Partnerships Manager at The Clean Fight

Who We Are

The Clean Fight ( www.thecleanfight.com) is a not-for-profit dedicated to rapidly scaling climate solutions in New York State and beyond. Many of the technologies needed to address the climate crisis already exist–our mission is to ensure they are adopted quickly, equitably, and at scale. We design and implement models of adoption that identify actionable strategies for accelerating decarbonization, while supporting startups with tailored resources, customer and capital partner connections, and non-dilutive funding to drive deployments.

The Clean Fight’s practice primarily covers building decarbonization and energy storage, with concurrent programs run across these practice areas, including the Deployment Grant Fund, Empire Technology Prize, Affordable Housing Deployment Accelerator, Energy Storage Deploy Now Accelerator, and the International Landing Pad Network.

The Clean Fight is broadly supported by the NYSERDA, the U.S. Economic Development Administration, New York City Economic Development Corporation, the Wells Fargo Foundation, Breakthrough Energy, Builders Vision, and The Rockefeller Foundation. We are a chapter of New Energy Nexus, a global nonprofit operating in the U.S., China, India, Southeast Asia, and East Africa. New Energy Nexus works toward a 100% clean energy economy for 100% of the population by supporting diverse entrepreneurs with funds, accelerators, and networks.

About the Role

Partnerships are a critical and central part of The Clean Fight’s model — they are how we connect the innovators developing critical climate solutions with the customers, capital, and collaborators needed to deploy them at scale. The Partnerships Manager will work with the Director of Business Development and other members of The Clean Fight team to help design and execute our partnerships model within and across programs. Each Clean Fight practice area focuses on a different part of the clean energy economy — accordingly, a diverse set of partners needs to be identified and convened for each program to maximize the ability of our cohort companies to secure commercial, funding, and other opportunities.

This person will help recruit, manage, and deepen relationships with customer, capital, and policy partners, while also contributing to the strategic evolution of how TCF engages with its partners across multiple programs over time. This role requires someone who is equally comfortable with day-to-day relationship management and with stepping back to inform and shape strategy and systems that continually improve the quality, reach, and depth of TCF’s partner ecosystem.

The Partnerships Manager will work cross-functionally with the Programs team to ensure that insights from partners inform program design and that partners receive tangible value from their engagement with The Clean Fight.

The Partnerships Manager reports to the Director of Partnerships and will not initially have any direct reports. We compensate competitively and offer generous medical, dental, and vision benefits as well as a 401(k) contribution. The position is based in New York City. The team operates under a flexible hybrid model, with in-person collaboration in the Manhattan office two to three days per week. Unfortunately, relocation assistance is not available.

The Ideal Candidate

We are looking for someone who is passionate about accelerating the adoption of climate solutions and helping the market meet its decarbonization goals. They bring proven experience building and managing partnerships, along with the project management skills to balance multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment. They are deeply motivated to support innovators and partners working at the forefront of the energy transition, and ideally have had deep exposure to the climate or clean energy sector.

They thrive in a dynamic environment by being a fast learner, willing to roll up their sleeves, and comfortable moving fluidly between strategy and execution. They are self-motivated, solutions-oriented, and resourceful, with the curiosity and creativity to design new ways of delivering value to partners. Importantly, this person is excited not only to execute a high-quality partnerships program, but also to contribute to shaping the future of how TCF partners with the market.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

• Design and execute a world-class partnerships program, in collaboration with the Director of Partnerships, ensuring delivery of real and unique value to partners.
• Develop and manage a portfolio of customer, capital, and policy partners, building strong, trust-based relationships through consistent outreach, recruitment, onboarding, and day-to-day engagement.
• Evaluate partner needs to deliver high-quality programming and identify resources that advance their decarbonization and business goals.
• Support and convene partners through events and forums (e.g., summits, roundtables, workshops), as well as targeted pre-program engagements that inform program design and selection criteria.
• Capture and synthesize partner insights to guide TCF’s program strategy in collaboration with the Programs team, ensuring smooth handoffs between recruitment, onboarding, and program execution.
• Contribute to the design and evolution of TCF’s partnerships model, including partner segmentation, engagement approaches (adopters, enablers, capital partners, thought leaders), strategies to deepen relationships, and alignment with TCF’s organizational strategy.Strengthen systems, tools, and processes for relationship management, network mapping, and impact measurement (e.g., CRM, Airtable, Notion), and help establish norms and training for consistent partner engagement across the organization.Stay current on best practices in corporate sustainability, accelerators, partnerships, and climate innovation to ensure TCF remains best-in-class in partner engagement.

Our Ideal Candidate:

• 10+ years of experience in sales, partnerships, business development, consulting, account management, or related fields.
• Demonstrated ability to build and independently manage strategic relationships across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Experience with client service and/or ecosystem-building, with clean energy, climate, or adjacent sectors strongly valued.
• Private sector experience preferred; comfort navigating large, complex corporate environments as well as start-up company dynamics.
• Strong project management skills and ability to prioritize effectively in a fast-moving environment.
• Comfort navigating ambiguity while contributing to both strategy and day-to-day execution.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; charismatic and polished in external settings; strong listener and synthesizer of insights.
• Fluency with productivity and relationship management tools (e.g., HubSpot, Airtable, G-Suite, Claude or similar).
• Bachelor’s degree required; graduate degree a plus.

Benefits

Compensation

Competitive compensation ($105,000+), commensurate with experience. Generous benefits, including health, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k) with company contribution, generous PTO, and paid parental leave.

How to Apply

We value and celebrate diversity among our employees and in our movement. We are an equal opportunity employer - all qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, family/marital status, or veteran status.

To be considered, please submit your resume and a cover letter that shows how your background has prepared you for the role. Your cover letter should clearly state why you are interested in working at The Clean Fight and explain how your experience is relevant.

All applications must be submitted through Workable: https://apply.workable.com/the-clean-fight/j/C0287C4D36