Community Partnerships Manager

Are you interested in working for a nonprofit with a wonderful social mission but wish your next job was more like working at a startup? If so, take a look at us, Computers 4 People. We are only seven years old but still act like a scrappy startup and are getting attention for our ability to get technology in the hands of people who cannot access it but need it to make their way in our society.

What we are talking about is economic and social upward mobility and empowerment by getting used, but usable computers from companies that refresh their stock. We then clean them up, securely wipe their data, and put them in the hands of people who need them but would have a challenge getting them, doing this through established organizations.

Please read the job specifics carefully below, and if you think this job speaks to you and you are the type of person we are looking for and can convince us of that, go ahead and apply.

Note that this position is 100% onsite in Hoboken, NJ, and we can only consider people who are U.S. citizens or have valid documentation allowing them to work immediately without sponsorship.

About us

Computers 4 People gives people refurbished computers, affordable internet, and digital literacy training. We work with more than 400 nonprofits, schools, libraries, housing authorities, workforce programs, and government agencies across the Northeast. These partners refer people to us for free computers, sign clients up for discounted Shield Internet, and hire us to run digital literacy and technology programs.

Right now, 347 organizations are waiting to partner with us. We don't have anyone whose full-time job is working through that list. This role would be that person.

The job

You'll own our relationships with community organizations: the first meeting, onboarding, making sure programs actually happen, and collecting the results afterward.

In a typical week you might meet with a dozen organizations, such as a library branch, a housing authority, or a job training program. You'd also approve a batch of applicants, fix a partner's outdated shipping address before a delivery goes to the wrong place, follow up on a contract with a workforce program, and send a client's story to whoever is writing our next grant.

We don't have enough computers for everyone who needs one. Partners will ask when their clients can get a device, and a lot of the time the answer is "not yet." That's the hardest part of the job. You'll need to say it plainly, give people real timelines, and then help them see what else we can do, whether that's Shield Internet, a digital literacy class, or a paid program.

What you'll be responsible for

• Partnerships. Meet with at least 10 organizations a week, in person or on video. Work through the waitlist, get new partners onboarded and active, and show up for C4P at conferences, networking events, and community meetings.
  
• Paid contracts. Some organizations can pay for computers, Shield Internet, digital literacy programs, or other services. Find them and close the deal. Contracts usually run from $500 to more than $40,000.
  
• Applicant review. Review and approve applicants every week. Decide who gets computers first based on grant requirements, geography, and need, and apply those rules the same way every time.
  
• Keeping partners informed. Let partners know about availability and timelines before they have to ask. Make sure programs run the way we promised and grant requirements are met.
  
• Records. Keep partner information current in the CRM, including contacts, addresses, program status, and organizational details. It changes constantly, and much of this job is keeping up with it. If it sounds tedious to you, this probably isn't the right fit.
  
• Grants and stories. Help write grant applications. Collect stories, photos, testimonials, and numbers from partners, and track computers given out, internet enrollments, and classes held. Some of this goes into newsletters, reports, and marketing.
  

Who we're looking for

You have 4–5 years of experience in community outreach, nonprofit partnerships, account management, or something similar. You write well enough to turn one person's story into a paragraph a funder remembers. You're organized and can keep hundreds of relationships and records straight at the same time. You can give people disappointing news without dodging it. You've used a CRM before.

Grant writing experience helps, but we'll teach you. You should care about the people we serve. The job is in our Hoboken office five days a week, so you'll need to be able to get here.

Pay and benefits

• $60,000–$68,000, based on experience
  
• Health insurance
  
• 10 paid vacation days and up to 40 hours of paid sick leave
  
• Paid federal holidays, plus the office closure between Christmas and New Year's (about two weeks, paid)
  

Why join us

We're a small team, so this role will be yours to shape, and you'll see what your work leads to. Every partner you onboard means more people in the Northeast getting a computer, an internet connection, or the skills to use them. As we grow, there's room for this role to grow too.