THE EARTH FOUNDATION
Position: Head of Partnerships
Position Details
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Employment Type | Full-time |
| Location | Remote – Global (Anywhere) |
| Reporting To | COO & Founder |
| Start Date | ASAP |
| Contract | Full-time employment |
| Compensation | Competitive base salary, depending on experience and location, plus annual bonus potential |
| Time Zone | Strong overlap with Central European Time (CET) preferred |
About The Earth Foundation
The Earth Foundation runs The Earth Prize, the world’s largest environmental competition for teenagers. Each year, thousands of students across seven global regions develop real solutions to real environmental problems. The best reach the Scholar phase, where they receive mentorship, resources, and a platform to take their ideas further.
The Foundation is launching a country sponsorship programme: a first-of-its-kind model where organisations and individuals sponsor a country’s participation in The Earth Prize.
Students from 169 countries and territories have taken part so far, and the Foundation wants its supporters to be just as global. The Head of Partnerships will build a community of funding and strategic partners, including companies, foundations, family offices, philanthropists, and institutions, country by country and region by region. The role will also establish regional advisory boards to sustain and grow the programme long-term.
Country sponsorship is the flagship initiative, but it is not the only way to partner with the Foundation. Some partners may sponsor a country, while others may fund a region, support the programme over several years, or contribute expertise, influence, and access.
The successful candidate will own the programme end to end, selling the vision, matching partners to appropriate opportunities, building regional advisory boards, and securing long-term support for the Foundation’s mission.
Key Responsibilities
1. Partnerships and Country Sponsorship
Build a diversified global partner community and manage the full partnership cycle, from research and initial contact to signed agreements and renewals.
Year 1 will focus on bringing partners on board across as many countries and regions as possible, identifying which types of partners respond best in different markets, and building relationships that encourage long-term commitment.
Key responsibilities include:
- Research, map, and prioritise prospective partners across five groups:
- Companies and corporate foundations.
- Family offices and private foundations.
- Philanthropists and high-net-worth individuals.
- Selected institutional partners, such as embassies, delegation offices, and development agencies in the countries served.
- Influential individuals introduced through regional advisory boards.
- Build and manage a single global pipeline across these groups, matched to specific countries and regions.
- Lead conversations with senior decision-makers, including CSR and sustainability leads, foundation directors, family-office principals, philanthropists, and diplomatic and institutional representatives.
- Tailor partnership offers to different partners, including country sponsorship, regional or multi-year funding, expertise, and advocacy.
- Develop compelling proposals combining Earth Prize participation data, Youth Changemaker programme completion rates, and each partner’s mission and narrative.
- Manage partner relationships throughout the annual cycle, reporting on the impact of their support and building towards renewals and longer-term commitments.
- Work with the COO and Founder on due diligence to ensure every partner is a credible fit for the Foundation’s mission and the country or region it supports.
- Maintain the public register of country sponsors accurately across each cycle.
- Share partner intelligence with the programme team, including insights into what drives participation in The Earth Prize, what helps students complete the Youth Changemaker programme, and which stories resonate with different partners.
Year 1 Objectives
Year 1 objectives will be agreed with the COO and Founder upon joining. They will cover:
- Number of countries sponsored.
- Total income raised across all types of partners.
- Breadth of the partnership pipeline.
The successful candidate should understand that securing a first sponsor in a smaller country can be as important as attracting a major partner in a large economy. A well-connected ambassador or family office can also open more doors than a single financial contribution.
2. Regional Advisory Boards
Pilot and scale the regional advisory board model.
The Earth Prize operates across seven global regions. Over time, each region will have an advisory board comprising committed and well-connected individuals who support the Foundation’s mission by opening doors to funding, contributing influence and expertise, and advocating for young people’s environmental leadership.
The successful candidate will launch the first one or two boards as pilots in Year 1, assess what works, and roll out the model across all seven regions in Year 2, with additional support as the programme grows.
