Strategic Partnerships Manager (Contractor)

Do you believe that where someone starts in life shouldn't determine how far they can go? Do you believe AI can be a force for good, and that the social sector has a real opportunity to shift who holds power over it, so these tools can effectively serve people on the margins? Do you think the people whose jobs AI is already reshaping deserve a real say in how it's governed? Are you a systems thinker who would rather change the conditions than patch the symptoms? Are you energized by bringing a cross-sector community together to make that real? If this is checking off boxes for you, please keep reading.
About CareerVillage:

CareerVillage is a global tech nonprofit with a mission to democratize access to career information and advice for underrepresented youth. We do this through Coach, our AI-powered career coaching platform, and through our open-access Q&A platform where anyone can ask any question about any career. Our work has reached more than 11 million learners since 2011. We also founded and convened the AI for Career Development Coalition (AICD), a growing cross-sector coalition of practitioners, institutions, employers, funders, and technology builders working toward responsible AI in career navigation.
About the role:

CareerVillage is looking for a Strategic Partnerships Manager to help build, grow, and sustain AICD, the coalition setting the standard for responsible AI in career navigation. AI could transform how people find and navigate work, opening economic mobility to people who have never had access to good career guidance. It could also do the opposite, hardening the gaps that already exist and leaving the biggest decisions in the hands of a powerful few. What the field is missing is a shared sense of what good looks like, and a way to govern these tools that includes the practitioners closest to learners and the people meant to benefit from them.

Luckily, that work has already begun. >200 diverse institutions have joined AICD, dedicated to setting shared standards and coordinating the field. Growing it well now means becoming more sophisticated in how we operate: stronger systems, deeper partnerships, and a dedicated owner for the coalition's day-to-day.

You'll be the person who keeps AICD organized and its members engaged while building the relationships that help the coalition grow. This is an independent contributor role with real leadership opportunities and a strategic-partnerships mandate. The AICD lead remains the coalition's lead and public face; you build their capacity, make the coalition run, and help it grow. You'll report to the Director of Development, who is the lead AICD facilitator, and work in a highly cross-functional capacity, collaborating regularly with our marketing and partnerships teams.

This is a full-time contractor role (~40 hours/week) with a strong possibility of conversion to a full-time employee position within the first 6-12 months and path to a more senior position in the organization, depending on organizational capacity and fit.
What you'll do:

- Handle AICD's day-to-day operations and administration: manage member onboarding , own calendaring and convening coordination, and serve as the first line of response for member questions

- Build and maintain the systems that keep members connected and collaborative over time, such as a shared knowledge hub, and vet other tools worth adopting

- Nurture the community by planning and executing events, developing member resources, engaging our online member community and the other spaces where members show up

- Interface with members directly to stay close to what they actually need, and be an extra ear to the ground

- Project-manage AICD's grant-funded deliverables and help execute against committed timelines, coordinate members and research partners to keep the coalition's benchmarking work on track, and help push in-progress field resources and artifacts to completion

- Support the AICD lead: build slide decks, take no