Lead, Ecosystem Partnerships & Convening (Remote)
About the role
The Lead, Ecosystem Partnerships & Convening is responsible for building and stewarding strong, trust-based partnerships with immigrant-led organizations (ILOs) and grassroots leaders. The role leads how WES designs and delivers capacity-sharing and convening activities that strengthen partners' leadership, readiness, and ability to engage in systems change work.
Responsibilities
Trust-building and Relationship Management (35%): Lead the development and the maintenance of strength and trust-based and long-term relationships/partnerships with immigrant-led organizations, grassroots groups and community and place-based coalitions. Model and reinforce relational norms such as inclusion, reciprocity, transparency, and collaboration, and support the team's adoption of these norms through translating them into clear team practices.
Serve as a senior relationship steward, demonstrating leadership presence, and influence, to maintain partnerships longevity. Oversee engagement rhythms, ensuring interactions are respectful, non-extractive, and aligned with partner capacity needs, and ensure consistent follow-through across the portfolio work.
Sponsor and support onboarding and offboarding processes that promote clarity, inclusion, and continuous learning across relationships.
Strategy, planning, and learning and convening design (30%): Co-author the capacity-sharing and learning design, and innovative convening strategies with the Community Power Lead and Head of Philanthropy and Community, bringing strategic insight, entrepreneurial thinking, and strong collaboration to translate Community Power goals into a clear delivery plan.
Lead the design and delivery of modular learning offerings, fostering teamwork and inclusion while setting quality standards for external consultants, and team members and coaching team members to deliver strong facilitation outcomes.
Ensure field sensing and partner feedback are actively gathered and clearly communicated, using structured problem solving and adaptability to guide rapid iteration, in collaboration with internal teams when applicable.
Partner readiness measurement (20%): Develop, maintain, and continuously improve the framework and monitoring system for ILOs readiness to engage in systems change, ensuring indicators and outcomes reflect mission alignment, cultural awareness, and trust-based practices, and follow through with external partners.
Establish a consistent learning and measurement rhythm, translating insights into practical improvements through strong decision making and process adjustment tactics.
Provide guidance to their team and insights to other systems change teams’ leads on how capability gaps are being addressed.
Team management and internal coordination (15%): Manage staff, aligning work across teams toward shared goals and community-defined outcomes. Drive accountability by maintaining a strong focus on learning, impact, and results across internal and external partners.
Provide strong supervision, mentorship, coaching, and performance management to direct reports.
Collaborate closely with internal partners to integrate readiness insights into broader strategy and planning.
Requirements
Bachelor's degree in Community Development, Social Justice & Community Engagement, Adult Education & Community Development, or equivalent of education, and/or experience 8+ years of experience in community partnerships, ecosystem building, preferably within the philanthropic ecosystem supporting immigrant/community-based organizations, and groups.
Leadership experience setting priorities, success measures, and translating strategy into execution plans through strong project management and team collaboration.
Proven ability to lead and coach others, foster teamwork, inclusion, and high-quality outcomes with the ability to lead through others.
Strong communication skills, with the ability to actively communicate expectations, feedback, and complex ideas clearly.
Experience establishing standards and quality assurance for convenings and learning experiences, with attention to inclusion and accessibility.
Demonstrated facilitation skills and ability to oversee the design of learning environments that prioritize community capability over institutional "compliance."
Strong decision-making and problem-solving skills, including knowing when to lead directly versus delegate.
Demonstrated strength in relationship building and maintenance, particularly in navigating complex situations and sustaining trust.
Experience planning and delivering convenings that are innovative, inclusive, and respectful of community capacity.
High-level knowledge of adult-learning theories, Co-creation approaches, and Collective Impact frameworks/strategies as well as developmental and impact evaluation. High-level adaptability and learning orientation: ability to work with ambiguity, and emerging models, building feedback loops, and iterating based on learning to improve quality, consistency, and outcomes over time.
