Director of Learning and Partnerships
Remote
The Communications Network
Date Posted: 12/10/2025
About The Communications Network
The Communications Network connects, gathers, and informs leaders from the most influential foundations, nonprofits, and social-sector consultancies across the globe.
We are a vibrant, diverse, and generous community of 3,000+ communicators, storytellers, strategists, designers, researchers, and community builders.
Driven by our core values of community, learning, and leadership, The Network helps social-sector leaders solve complex problems and use communications to advance a more just, healthy, and equitable world.
We work remotely, flexibly, and collaboratively — balancing excellence with warmth. Our team culture is curious, kind, creative, and candid. We believe in big ideas, smart systems, and doing good work with good people.
About the Role
The Director of Learning and Partnerships is the strategist and connector behind The Network’s learning agenda, strategic partnerships, advancement, and external collaborations.
You will design and execute learning programs — from webinars to conferences to summits to editorial projects — while cultivating strategic partnerships that deepen impact and extend The Network’s reach.
You’ll collaborate across the organization, ensuring that learning initiatives, events, and partnerships reflect The Network’s culture, values, and strategic priorities.
This is a cross-functional leadership role — part educator, part producer, part connector — ensuring that members learn with and from one another, that knowledge flows across programs, and that every initiative amplifies the field of communications for good.
Key Responsibilities
Learning Strategy and Design
Identify and cultivate partnerships with foundations, nonprofits, academic institutions, and communications and community building experts that strengthen the reach and quality of The Network’s learning programs.
Lead the planning, design, and execution of The Network’s learning programs across in-person, hybrid, and virtual formats.
Develop and execute a cohesive annual learning and thought leadership strategy, informed by field/members’ needs, sector trends, strategic opportunities, and organizational priorities.
Curate and coach facilitators, speakers, and partners to ensure high-quality, relevant, and engaging learning experiences.
Build structures that help members translate learning into actionable insights for their work.
Program Integration and Collaboration
Partner closely with the Director of Community Experience, the VP of Community, and other staff to embed learning into all major programs and events — including Circles, LOCALs, ComNet, editorial partnerships, and issue-focused summits.
Ensure all learning initiatives are interconnected and reinforce a unified member experience.
Evaluate program effectiveness, gather feedback, and iterate to enhance relevance, accessibility, and impact.
Partnership Development
Build and deepen strategic relationships. Cultivate the partners, allies, amplifiers and champions who can expand the organization’s reach, credibility, and impact.
Spot and shape new opportunities. Track what’s happening in the field — new coalitions, funder priorities, cross-sector initiatives, and emerging issues that could open new doors or strengthen the work.
Serve as the connector. Represent the organization in meetings, working groups, networks, and convenings — translating the mission in a way that sparks interest and invites partnership.
Work across teams to bring ideas to life. Translate program goals into partnership-ready concepts and coordinate internally so opportunities are realistic and well-scoped. Work with comms to refine messaging, pull impact data, and ensure what you share externally matches the work happening internally.
Steward partners with intention. Keep relationships warm and consistent, follow through on commitments, and make sure partners feel valued and engaged. Keep a clear pipeline of active conversations, potential collaborations, and long-shot ideas.
Collaborate with the Development & Partnerships Manager to align partnership strategies with programmatic priorities and funding goals.
Serve as a thought partner to staff, volunteers, and external partners on programmatic innovation and collaborative opportunities.
Leadership and Staff Collaboration
Act as a bridge across teams, ensuring learning and partnership efforts reinforce, not silo, organizational initiatives.
Report on progress and outcomes to the Chief of Staff and VP of Community, providing strategic recommendations and insights.
Advise leadership on opportunities and ways to pursue them. Bring back insight on trends, risks, and openings — helping the team decide where to lean in and where to pass.
What Success Looks Like
Within six months:
You’ll have built the trust of the team, the board, and the community.
Learning programs are structured, consistent, and clearly aligned with The Network’s mission and member needs.
Staff and partners have clarity on how learning initiatives intersect with events, Circles, LOCALs, and member engagement.
Early partnership opportunities are identified, scoped, and moving with a visible pipeline of active conversations and potential collaborations.
You’re representing The Network confidently in outreach and discovery calls, and partners know who to reach out to when they want to collaborate.
Within one year:
Programs across the organization feel cohesive, high-quality, and impactful.
Partnerships are actively contributing to program quality, reach, and member experience.
Members report measurable gains in knowledge, skills, and network connections.
Learning and partnership strategies are shaping The Network’s thought leadership and influence in the field.
You’ve brought forward new opportunities — coalitions, cross-sector collaborations, and thought leadership avenues — that have shaped The Network’s direction.
Partners feel engaged, valued, and well-supported through clear communication and follow-through.
You are a key advisor on trends, opportunities, and increasing impact.
You’ll know you’re succeeding when members consistently say: “I learned something here I couldn’t have learned anywhere else, and I feel connected to people and ideas that matter.”
Who You Are
A learning strategist, educator, or program leader with 8+ years of experience creating professional development, leadership, or collaborative programs.
A natural connector and do-er with experience building, nurturing, and sustaining strategic partnerships and opportunities that enhance programs and reach.
Someone who thrives in finding new opportunities — tracking what’s happening in the field, spotting openings, and turning loose connections into real opportunities.
Skilled at designing and executing high-touch learning experiences that balance rigor, practicality, and human-centered engagement.
A collaborative leader who can navigate cross-functional projects, guide teams, and influence outcomes without formal authority.
Strong project manager — able to translate vision into actionable steps while juggling multiple priorities.
An empathetic communicator who models curiosity, warmth, and candor in all interactions.
Experience in philanthropy, nonprofit communications, or professional networks is a plus but not required.
The Details
Salary range: $105,000–$115,000, commensurate with experience.
Benefits include: 401(k) with 5% match, health/dental/vision insurance, generous PTO, and a winter office closure.
Occasional travel required.
This is a hybrid-remote position, with occasional in-person team meetings in Washington, D.C.
The role is full-time (approximately 40 hours per week, generally 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Eastern), with flexibility and a team culture rooted in trust, accountability, and kindness.
You must be able to stand, walk, and be physically active for extended periods of time during Network conferences, gatherings, and events.
