Strategic Partnerships Lead

Seeking Strategic Partnerships Lead

The Precourt Institute for Energy is seeking exceptional candidates to serve as the Strategic Partnerships Lead. The role falls primarily in the scouting function of STEER—a critical function of the organization to maintain relevance with industry and ensure STEER is asking and answering the right questions. This role will be focused on business development, responsible for scouting, developing, and maintaining industry connections, identifying key white spaces in the intersections of STEER horizontals and verticals, developing analysis prospectuses and white papers for STEER to launch into new areas, and organize strategic executive convenings to obtain industry feedback. This role will also manage the scouting and onboarding of industry partners as members of the Industrial Affiliates Program (IAP) associated with STEER, and assistance in fundraising would be expected. As new working groups get launched, this role is expected to stay abreast of technical analysis results and act as a liaison for industry feedback.

Key responsibilities include:

• Industry scouting & business development
• Strategic development & white space identification
• Partnership management & fundraising
• Strategic liaison & industry feedback integration
• Program & convening leadership

Core duties include:

• Lead the planning and operations for programs or functions that have significant business, regulatory and/or technical challenges requiring subject matter expertise.
• Evaluate programs or functions, policies and procedures. Identify issues, and develop alternative solutions which may include changes to programs, policies and procedures.
• Review and analyze trends to advise and develop recommendations to achieve or modify the goals of the program or function.
• Represent the program or function within the department, unit or school by committing resources and provide information and/or training. Represent the program or function at the university level and/or to external/internal stakeholders and constituencies.
• Manage and contribute to the development of outreach strategy that may include relationship development, communications and compliance.
• May develop and/or oversee budgets; manage finances including monitoring, analyzing, forecasting, and reporting.
• Assess training needs and may develop associated training.
• May direct and/or supervise staff.

To be successful in this position, you will need:

• Bachelor's degree and five years of relevant experience, or combination of education and relevant experience.
• Demonstrated ability to establish priorities, manage shifting priorities, and handle numerous time-sensitive projects with multiple deadlines.
• Ability to accomplish goals working through formal and informal channels, with diplomacy and tactfulness.
• Demonstrated creativity, problem solving, critical analysis, initiative, judgment and, decision-making skills.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and meet budget goals.
• Demonstrated solid planning and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated experience working independently and as part of a team.
• Excellent interpersonal, written and oral communication skills.
• Strong relevant subject matter knowledge.
• Ability to direct the work of others, for jobs requiring supervision.

Desired qualifications include:

• Demonstrated ability to identify and cultivate strategic partnerships across academia, industry, and government.
• Strong understanding of the energy technology ecosystem, including one or more domains such as energy storage, nuclear, hydrogen, geothermal, carbon management, etc.
• Experience developing thought leadership materials (e.g., white papers, prospectuses, or strategic frameworks).
• Proven ability to organize and manage high-level executive events or cross-sector initiatives.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to convey technical and strategic ideas to diverse audiences.
• Strategic thinker capable of connecting technological innovation with economic and policy considerations.
• The candidate should have an enthusiasm to work with students and be excited about developing strong, lasting connections with them. Knowledge of Stanford University as a student is preferred but not required.
• Creativity, passion, and excitement to create a positive, meaningful program for Stanford students to help them navigate their connections with energy on campus - we are here to broaden their experience, to increase their ability to have a positive impact in the world, to support their goals and help steward them towards being good global citizens.
• Build and nurture relationships across Stanford's energy ecosystem (and with external partners).
• Serve as a mentor to students, connect them to resources and opportunities, and help them chart a path forward based on their interests.

Desired experience includes:

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, energy systems, economics, business, or related field.
• Master's degree or equivalent experience strongly preferred (e.g., MBA, MS in Energy Resources Engineering, or MS in Management Science & Engineering).
• Prior experience in research institutes, think tanks, or technology commercialization environments highly desirable.

Knowledge, skills, and abilities include:

• Strategic acumen: Ability to recognize cross-sector trends and translate them into actionable program opportunities.
• Communication: Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to engage executives, researchers, and policymakers.
• Project management: Strong organizational skills to manage multiple concurrent initiatives, deadlines, and stakeholder expectations.
• Analytical thinking: Comfort working with both qualitative and quantitative information; ability to synthesize complex data into clear insights.
• Collaboration: Skilled at working across multidisciplinary teams and bridging technical and non-technical perspectives.
• Entrepreneurial mindset: Self-starter with the ability to identify opportunities, build partnerships, and drive initiatives to completion.

The expected pay range for this position is $120,038 to $153,486 per annum.