Vice President of Partnerships and Community Engagement (Reproductive Healthcare)

Organizational Summary

Contraceptive care is basic health care. Yet too many patients in the U.S. struggle to access the care they want, when they want it. 

A national nonprofit founded in 2014, Upstream USA partners with healthcare organizations to provide free training, education, and technical assistance to improve their contraceptive services and meet their patients’ needs – at no cost to them. Over ten years, we’ve supported 200+ healthcare partners (including primary care practices, federally qualified health centers, health systems, and more) with a transformative approach that empowers patients to access the contraceptive care where they already receive most of their healthcare. We’re on a path to partnering with health care organizations that collectively serve 5 million patients by 2030.

We do not accept funding from pharmaceutical companies or the government. Our work is made possible by generous support from venture philanthropy. That privilege comes with high expectations about growth and scale and a focus on measurable outcomes and impact. 

We’re a 2023 Audacious Project recipient that continues to garner attention from many leading publications, including Harvard Public Health, Bloomberg, MedPage Today, Baltimore Sun, the Fresno Bee, and WBUR. We welcome individuals interested in career opportunities, partnerships, or philanthropic endeavors seeking additional information to visit our website (www.upstream.org) or email us at info@upstream.org.

Position Summary

The Vice President of Partnerships & Community Engagement (VP of PCE) is a senior leader, reporting to the President & Chief Operating Officer. The VP of PCE is the key accountable party for setting and achieving the organization’s growth targets, ensuring Upstream realizes its mission of reaching 5 million patients of reproductive age by 2030. 

This VP of PCE designs a national strategy that leverages the highest-yield tactics within a cost envelope.  Tactics include, but are not limited to growing, formalizing, and sustaining external partnerships with healthcare organizations (FQHCs, health systems), key government officials, healthcare associations and membership bodies, payors and government entities, and community stakeholders to expand our programmatic reach to amplify our mission and impact across current and new geographies.

This VP of PCE acts as a guide and key collaborator to the Regional Executive Directors who are charged with adapting the national strategy for their regional context. This role also provides critical input to inform the Marketing and Communications team on how to position Upstream’s value proposition and program to diverse audiences.

The VP of PCE will oversee three regional teams (each of whom has a leader with a dotted line relationship with a Regional Executive Director) and a centralized national team to drive an integrated approach to partnership recruitment, business development and relationship management. This role will directly lead health system recruitment, manage relationships with healthcare associations, supervise team operations and enablement functions, and support cross-regional collaboration and learning. This role is also responsible for building and leading a high-performing team that is focused on pipeline development, partner engagement, and conversion. Bringing a disciplined, data-driven and individualized approach to growth, the VP will foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and inclusivity across a geographically dispersed team, while ensuring consistency and standardization across the regions.

This position is ideal for a mission-driven, strategic leader with deep experience in selling to healthcare audiences, setting a national growth strategy, business development, and stakeholder engagement, with a track record of building partnerships that deliver both mission and organizational value.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Vision

• Develop and articulate a compelling national vision fo