Community Development & Partnership Associate

About Pursuit

Pursuit is a social impact organization building the future of economic mobility in the age of AI.

For over a decade, we've transformed lives through immersive training programs that propel adults from low-income backgrounds - often without college degrees - into high-growth tech careers. Our graduates have already generated nearly $1 billion in lifetime wage gains. We've also pioneered the Pursuit Bond, an innovative outcomes-based financing model that aligns investor returns with long-term economic mobility, allowing us to scale impact in a financially sustainable way.

Now, as AI reshapes every industry, Pursuit is evolving into an AI-native organization. We're training AI-native talent, embedding AI into our operations, and building scalable software to extend our impact. From grassroots partnerships to national policy, we're not just filling jobs - we're rethinking how economic opportunity works at scale.

About the Role

Our programs have grown through deep community trust, strong partnerships, and operational excellence. We're looking for a Community Development Associate who will take ownership of top-of-funnel lead generation - building and managing relationships with community-based organizations (CBOs), driving paid marketing and referral channels, and obsessing over applicant volume at the very top of the funnel.

While our Director of Growth and Community Development sets the overall strategy, this role owns execution: you're the person out in the community building trust with partners, testing new channels, and constantly looking for ways to bring more eligible prospective Builders into the funnel. We care less about years of experience and more about mindset - someone who is a natural relationship-builder, lives in the numbers, and treats every partner and every lead source as an opportunity to grow Pursuit's reach.

Key Responsibilities

Own Top-of-Funnel Lead Generation

• Take ownership of top-of-funnel volume - leads, referrals, and applicant starts - and drive toward targets set by the Director
• Track lead source and channel performance closely, and proactively flag underperforming channels or drop-off before they become problems
• Maintain dashboards and trackers that give the team a real-time read on top-of-funnel health by channel and partner
• Treat top-of-funnel targets as your targets - know the numbers cold and push to hit them

Build & Manage Community Partnerships

• Build and maintain relationships with community-based organizations, workforce development providers, city agencies, libraries, and other mission-aligned partners across NYC
• Represent Pursuit at community events, workshops, and partner meetings with warmth and credibility
• Identify and cultivate new partnerships that expand awareness, trust, and access to Pursuit programs
• Manage partnership performance and know which relationships are converting into leads, and which need more attention

Drive Paid Marketing & Referral Channels

• Own day-to-day execution of paid marketing and referral campaigns aimed at driving top-of-funnel volume
• Test and optimize channels - paid, referral, partner-sourced - based on cost and conversion performance
• Coordinate alumni referral efforts and other organic channels to keep leads flowing
• Bring a testing mindset: try new channels and messages, watch the numbers, and double down on what works

Use AI & Data to Move Faster

• Use AI tools to automate routine partnership and lead-generation tasks (e.g., outreach follow-ups, data cleanup, reporting)
• Identify opportunities to streamline repetitive parts of partnership management and lead tracking, and bring ideas to the team
• Experiment with new AI-powered tools to get more leads and stronger partnerships out of the same amount of time

About You

• Have experience in community outreach, partnerships, marketing, business development, sales, or a related field
• Are a natural relationship-builder who earns trust quickly with community partners and organizations
• Genuinely want to own a number and feel restless until you've hit it
• Are comfortable working with data and dashboards to track and act on channel and partner performance
• Are energized by being out in the community and representing Pursuit at events and partner meetings
• Are highly organized and detail-oriented, with strong follow-through on commitments
• Are curious about AI and eager to use AI tools to work more efficiently
• Can manage multiple relationships, channels, and deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Mission driven: are passionate about expanding economic opportunity and supporting historically underserved communities

Salary & Benefits

The salary range for this role is $75,000-$80,000 base + incentive compensation.

The compensation range above reflects the expectations laid out in this job description; we are often open to a wide variety of profiles and recognize the person we hire may be less experienced (or more senior) than posted. If that ends up being the case, the updated salary range will be communicated to you as a candidate.

Pursuit offers:

• An opportunity to work at the intersection of tech and social impact, and make a direct impact on the communities we serve
• Competitive compensation in base, plus bonus and a full benefits package
• 401k match
• Unlimited PTO and an all-Pursuit summer break the last week of August and a week-long holiday the last week of December
• Monday and Friday work-from-anywhere policy
• Catered lunches once a week and delicious snacks
• Dedicated time to build in AI and hone your AI skills

Pursuit Values Diversity

Our team has a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, and we value the richness that diversity brings to our organization. We welcome new perspectives and affirm that all employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, national origin, age, familial or marital status, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuit is an equal opportunity employer.