Partner Development Manager

Job description Utility Partnerships Manager Location: Remote, Western United States preferred (WA, OR, CA, UT, AZ, NM, MT, WY, CO) Reports to: Director of Natural Capital Development Salary: $92k to $110k depending on experience Travel: Up to 15–25% Employment Status: Full-time, Exempt Priority Application Date: July 27th, 2026 Preferred Start Date: Sep 14, 2026 About Blue Forest Blue Forest is a conservation finance non-profit founded in 2015 that is focused on advancing ecosystem restoration through scientific research, financial innovation, and collaborative partnerships. Since 2018, Blue Forest has managed investor capital through its flagship financial product, the Forest Resilience Bond (FRB), which deploys private capital to finance forest restoration projects to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires. More recently, Blue Forest has also established Blue Forest Asset Management (BFAM), an investment management platform connecting investors to compelling, mission-aligned opportunities in a broader set of asset classes beyond FRB projects, such as private equity and private credit investments. Blue Forest is made up of an interdisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, foresters, finance professionals, and communications professionals committed to the mission: “To accelerate ecological restoration through conservation finance, enabling climate resilience for ecosystems and communities.” Employees at Blue Forest are: Committed to Continuous Learning Driven by Collaboration Thoughtful Innovators for Impact Grounded in Science Passionate about Restoring Earth’s Ecosystems Position Summary The Utility Partnerships Manager will execute Blue Forest's strategy to deepen utility contributions to Forest Resilience Bonds (FRBs) and build emerging FRB revenue streams. The role's primary focus is utility engagement — owning the day-to-day, staying current on partner relationships across projects, coordinating across teams, and surfacing emerging themes and opportunities. A second focus is frontier benefits business development, with an immediate emphasis on carbon. The role also supports corporate engagement by building the project-level processes that connect FRB work to corporate benefit streams, in partnership with the team leading external corporate strategy. The ideal candidate is a clear communicator and a strong relationship builder who thrives on working directly with utility and corporate partners. They are organized, proactive, and able to manage multiple partner relationships simultaneously while synthesizing technical, market, and partnership information into actionable deliverables. This role is well-suited for someone who enjoys building systems and structure around relationship management, is comfortable with ambiguity, and brings a problem-solving mindset to regularly evolving workstreams. Prior experience working with utilities in some capacity is needed. Familiarity with corporate sustainability programs, public-private partnerships, and/ or utility decision-making and risk mitigation is a plus. Job requirements Responsibilities and Duties Utility Relationships and Contributions (60%) Own utility partner relationships across active FRBs — serving as the primary Blue Forest point of contact alongside the FRB project manager, staying current on conversations, tracking engagement activity and contribution pipelines, and surfacing emerging themes and opportunities across projects Build the internal systems for managing utility partner relationships — including compiling a partner contribution inventory and establishing processes for tracking, reflection, and continuous improvement Manage the impact analytics pipeline behind utility reporting, ensuring partners receive high quality impact reports. Lead engagement with emerging utility partners to unlock contributions to FRBs Lead coordination of utility partnership working groups and related convenings Develop collateral and value proposition materials that articulate Blue Forest's benefits to utility and corporate decision-makers Support high-value utility relationships as needed, with those relationships strategically owned by the Director Support coordination of utility meetings, site visits, and partnership development activities Frontier Benefits Business Development (25%) Support the Director in developing programmatic material and executing carbon contribution projects with utilities Collaborate with internal and external teams to advance business development opportunities in emerging natural capital markets, including carbon, biodiversity, local industries, and governments Stay informed on trends and developments in natural capital markets and climate finance, with particular focus on carbon markets and wildfire-related environmental markets Track project activities, identify emerging challenges, and integrate feedback to support continuous improvement and learning Support the Director in developing partnerships with science and tool providers to integrate new revenue streams into FRBs Support the Director in developing thought leadership materials and conference content related to natural capital markets and frontier benefit streams Corporate Engagement Infrastructure (15%) Partner with internal team members to build workflows that connect active FRB project information to corporate-facing benefit streams, with a near-term focus on Volumetric Water Benefits Co-develop with the internal team internal tracking and reporting structures for corporate contributions, ensuring information is accurate, current, and scalable as the corporate partner base grows Manage the analytics pipeline as it extends to corporate reporting, keeping the process consistent across utility and corporate partners. Co-design and implement the internal operational blueprint for corporate engagement infrastructure — including pipeline tracking, materials management, and internal coordination processes Support inbound corporate Volumetric Water Benefit requests as needed in partnership with the internal team, ensuring continuity of corporate partner experience Desired Skills and Qualifications We encourage all interested candidates to apply, even if you do not meet every qualification listed. We're looking for motivated, collaborative professionals who are ready to take ownership and grow with us. 5+ years of relevant work experience Experience in partnership development, business development, or related fields Experience working with utilities Strong relationship-building skills and ability to manage multiple external partner relationships simultaneously with professionalism and follow-through Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to synthesize technical, market, or policy concepts into clear memos, presentations, and materials for utility and corporate audiences Proven ability to build or manage internal systems and structure around complex, evolving workstreams – including tracking, reporting, and process development Proactive and solutions-oriented – able to identify emerging challenges across a portfolio of relationships and take initiative to address them Comfortable with ambiguity and able to bring clarity and organization to early-stage and rapidly evolving work Collaborative working style with the ability to coordinate effectively across internal teams and external partners Preferred Familiarity with utility decision-making processes, incentive structures, and how utilities assess and manage wildfire and watershed risk Exposure to environmental markets, conservation finance, or climate initiatives Experience building internal operational infrastructure or systems around complex, multi-stakeholder workstreams, particularly in a conservation finance or environmental markets context Familiarity with carbon markets, payments for ecosystem services, or other natural capital benefit streams Experience with business development or revenue growth initiatives in an environmental or conservation finance context Familiarity with wildfire resilience, forest restoration, or conservation policy frameworks in the western U.S. Proficiency in developing compelling external materials such as slide decks, two-pagers, or explainer documents for diverse stakeholder audiences Benefits All employees at Blue Forest who are .8 FTE or above qualify for the following benefits: 100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision coverage; subsidized coverage for dependents Access to a 401(k) retirement plan with a 5% employer match 4 weeks paid vacation and 17 paid holidays; paid sick time and volunteer time 3 months of paid family leave Employer-paid life and long-term disability insurance Access to Dependent Care FSA and Health FSA Public Lands Exploration stipend (reimbursements for visits to National Forests, county parks, etc.) Monthly Home Office stipend or co-working space provided Dependent care costs are subsidized for business travel Additional stipends for health & wellness, home internet, and cell service Financial support for professional development Additional Information Blue Forest is a fully remote company with staff located across all four continental U.S. time zones. While we value flexibility in work schedules, all employees should expect to have some overlap with Pacific Standard Time working hours in order to collaborate with partners and team members. Blue Forest also hosts an in-person team retreat each year. How to Apply To apply to this position, please submit a resume and cover letter for your application through Recruitee. People from historically underrepresented populations and candidates with non-traditional career paths are especially encouraged to apply. If participating in the interview process would require you to incur additional expenses to participate, such as childcare, please let us know, and we are happy to reimburse for reasonable expenses incurred up to $30/hour for twice the length of each interview in which you participate. There will be space to request this reimbursement upon offer of an interview. All done! Your application has been successfully submitted! 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