homelessness (The Partnership) is a homelessness prevention organization.

Our values – compassion, inclusion, integrity, professionalism and social justice – steer our strategy and operations to achieve our mission of ending homelessness by preventing it .

The Partnership’s upstream intervention model combines housing and crisis services with mental health and well-being programming to prevent people from losing their homes. Our services are available to New Yorkers of any ability, age, family type, gender, national origin, race and sexual orientation who are at risk of, experiencing or recovering from homelessness.

At The Partnership, difference is us. We are an equal opportunities employer and prohibit discrimination against any individual based on ability, age, color, creed, culture, gender, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, national origin, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other basis protected by law.

Position Overview

Reporting to the CEO, the Vice President, External Relations is a key member of the Senior Team and is responsible for the development, implementation and evaluation of fundraising, marketing, communications and community relations goals and objectives in accordance with The Partnership’s mission, values and strategic objectives. Specifically, the VP is responsible for ensuring the organization has the financial resources and external network to support and advance its work while guiding the marketing and communications work to engender public curiosity about, and support of, homelessness prevention.

This opportunity comes at an exciting juncture in the organization’s journey. As a three-year evaluation shows that the organization’s focus on homelessness prevention has resulted in more than 90% of clients retaining their homes (the equivalent of a half billion in public spending savings), the VP is integral to leveraging this impact to reenergize an extensive donor database, grow individual, corporate and foundation networks to increase private revenue and build a planned giving program.

A seasoned diplomat, the VP is values-led, excels at both strategy and task, is energized by relationship building and exploring opportunities, anticipates needs, takes ownership and initiative and gets results.

The role calls for an External Relations leader who has the expertise, self-awareness and professional maturity to be a subject matter expert and trusted advisor to the CEO: always one step ahead, they work with confidence and clarity, anticipate opportunity and challenges and translate foresight into actionable plans. The ideal candidate will be energized by the organization’s mission as well as its commitment to innovative engagement of the public while ensuring client privacy, including not utilizing client photographs or images. 

Responsibilities

Leadership:

• Provide vision, direction and oversight for the external relations department, modeling organizational values and setting goals, priorities and performance standards;
• Serve as a senior advisor to the CEO and as a member of the Senior Team, providing external relations subject expertise and contributing to organizational strategy and management;
• Manage a small internal staff team in coordination with the oversight of consultants who manage outsourced external relations functions;
• Oversee external relations operations including budget planning, workflow management, and reporting as well as cross-functional and interdepartmental collaboration.

Fundraising:

• Create and implement an operational plan to develop existing, and build new, development and fundraising initiatives, ensuring diverse revenue streams with an emphasis on major and individual donor cultivation, foundation support and corporation sponsorship;
• Oversee and ensure thoughtful and caring cultivation, solicitation and stewardship processes, including identification and engagement of high-impact donors to ensure sustainable growth, collaborating across teams to deliver meaningful donor experiences;
• Expand and deepen foundation and corporate relationships, including identifying funding opportunities and aligning with organizational priorities, ensuring compelling funding applications and fostering long-term funding partnerships;
• Lead the development and implementation of a comprehensive planned giving program to secure long-term support, including the cultivation of relationships with prospective and current stakeholders and integration of planned giving messaging across all communications;
• Represent the organization at meetings, events and external networks to increase mission and impact visibility;
• Track, analyze and report on all fundraising activities, including impact, effectiveness and growth opportunities.

Communications and Marketing:

• Develop and execute a bold communications and marketing plan that fosters public curiosity about, and engagement with, the organization’s mission and approach;
• Direct all branding, media relations, digital marketing, social media and content creation to leverage data and program insights to tell the organization’s story in unique and compelling ways, without ever using client images or compromising confidentiality;
• Oversee relevant vendor relationships such as creative agencies, designers, developers and other consultants, ensuring adherence to the organization’s voice and values;
• Responsible for special events and external relations-related volunteer management.

Qualifications & Skills

• Alignment with, and commitment to applying, the organization’s values (compassion, inclusion, integrity, professionalism and social justice) in all functions and operations;
• Exceptional writer with a chameleon gift for adapting tone, style and structure for diverse purposes and audiences including creative, poetic storytelling, data narratives, concise briefs, policy documents and engaging social media content;
• 15+ years in external relations, including 5+ years in a senior management role with demonstrated strategic thinking, executive decision-making, sound judgment and change management expertise;
• Experience in, an understanding of and an appetite for a leadership role in a small-organization context: the ability to balance big picture strategic thinking with hands-on task management;
• Donor and institutional research and relationship management, and record of securing six- and seven-figure gifts from foundations, corporations and individuals;
• Proven experience in the design and management of major fundraising campaigns and events;
• Stellar communication skills, brand management, integrated marketing, content development and PR and media relations - bi-lingual (Spanish) a plus;
• Ability to work independently and lead with high ethical standards, and proven experience in budgeting, financial oversight and resource allocation as well as annual work planning and implementation, project management, monthly reporting, data analysis, outcomes measurement and data-driven planning and decision-making;
• Team mentorship and development and cross-functional collaboration;
• Emotional intelligence, relationship building and conflict management, and commitment to fostering diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in a multicultural environment;
• Mastery of prospect research tools, analytics platforms, fundraising databases and CRM systems (Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge a plus) as well as proficiency in MS Office software, graphic and presentation programs and digital communications platforms;
• Bachelor’s degree required. Advanced degree preferred.

This description describes the general nature and level of the work being performed by people assigned to this role. The Partnership To End Homelessness reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet organizational needs as necessary.

Work Environment and Physical Requirements

The following conditions represent those encountered by, and that must be met by, an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Work environment: This position operates in a professional office environment with a low to moderate noise level; routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, cameras, photocopiers/scanners and filing cabinets; is required to travel to external meetings, and be able to work evenings and weekends, as needed; and, frequently focus for long periods of time.
• Physical requirements: The employee is regularly required to stand, walk and sit; maintain a stationary position for long periods of time; use hands and fingers to operate objects, tools or controls such as phones, computers and office equipment and accessories; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; talk, hear and exchange accurate information via in-person, electronic, telephonic, virtual and written communications. The employee must be able to lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.

Compensation and Benefits

$175,000 annual salary, a seasonal 4-day week (based in NYC office) and generous PTO and benefits, including: employer coverage of 100% of employee health insurance premiums (medical, dental, vision); disability; life insurance; transit; and 401K with employer contribution.

How to Apply

Please submit a letter of interest that:

1) outlines how you leveraged skills and experiences gained over your career to meet a unique challenge/opportunity that you encountered in your most recent role; and

2) details how your experience to date makes you a match for this position and why you are interested in this role and mission at this time.

Please include a copy of your résumé as support for your letter.

*Generic cover letters or résumés without cover letters will not be moved forward to the search team.