Our Mission
Our mission is to prepare first-generation, low-income college students and recent graduates to be leaders in their communities. We envision a future where every young person achieves their full potential and contributes their talents to build thriving communities. The Aspire Leaders Program was created at Harvard University by Harvard Business School Professors Tarun Khanna and Karim Lakhani. To date, we have impacted over 200,000 students across 190 countries. We are on a path to enroll 250,000 students in 2025 and 1 million students annually by 2027.
Our Culture
We are an entrepreneurial, impact-driven organization. Our team plans, experiments, analyzes, and replans. Our core values are rooted in collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity. We believe that true change comes from collective effort, and we strive to bring together diverse voices and perspectives to inform our work. Our commitment to innovation drives us to continuously seek out and apply the latest research and best practices in Aspire’s programs. Inclusivity is at the heart of our operations; we endeavor to create opportunities that are accessible to all underserved and marginalized communities.
About the Role
The U.S. Partnerships Manager will drive Aspire’s recruitment, retention, and alumni engagement of first-generation, low-income college students and young professionals in the U.S. By growing a network of universities, community colleges, vocational/technical Institutions, non-profits, government agencies, and companies, this role will build a scalable applicant pipeline to expand our U.S.-based learner and alumni communities. By hosting and attending events, the role will directly recruit U.S.-based participants. Expanding our U.S. partnership network and alumni community will be critical to Aspire’s future growth and impact.
Employment Details
Location: Hybrid based in Cambridge, MA; in office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays and remote on Mondays and Fridays
Reports to: Communications & Outreach Director
Schedule: 40 hours/week with some evenings and weekend work required based on our international stakeholders and event calendar
Travel: This role will require regular travel around the U.S., up to 40% of the time.
Key Responsibilities
- Deepen our existing partnership network
- Engage with partners on a regular basis, providing updates on recruitment, retention, and alumni engagement
- Collaborate and provide support on outreach, recruitment, and engagement strategies
- Source feedback on Aspire programs and opportunities for improvement
- Maintain and develop key analytics and reporting to measure and improve the breadth and depth of partner relationships
- Build new partnerships
- Build new prospect lists across university, non-profit, governmental, and corporate entities
- Conduct cold email and phone outreach
- Identify key areas for strategic engagement and introduce relevant points of contact from across Aspire’s network
- Attend industry-relevant events to represent Aspire, build brand visibility, and meet new potential partners
- Recruit applicants through events
- Host information sessions, speaker series, conferences, and other recruitment and alumni engagement events
- Attend job fairs, networking sessions, and other on-campus events to recruit current college students
- Attend networking sessions, meetups, and other events focused on young professionals
Employment Details
You are…
- Self-motivated with a high degree of personal accountability and commitment to setting and achieving targets
- Excited to work in a fast-paced, quickly-evolving, startup environment
- Passionate about education, leadership development, social impact, and empowering first-generation, low-income youth globally
- Comfortable working autonomously and experimentally to achieve the desired impact for your role in a matrix team environment
- Outgoing, sociable, and charismatic, with a natural comfort and desire to meet people, build relationships, and foster community
- A strong verbal and written communicator across 1:1 small group, and large audience settings
You bring…
- 3-5 years of professional experience across partnerships, recruitment, admissions, sales, business development, fundraising, and/or related areas
- Industry background in education, non-profit, workforce development, EdTech, international development, and/or related sectors
- Experience working with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems like HubSpot, Salesforce, Full Fabric, etc
- Experience selecting, implementing, and optimizing CRMs is a plus!
- Experience prospecting, cold calling, conducting outreach, and building relationships from scratch
How to Apply:
Please submit a cover letter and resume to Chief of Staff, Dimitri Antoniou at dimitri@aspireleaders.org, with the subject line: Senior Coordinator, U.S. Partnerships.
Additional Information:
Benefits
- Health Insurance: Health, vision, and dental coverage with 75% of premiums provided by Aspire Institute (FTE)
- PTO: 15 vacation days, 3 personal days, and 5 sick days
- Company Holidays: 18 additional paid days, including the day after Thanksgiving and the days between Christmas and New Years
- Retirement: Employee contributed 403(b) retirement plan
- Other: Term life and long-term disability insurance (FTE)
Everyone at Aspire Institute works to ensure a workplace where all are treated respectfully and have equal opportunities to grow professionally and succeed. Collectively, we create a work environment that values diversity and inclusion across all aspects of employment.
Job descriptions continually evolve to meet current organization needs. This description is intended to provide a current overview of the role.
