Chief Growth Officer

Full-Time/Remote, Exempt

Location: Washington, D.C. preferred; hybrid considered. National travel is required. 

Additionally, you must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. without sponsorship and cannot work from outside the country. 

 About The Recycling Partnership:   

The Recycling Partnership is the U.S. nonprofit solving recycling’s toughest challenges, together, by tackling problems no single company, community, or policymaker can fix alone. Since 2014, we’ve helped recover more than 2 billion pounds of new recyclables, avoided 2.6 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, delivered more than 2 million recycling carts to U.S. homes, and catalyzed $658 million in recycling system improvements. Learn more at recyclingpartnership.org.

 At The Recycling Partnership, we believe building a stronger circular economy starts from within, with a culture where everyone feels they belong. We are a community of passionate, curious, and committed individuals who bring our whole selves to work, knowing that belonging and psychological safety fuel creativity, collaboration, and courageous action. 

Guided by our 5 core values, we act with intention and integrity, embrace change, uplift one another, and lead with empathy. We foster genuine connection, mutual respect, fairness, and shared accountability to reflect, dream, and grow together. Our inclusive culture fuels how we work, why we thrive, and the impact we create for people and the planet. 

THE OPPORTUNITY:

The Chief Growth Officer (CGO) is responsible for driving sustainable growth for The Recycling Partnership by expanding the organization’s funder base, growing membership, and deepening strategic partner engagement in ways that advance recycling-system outcomes. As the primary driver of the Strategic Engagement Team (SET), the CGO ensures that relationships, investments, and market opportunities translate into measurable growth, retention, and impact. This role connects market demand and partner needs with the organization’s solutions and capabilities, helping position The Partnership for long-term financial sustainability and greater impact.

The CGO is a builder-operator who will lead an existing team of approximately 11 professionals across Membership and Operations, Key Accounts, and the Solutions Portfolio while strengthening and professionalizing revenue operations. The CGO will establish clear growth strategies, systems, processes, and performance measures that enable the team to consistently identify opportunities, convert prospects, grow and retain revenue, and maximize the value of existing partnerships. This role will also build and execute a foundation fundraising strategy and operating engine, creating a more diversified and scalable approach to philanthropic revenue.

Reporting to the CEO and serving on the Executive Team, the CGO is a key organizational leader and connector across strategy, revenue, partnerships, and program delivery. Success in this role requires translating market opportunities into actionable growth strategies, aligning cross-functional teams around revenue and impact goals, and building the infrastructure and culture needed to deliver results. The CGO will play a critical role in ensuring that The Partnership’s growth directly supports its mission to solve recycling’s toughest challenges, together. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Lead Enterprise Revenue Strategy and Growth

Own and execute an integrated, multi-year revenue strategy across membership, key accounts, the Solutions Portfolio, philanthropy, and national system implementation. Establish disciplined revenue management and provide strategic guidance to the CEO and Board on growth opportunities, revenue health, and investments that strengthen financial sustainability and impact.

Grow and Diversify Funder and Partner Relationships

Lead strategy for The Partnership’s highest-value funders and partners while cultivating new relationships across the supply chain and major industry sectors. Build a disciplined approach to account management, growth, and diversification that deepens partner value and reduces revenue concentration risk.

Drive Membership and Solutions Portfolio Growth

Position membership and the Solutions Portfolio as scalable, market-driven revenue engines by strengthening value propositions, pricing, packaging, retention, and growth strategies. Continuously evaluate offerings against market demand, mission alignment, revenue potential, and organizational capacity to maximize both partner value and sustainable growth.

Build a Foundation Fundraising Engine

Build The Partnership’s first fully integrated foundation fundraising strategy, establishing priority funder segments, a compelling case for support, a robust prospect pipeline, and disciplined cultivation and stewardship practices. Develop relationships with foundations aligned with environmental, circular-economy, community, education, and systems-change priorities to create a diversified and sustainable funding base.

Expand National System Presence and Market Opportunity

Develop and execute a geographic growth strategy that expands The Partnership’s funded capabilities and market presence while strengthening its role as a trusted national recycling systems partner. Translate local system needs and diagnostics into compelling investment opportunities across community programs, infrastructure, materials recovery, participation and capture, and regional partnerships.

Strengthen Partner Value, Market Insight, and External Positioning 

Establish a consistent enterprise approach to demonstrating partner value by connecting investments, delivery, and measurable recycling outcomes. Bring market intelligence and partner insight into organizational strategy while partnering with Marketing and Communications to strengthen The Partnership’s value proposition and external position.