Experience designing and producing convenings at scale (multi-stakeholder events, cross-regional cohorts), including accessibility and language access planning.
Experience in philanthropy and/or trust-based grantmaking environments, including partnering with program and resource-equity teams.
Deep commitment to immigrant justice, transparency, strength-based and trust-based approaches to working with communities.
Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Community Development, Social Justice & Community Engagement, Adult Education & Community Development, or equivalent of education, and/or experience 8+ years of experience in community partnerships, ecosystem building, preferably within the philanthropic ecosystem supporting immigrant/community-based organizations, and groups.
Leadership experience setting priorities, success measures, and translating strategy into execution plans through strong project management and team collaboration.
Proven ability to lead and coach others, foster teamwork, inclusion, and high-quality outcomes with the ability to lead through others.
Strong communication skills, with the ability to actively communicate expectations, feedback, and complex ideas clearly.
Experience establishing standards and quality assurance for convenings and learning experiences, with attention to inclusion and accessibility.
Demonstrated facilitation skills and ability to oversee the design of learning environments that prioritize community capability over institutional "compliance."
Strong decision-making and problem-solving skills, including knowing when to lead directly versus delegate.
Demonstrated strength in relationship building and maintenance, particularly in navigating complex situations and sustaining trust.
Experience planning and delivering convenings that are innovative, inclusive, and respectful of community capacity.
High-level knowledge of adult-learning theories, Co-creation approaches, and Collective Impact frameworks/strategies as well as developmental and impact evaluation. High-level adaptability and learning orientation: ability to work with ambiguity, and emerging models, building feedback loops, and iterating based on learning to improve quality, consistency, and outcomes over time.
Experience designing and producing convenings at scale (multi-stakeholder events, cross-regional cohorts), including accessibility and language access planning.
Experience in philanthropy and/or trust-based grantmaking environments, including partnering with program and resource-equity teams.
Deep commitment to immigrant justice, transparency, strength-based and trust-based approaches to working with communities.
Skills
Community Development
Adult Education & Community Development
Philanthropy
Grantmaking
Ecosystem Building
Grassroots Organizing
Immigrant Justice
Trust-Based Approaches
Relationship Management
Strategic Planning
Capacity Building
Learning Design
Convening Design
Partnership Management
System Change
Equity
Inclusivity
Accessibility
Facilitation
Decision Making
Problem Solving
Adaptability
Continuous Learning
Feedback Loops
Iterative Improvement
Multi-Stakeholder Events
Cross-Regional Cohorts
Accessibility Planning
Language Access Planning
Global Education
International Credential Evaluation
Systems Change Frameworks
Collective Impact Strategies
Developmental Evaluation
Impact Evaluation
Grant Writing
Grant Management
Grant Oversight
Grant Reporting
Grant Monitoring
Grant Evaluation
Grant Implementation
Grant Strategy
Grant Alignment
Grant Collaboration
Grant Integration
Grant Coordination
Grant Support
Grant Delivery
Grant Assessment
Grant Review
Grant Analysis
Grant Research
Grant Development
Grant Planning
Grant Preparation
Grant Proposal
Grant Application
Grant Submission
Grant Approval
Grant Negotiation
Grant Closure
Grant Termination
Grant Renewal
Grant Extension
Grant Modification
Grant Compliance
Grant Accountability
Grant Transparency
Grant Integrity
Grant Ethics
Grant Governance
Grant Leadership
Grant Management Systems
Grant Reporting Systems
Grant Evaluation Systems
Grant Monitoring Systems
Grant Assessment Systems
Grant Review Systems
Grant Analysis Systems
Grant Research Systems
Grant Development Systems
Grant Planning Systems
Grant Preparation Systems
Grant Proposal Systems
Grant Application Systems
Grant Submission Systems
Grant Approval Systems
Grant Negotiation Systems
Grant Closure Systems
Grant Termination Systems