Position Title: Partnerships Manager
Position Location: Remote - work virtually from anywhere in the United States
SALARY
DLB recognizes salary ranges from job boards do not necessarily reflect our pay ranges. In many instances we out-compete those ranges for well-qualified candidates.
JOB SUMMARY
The Partnerships Manager provides operational leadership for DLB's external delivery partnerships, including subconsultant relationships, outsourced engineering resources, and offshore teams supporting the Design Department. This role is responsible for ensuring DLB has access to qualified, scalable external resources to support project delivery, business growth, and changing capacity demands.
Reporting to the Associate Director, Strategy & Growth, the Partnerships Manager works collaboratively with Project Managers, Program Managers, technical leaders, Contracts, Finance, and external partners to forecast resource needs, engage appropriate partners, develop and issue requests for proposals and fee requests, coordinate commercial requirements, and support successful integration of external resources into DLB project teams.
This is NOT a Business Development role; this person will manage existing partnerships internally and will support the Associate Director of Partnerships in new partnership development. The Partnerships Manager serves as a primary relationship and operational owner for DLB's subconsultant and offshore partner network, developing scalable processes that improve the speed, quality, consistency, and effectiveness of external capacity deployment.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Subconsultant Partnerships and Management (30%)
- Manage day-to-day relationships with DLB's network of engineering, design, architecture, and specialty subconsultant partners.
- Serve as the primary Design Department counterpart to the Contracts team for subconsultant engagement and administration.
- Coordinate with Project Managers, Program Managers, and technical leaders to understand project scope, schedule, and capacity requirements.
- Develop, issue, and manage requests for proposals, fee requests, and other commercial solicitations to external partners.
- Evaluate subconsultant proposals for scope alignment, pricing, schedule, qualifications, and overall fit.
- Coordinate with Contracts and internal stakeholders to support timely execution of NDAs, master agreements, and subcontracts.
- Maintain visibility into active subconsultant engagements, available partner capacity, and performance.
Offshore and Extended Capacity Management (30%)
- Provide operational leadership for DLB's offshore engineering and design resources.
- Coordinate with technical and project leadership to forecast offshore resource demand and align resources with project needs.
- Manage resource requests, allocation, onboarding, utilization, and capacity planning for offshore teams.
- Serve as a central point of coordination between offshore resources, external partner leadership, and DLB Project Managers.
- Monitor partner performance using established service levels, utilization metrics, and quality measures.
- Coordinate resolution of resource, performance, and delivery issues with internal and external stakeholders.
- Develop processes that enable DLB to scale external capacity efficiently as business demand changes.
Capacity Planning and Operational Excellence (20%)
- Develop and maintain visibility into external capacity, utilization, capabilities, and project demand.
- Partner with Design Department leadership to anticipate capacity gaps and develop external resource solutions.
- Establish and continuously improve standardized processes for requesting, selecting, and evaluating external resources.
- Develop reporting and performance metrics to support data-driven decisions regarding external capacity.
- Identify opportunities to improve cost effectiveness, resource utilization, and speed of deployment.
- Support development of policies, procedures, templates, and governance standards related to external partnerships.
Cross-Functional Partnership and Strategic Support (20%)
- Build strong working relationships across Design, Contracts, Finance, and Business Development.
- Communicate external resource availability, constraints, risks, and opportunities to appropriate stakeholders.
- Support the Associate Director, Strategy & Growth in evaluating new strategic partnerships and external capabilities.
- Participate in negotiations and commercial discussions with external partners as appropriate.
- Assist in evaluating potential new partners based on technical capabilities, pricing, and organizational fit.
- Lead cross-functional initiatives related to external capacity, partner performance, and operational improvement.
Performs Other Related Duties as Assigned.
POSITION REQUIREMENTS (Intermediate level for all the following)
Knowledge of:
- The architecture, engineering, construction, or MEP consulting industry and project delivery environment.
- RFP, proposal, fee estimate, and scope-of-work development and coordination.
- Professional services contracts, subconsultant agreements, and fee structures.
- Resource and capacity planning across multiple projects, disciplines, or geographies.
Skilled at:
- Building and managing productive relationships with internal stakeholders and external partners.
- Evaluating pricing, scope, resource requirements, and partner capabilities.
- Coordinating resources and priorities across multiple concurrent engagements.
- Communicating, presenting, and negotiating with internal and external audiences.
Ability to:
- Understand engineering project requirements and translate them into external resource solutions.
- Analyze operational challenges, develop practical solutions, and drive implementation.
- Manage multiple priorities, deadlines, partners, and concurrent requests.
- Operate successfully in a remote environment through strong communication and self-motivation.
- Grow into increasing levels of responsibility within a rapidly evolving organization.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS
The following physical demands must be met by the employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is:
- Frequently required to remain in a stationary position.
- Frequently moving through office, facility, and other environments.
- On occasion, may move equipment weighing up to 25 pounds.
TRAVEL / RELOCATION REQUIREMENTS
- Up to 15%, this may include travel to any or all 50 US states
- Travel may include client sites, DLB offices, meetings with employees and external partners, partner facilities, business development activities, and industry conferences.
Education / Experience Requirements
- B.A. / B.S. degree in engineering, construction management, architecture, business, or related discipline; engineering or technical degree preferred.
- Minimum of 5 years of industry-related experience, with 5-7 years preferred.
- Minimum of 2 years of experience supporting proposals, RFPs, contracts, or commercial management within an engineering, architecture, construction, or professional services organization.
- Experience within an MEP consulting engineering firm strongly preferred.
- Experience managing subconsultants, vendors, outsourced resources, or offshore teams preferred.
- Experience with data center, mission critical, or other technically complex project environments preferred.
Benefits
DLB Associates offers a very competitive benefits package; highlights include
- Choice of comprehensive medical plans (including two PPO-style plans and a HDHP w/ HSA option)
- Flex spending accounts (FSA)
- Dental and vision plans
- Comprehensive medical, dental and vision benefits extended to spouse / domestic partner and dependent children up to age 26
- 401k with company match and self-directed brokerage account option
- PTO including additional paid time off during the last week of the year
- Company paid life insurance coverage for employees and their eligible dependents
- Short and long-term disability, AD&D coverage
- Professional development opportunities, tuition reimbursement and professional licensing assistance
- Paid parental leave after one year of employment
CO, CA, IL, NY, WA, and Washington DC residents only: In accordance with CO, CA, IL, NY, WA, and Washington DC law, the range provided is DLB's reasonable estimate of the base compensation for this role. The actual amount may differ based on non-discriminatory factors such as experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, and location.
DLB Associates is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and participates in the E-Verify program with the Department of Homeland Security. We encourage diversity in our workforce.
Are you ready to challenge yourself and redefine standards in the AEC industry? Apply now and join our award-winning team!
NOTICE TO THIRD PARTY AGENCIES:
DLB does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters, employment agencies, or other staffing services. Unsolicited resumes include any resume or hiring document sent to DLB in the absence of a signed Service Agreement where DLB has expressly requested recruitment/staffing services specific to the position at hand. Any unsolicited resumes, including those submitted to hiring managers or other business leaders, will become the property of DLB and DLB will have the right to hire that candidate without reservation – no fee or other compensation will be owed or paid to the recruiter, employment agency, or other staffing service.