Regional Distribution of Registered Schools
| Region | Share of Registered Schools |
|---|---|
| Asia | 32% |
| North America | 22% |
| Middle East | 15% |
| Africa | 13% |
| Oceania & South-East Asia | 7% |
| Europe | 7% |
| Central & South America | 4% |
Board Member Contributions
Board members are expected to make an active contribution in at least one of the following three ways:
- GIVE: Make a personal donation, sponsor a country in their region, or provide support through their family foundation or office.
- CONNECT: Introduce a funding or strategic partner, such as a company, foundation, family office, philanthropist, or institution.
- CONTRIBUTE: Provide expertise, mentoring, advocacy, or influence that directly benefits students and schools in the region or raises the Foundation’s profile.
The ultimate measure of each board’s success will be whether funding and partnerships are growing across the countries in its region, and whether the two student benchmarks are improving: participation in The Earth Prize and completion of the Youth Changemaker programme.
Key responsibilities include:
- Select the one or two pilot regions with the COO and Founder, based on funding potential and the strength of existing networks.
- Identify and recruit 4–7 board members per region, representing varied backgrounds, genuine regional networks, and strong alignment with the Foundation’s mission.
- Convene quarterly board meetings with clear agendas, focused discussions, and follow-up actions.
- Track each board member’s contributions, including partners introduced, donations made, and expertise and advocacy offered.
- Ensure every board has at least one member with deep local knowledge of the education and environmental landscape.
- Work with the Foundation’s programme team to connect board members directly with students, mentors, and schools in their region.
- Manage board member onboarding, renewal, and rotation where necessary.
- Document the pilot model, including expectations, meeting agendas, and onboarding processes, so it can be rolled out to the remaining regions in Year 2.
Each board should become self-sustaining within two years of launch, generating introductions, funding, and influence without requiring heavy management.
Who You Are
Background and Skills
The ideal candidate will have:
- A proven track record in partnerships, fundraising, or B2B sales, ideally across more than one type of funder, including corporate partnerships, major donors and philanthropy, trusts and foundations, or institutional and government funding.
- The ability to research and map a funding landscape from scratch, identifying companies, foundations, family offices, individuals, and institutions worth approaching in a given country, and how to reach them.
- Confidence engaging with different stakeholders, including CSR representatives, family offices, philanthropists, and embassy officials, and the ability to adapt communication and engagement approaches accordingly.
- Experience recruiting and managing volunteer boards, advisory groups, or senior stakeholder networks.
- Comfort selling a vision or initiative that does not yet have a full track record.
- Experience working across multiple countries and cultures, with an understanding that partnership approaches differ across markets.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including proposal writing and leading boardroom conversations.
- Fluency in English. Additional languages such as French, Spanish, or Arabic are an advantage.
- Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage a global pipeline across several types of partners while establishing advisory boards.
- A genuine interest in environmental education and youth empowerment.
- The ability to work remotely and independently in a small Foundation team, taking ownership of both programmes.
Be Honest With Yourself: What This Role Is Not
This role will not suit someone who needs a mature product with established pricing, a large supporting team, or a short sales cycle.
Country sponsorships are a new concept, and the wider partner mix around them is still being mapped. Advisory boards are being built from scratch. Some days will involve managing both initiatives simultaneously across multiple time zones.
The role will also not suit someone motivated purely by financial targets. The mission is real, the students are real, and long-term partners and board members will be those who genuinely believe in the mission.
Compensation and Employment
- Base Salary: Competitive, depending on experience and location.
- Annual Bonus: Bonus potential against agreed annual objectives.
- Contract: Full-time employment, remote.
- Location: Open to candidates anywhere, with a preference for strong overlap with Central European Time (CET).
- Start Date: ASAP.
How to Apply
Interested candidates should submit the following:
- Updated CV.
- Cover letter.
- A one-page document presenting your proposed Year 1 plan, explaining how you would approach building a diversified global partner community and piloting the first regional advisory boards.
Email Applications to: [email protected]
References: References will be requested at the final stage of the recruitment process.