Employer Partnership Manager

Primary Function
Develop, strengthen, and manage employer partnerships for United Way’s Pathways to Work initiative. This role is focused on building relationships with employer partners that lead to measurable hiring, upskilling, and retention outcomes for job seekers while delivering clear business value to participating employers.

Position Description/ Summary

The Employer Partnership Manager will support United Way’s Pathways to Work initiative by connecting employers with a skilled, qualified talent pool and advancing living wage job placements for young adults.

This role is responsible for building and deepening relationships with employers in targeted, high-demand industries and facilitating a frictionless pipeline between local workforce partners and employers to improve hiring and retention rates. The position combines program management, stakeholder engagement, business development, and talent acquisition service delivery skills to support the growth and impact of the Pathways to Work program.

The primary goal of the Employer Partnership Manager is to establish mutually beneficial, productive relationships with employers that address workforce challenges, create a more efficient and effective process to fill open jobs, and ultimately, secure better employment outcomes for qualified jobseekers.

Key Responsibilities

• Build, lead and manage strategic partnerships with employers to identify hiring challenges and opportunities, and develop solutions that meet employers’ needs and support and align with Pathways to Work strategies for advancing living wage employment outcomes.
• Review and analyze labor market information to build and track a robust pipeline of prospective employer partners
• Lead engagement with current and prospective employer partners, including presenting the Pathways to Work value proposition, negotiating agreements and securing commitments.
• Ensure ongoing value with committed employer partners by driving engagement, satisfaction, retention and growth, demonstrating progress against shared goals.
• Track and communicate hiring metrics, placement rates, KPIs and overall program success; maintain performance dashboards and develop service scorecards for employer partners
• Lead, coordinate and/or participate in employer partnerships networks, career fairs, information sessions and networking events
• Lead the ongoing development and implementation of direct-hire partnerships such as Manufacturing DFW and Connect to Work NTX
• Understand and support employer goals, challenges and needs to recommend solutions that align with their hiring objectives
• Manage projects to ensure high service levels, consistence performance and timely completion of deliverables
• Create and share targeted, aligned messaging and customized pitch decks across target audiences, including business and HR leaders, hiring managers, funders and partner organizations
• Collect and share employer testimonials and endorsements written, video and social formats to highlight program impact and encourage participation.
• Participate in cross-functional activities across UWMD that contribute to UWMD’s goals in building and sustaining a high-performance organization and coordinate with internal teams such as Marketing, Resource Development and Volunteer Engagement on activities that drive greater resources and impact for the Pathways to Work program.