Build a High-Performing Revenue Organization and Operating Model 

Lead and develop a high-performing Strategic Engagement Team with a unified culture of growth, accountability, collaboration, and execution. Build the systems, processes, and cross-functional alignment needed to create revenue discipline, convert opportunities into sustainable growth, and ensure market commitments align with organizational capacity and impact.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree in business, public administration, nonprofit management, or a related field preferred. 
• 15+ years of progressive revenue leadership, including significant time owning a multi-stream book of business (corporate partnerships, membership / accounts, philanthropy, and/or earned revenue). 
• Proven personal production: a track record of originating, negotiating, and closing six- and seven-figure commitments, and of building teams that can do the same. 
• Experience leading a revenue function through a market or business-model transition — not only through a stable fundraising year. 
• Demonstrated success growing a membership, account-based, or coalition-style program, including retention, pricing, and expansion. 
• Experience designing or building a foundation / institutional giving program, or an equivalent philanthropic channel, with strategy and execution — not grant administration alone. 
• Executive presence with C-suite, foundation presidents, and industry association leaders; ability to brief and deploy a CEO effectively. 
• Fluency with revenue operations: pipeline stages, forecasting, CRM discipline, pricing conversations with Finance, and board-level reporting. 
• Growth-Oriented Leader – Consistently identifies and pursues opportunities to expand revenue, convert prospects, deepen relationships, and diversify the organization’s funding base. Distinguishes strong relationships from measurable revenue health and growth. 
• Strategic Integrator – Connects market insights, portfolio strategy, organizational capabilities, delivery capacity, and financial objectives into a cohesive enterprise growth strategy. 
• Trusted Executive Partner – Builds credibility and trust with funders, partners, employees, and executive colleagues. Demonstrates sound judgment, executive presence, and the ability to represent the organization effectively in high-stakes settings. 
• Builder – Creates new capabilities, strategies, and processes from the ground up and translates strategy into action. Demonstrates a bias toward progress and results rather than waiting for perfect conditions or structures. 
• Disciplined Operator – Brings rigor to forecasting, pipeline management, accountability, and execution. Establishes clear operating rhythms, addresses challenges early, and uses data and direct conversations to drive performance. 
• Mission and Commercial Acumen – Effectively connects The Partnership’s mission and recycling-system expertise with compelling partner value and return on investment. Can articulate both impact and business value without compromising either. 
• People Leader – Builds and develops a high-performing team, clarifies roles and accountability, and establishes a culture of performance, collaboration, and trust. Leads through organizational change while sustaining the relationships and culture that drive long-term partner success. 
• Collaborative Executive – Operates with a low-ego, enterprise-wide mindset and builds strong partnerships across Impact, Policy, Finance, MarCom, and other functions. Understands that sustainable revenue growth depends on shared ownership of organizational outcomes. 

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE/SKILLS:

• Direct experience in recycling, packaging, CPG, retail, materials, circular economy, climate, or adjacent systems-change work. 
• Experience growing a national or multi-state book of work — geographic expansion, community or state implementation, or federated partner models — rather than a single-policy-market motion
• Ability to stabilize relationships while raising the growth bar during a time of CEO and team transition 
• Experience selling or stewarding both unrestricted support and restricted / programmatic investment

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

This position is remote with a preference for working in the Washington, D.C. area. A hybrid arrangement will be considered for an exceptional candidate. The role requires regular national travel for business activities. Evening and occasional weekend work will occur around major partner engagements.

PERKS OF WORKING WITH TRP: 

A Comprehensive Benefits Package 

• Remote work
• Competitive pay
• Health, dental and vision insurance  
• 403(b) retirement plan with company match 
• Employer paid Life, STD, and LTD Insurance 
• 4 weeks of mandatory vacation per year (office closures) 
• Paid holidays, flexible PTO and sick leave
• 12 Weeks Paid Parental Leave  
• 529 Education Savings Plan 
• Cell phone & internet monthly stipend 
• Home office setup reimbursement 
• Annual professional development stipend

An Unmatched Company Culture  

• Work/life integration – we don’t just say it, we actually mean it 
• Flexible schedules 
• Career growth 
• Learning & development opportunities
• Partnership Days, offsites, and much more 

WE VALUE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY: 

The Recycling Partnership is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, creed, sex, pregnancy, marital status, domestic partner status, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Our commitment to equal opportunity employment applies to all persons involved with The Partnership, including funders, grantees, and independent contractors.

The Partnership complies with all the applicable provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). We will not discriminate against any qualified employee or job applicant with respect to any terms, privileges, or conditions of employment because of a person’s disability or perceived disability so long as the employee can perform the essential functions of the job. This ADA policy governs all aspects of employment, including selection, job assignment, compensation, discipline, termination, and access to benefits and training.