Partner Relationship Manager (Utilities & Municipalities)

Does the opportunity to devote your talents to a cause much greater than yourself excite you? Do you enjoy building relationships and delivering measurable results? Do you believe in the power of experiences that inspire people to create a better world? The Arbor Day Foundation is a place where you can do work that matters, with people who care. As we say at the Foundation: life is short, love where you work.

The Arbor Day Foundation is a global nonprofit inspiring people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. We foster a growing community of more than one million leaders, innovators, planters, and supporters united by our bold belief that a more hopeful future can be shaped through the power of trees.

Join the Arbor Day Foundation as a Partner Relationship Manager to steward and grow relationships with our utility and municipal partners, helping them achieve their goals while advancing our mission. You’ll play a critical role in driving revenue, delivering innovative solutions, and ensuring excellence in every interaction. This role is highly collaborative, working across teams including Corporate Partnerships, Marketing, Arbor Day Carbon, Mission Delivery, and more — all while keeping our mission and partners at the center of everything you do.

This role is based in Lincoln, Nebraska, and reports to the Director, Corporate Partnerships. Team members are expected to work in the office on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, with optional remote work on Wednesday and Friday. This role travels up to 15% for conferences and partner meetings/events (primarily domestically).

What you’ll do:

• Drive Retention & Growth: Develop and execute strategies to retain and optimize existing utility and municipal partnerships, meeting and exceeding revenue and retention goals.
• Lead Relationships: Serve as the primary point of contact for external partners and the Community Tree Distribution Tool, coordinating projects, answering questions, leading webinars/demos, and managing service recovery scenarios with professionalism and care.
• Deliver Innovative Solutions: Bring creative, mission-aligned solutions and a strategic perspective to strengthen partnerships and keep our programs relevant and impactful through conferences, webinars, online demos, and meaningful dialogues.
• Collaborate Across Teams: Work with internal teams to create service processes, marketing campaigns, and partner resources that meet partner needs and reflect organizational excellence.
• Manage Budgets & Deliverables: Track budgets, invoices, and deliverables to ensure timeliness, accuracy, and alignment with goals.
• Optimize Processes & Insights: Use CRM tools to track communications and metrics, and proactively seek more efficient, strategic, and impactful ways to engage partners.
• Prioritize organizational excellence: Deliver high-quality service that strengthens trust and drives mutual success while staying aligned with our mission and values.

What you’ll bring:

• Passion for the Foundation’s mission, nature, environmental stewardship, and people.
• A proven ability to grow and retain customer or partner relationships, supported by strategic planning, listening/understanding needs, and strong execution.
• Our ideal candidates has 3 + years of experiencein partner relationship management, corporate sales (B2B), or a related field.
• Strong skills in building trusted relationships, understanding partners’ business needs and industry trends to identify and pursue opportunities.
• Experience managing multiple partners simultaneously with numerous moving parts, across a defined territory, with excellent organizational and prioritization abilities.
• Comfort collaborating cross-functionally and leveraging technology and CRM systems to track, measure, and improve results.
• A self-starter mindset with a knack for identifying opportunities, solving problems, and delivering high-quality, accurate work.
• Ability to travel up to15% for conferences and partner meetings/events. (Primarily domestic travel.)

Love Where You Work:

• Our work changes the world. We find deep purpose in our daily work, we’re helping to shape the planet for future generations.
• We're in this together. A culture focused on a genuine interest in the wellbeing of others, collaboration, and the intrinsic shared purpose to do what's right.
• We pride ourselves on the culture we’ve built. We love it, and we know you will too.
• We care about your health. We offer competitive healthcare (health, dental, vision) coverage for you and your loved ones matched with a wellness incentives program.
• We invest in your future. Company paid short-term and long-term disability, paid parental leave, life insurance and 401k with company match are available.
• We know the little things matter. Team members receive a monthly parking stipend, a fully stocked kitchen, and access to a plethora of benefits at Arbor Day Farm.
• We care about your growth. We allocate 40+ hours annually for our team members to focus on learning and development.
• We want you to unplug when needed. We believe in taking your time off without guilt, including the week between Christmas and New Years that we close our Lincoln Campus to recharge.
• We'll round out the experience. We put our culture first, and we host events and experiences throughout the year to show that we care about you (and your family).