Brand Partnerships Manager: Fair Trade USA Apparel and Home Goods Program

About Fair Trade USA:

Fair Trade USA, a four-time winner of Fast Company Magazine’s Social Capitalist award, promotes sustainable development and corporate social responsibility. Fair Trade USA is an entrepreneurial, non-profit organization and the leading independent third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the U.S. Our unique market-based model for sustainability links millions of families in the developing world to almost 1300 leading US companies through more direct, equitable trading partnerships.

Fair Trade USA is a fast-paced, dynamic environment driven by a passion for doing good in the world. We seek bright, talented individuals who are passionate about our mission. We are social entrepreneurs, flexible and adaptive to change. We value integrity, innovation, idealism and impact.

Overview of Position:

This position is responsible for increasing our positive impact on employees in manufacturing facilities by supporting brands in sourcing Fair Trade Certified™ (FTC) apparel and home goods products. Day-to-day, that means you will be (a) managing ongoing relationships with top global brands; (b) working hand-in-hand with our supply chain, certification, and standards teams to ensure successful outcomes at FTC factories; (c) work with our impact and marketing teams to help understand the impacts of the program and communicate these impacts to brand partners and their customers; and (d) developing relationships with new brands, communicating the importance of Fair Trade, and figuring out how to make Fair Trade work for their business. This role will also focus on supporting the Apparel and Home Goods (AHG) team in building the tools and value-added services to support our brand partners in building strong Fair Trade programs.

Specific responsibilities include:

Account Management:

• Support existing FTUSA brand partners and FTC factory suppliers on all day to day business needs, helping them to achieve their Fair Trade expansion goals and promote their Fair Trade Certified offerings.
• Work across the FTUSA organization with our supply chain and certification teams to help support existing and on-board new factories which serve these accounts.
• Work with the FTUSA marketing department and our partners on promotions to maximize consumer outreach.

Account Management Optimization:

• Build systems and value-added services for our brands to help them source, market, and educate consumers on the benefits of Fair Trade. This includes collecting and communicating impact information and developing supporting materials for marketing FTC products.

Partner Acquisition:

• Develop and manage new relationships with companies to offer and grow sales of Fair Trade Certified products.
• Communicate the business, social and environmental advantages of Fair Trade certification to various levels to external parties in a way that it is understood, valued and demonstrated.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree. Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum 5+ years of experience with retailer and consumer brands, with a significant portion working in corporate responsibility / responsible sourcing. Comprehension of sustainable, economic, and social development programs and approaches.
• Strong project management skills. Ability to manage multiple projects at one time and collaborate with your peers to achieve deliverables.
• Excellent customer service skills and ability to move at the speed of business.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills - excellent at taking complex topics and synthesizing them to their essence.
• Comfortable working in ambiguous situations, driving clarity and problem solving.
• Comfortable interacting with everyone from Fortune 100 (can access the C suite) to smaller businesses, brands and retailers. Strong public speaking skills.
• Entrepreneurial spirit. Takes initiative to problem-solve and provide innovative ideas and program improvements.
• Confident individual contributor but excels at collaboration and working as a team player with your peers, and external constituents to deliver the best results.
• Can travel to meet with partners, attend trade shows or industry events. Infrequent international travel required.

Finally, you love the idea of bridging business strategy with sustainable development focused on the people and the planet.

To Apply: Please submit both a resume and a cover letter to the attention of AHG through the Careers section of our website at www.fairtradeusa.org.