Senior Manager of Corporate Innovation

Job Description

Greentown Labs is seeking an experienced and commercially minded Senior Manager in its Corporate Innovation group to serve as a senior portfolio leader. This role is responsible for managing a portfolio of 12-18 corporate partners at various engagement levels, ensuring they receive structured, high-value experience aligned to their goals and Greentown's mission.

While this role may provide occasional support for select events, it is fundamentally a revenue retention and ecosystem orchestration position, not an event management role. The Senior Manager owns renewal outcomes, drives meaningful connections between corporate partners and startup members, and serves as a flexible operator supporting accelerator programs during peak periods. The ideal candidate is highly organized, outgoing and professional, commercially astute, and energized by the challenge of scaling a mission-driven partnership model.

What You'll Do

Corporate Portfolio Ownership

• Steward a portfolio of 12-18 corporate partner accounts across all partnership engagement tiers
• Achieve and maintain a renewal rate of ???90%, with proactive identification and mitigation of at-risk accounts
• Develop annual engagement plans for each partner, ensuring clear goals, milestones, and value delivery
• Identify and pursue expansion and up-sell opportunities within the existing portfolio
• Maintain disciplined, up-to-date CRM documentation in Salesforce to support forecasting and reporting

Structured Engagement Delivery

• Execute tier-aligned partner engagements including office hours, curated startup introductions, roundtables, and pitch days
• Proactively plan and schedule engagements to reduce reactive and bespoke partner requests
• Ensure all startup-corporate interactions are high-quality, purposeful, and outcomes-focused
• Coordinate with Marketing and Events teams to ensure seamless execution and brand consistency

Revenue & Renewal Support

• Prepare renewal briefs, impact summaries, and engagement data packages for each partner
• Participate in renewal negotiations alongside the Head of Customer Success
• Flag at-risk accounts early and develop tailored retention strategies
• Contribute to data-driven renewal forecasting and pipeline visibility

Accelerator Support

During high-volume delivery periods, this role flexes to support accelerator operations:

• Support cohort onboarding and partner integration into accelerator activities
• Coordinate corporate participation in accelerator programming and events
• Assist with demo day logistics and stakeholder management
• Ensure seamless integration between accelerator sponsors and corporate partnership tiers

Ecosystem Alignment

• Serve as a primary liaison between startups and corporate partners, facilitating purposeful, value-creating connections
• Surface commercialization and pilot opportunities between Greentown's startup community and corporate partner portfolio
• Identify cross-program synergies and share insights with the broader Corporate Innovation team

Who You Are

You are a commercially oriented operator who thrives on managing complexity and driving results. You bring energy and professionalism to every partner and startup interaction, and you know how to maintain relationships while driving towards long-term goals. You are:

• Highly organized and detail-oriented, capable of building programs, processes and relationships that generate outcomes
• Commercially astute, able to connect programs and relationships to revenue and mission impact
• Confident engaging Director- through VP-level external corporate stakeholders
• Comfortable owning renewal metrics and being accountable to targets
• A collaborative team player who thrives in cross-functional environments
• Energized by climate innovation and the role of corporations in driving the energy transition
• Able to stay focused amid competing priorities and capable of finding ways to drive multiple workstreams to timely completion

Qualifications

• Experience: 5-8 years in corporate partnerships, customer success, incubators and accelerators or innovation ecosystem development
• Account management: Demonstrated experience managing multiple accounts and programs simultaneously with strong results
• Revenue exposure: Proven ability to manage revenue targets, renewal processes and retention metrics
• Communication: Strong verbal and written communication skills and executive-level presentation skills
• CRM proficiency: Salesforce experience preferred
• Preferred: Background in startup development organizations, innovation ecosystem development or climatetech

What Success Looks Like

In your first 12 months, you will have:

• ???90% portfolio renewal rate achieved
• 100% of partner accounts have documented annual engagement plans
• Measurable reduction in reactive and bespoke partner requests
• Strong cross-program participation metrics across accelerator and partnership activities
• Consistently positive partner satisfaction scores

General Physical Demands

Reasonable accommodations will be provided upon request to enable candidates to perform the essential functions of the position.

• Communication: Regularly required to communicate with others in person, via phone, and virtually/electronically
• Stationary Work: Prolonged periods working on a computer
• Mobility: Regularly moving around the office to interact with colleagues, access files, and attend meetings
• Physical Demands: Lifting and Carrying up to 25 lbs.

Additional Considerations

• Travel: Occasional travel may be required to attend off-site events or conferences.
• Late Hours: Evening work will be necessary for some events.

Work Location and Schedule

Greentown staff generally operate on a hybrid schedule, with expectations to be on-site at Greentown Labs locations in Houston, TX at least three days per week, with the option to work remotely two days per week. Some roles do not permit a hybrid or work-from-home schedule. Our standard business hours are 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m..

Compensation and Benefits

• Competitive salary and benefits package
• Be a part of a dynamic and growing organization committed to making a positive impact on the world
• Work in a collaborative and supportive environment with opportunities for professional development
• Employees may be eligible for incentive compensation at year-end; incentive compensation is tied to organizational performance and individual performance

Equal Opportunity Statement

Greentown Labs is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, pregnancy, status as a veteran, genetic information, and basis of disability or any other federal, state, or local protected class.

Greentown Labs seeks to fully represent our community and constituencies-particularly low-income communities and communities of color-to amplify those voices and provide opportunities to participate in the direction and leadership of the organization. We actively encourage candidates from broad, diverse backgrounds to apply.

Accommodations: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), Greentown Labs will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer. To request an accommodation during the application process, please contact [email protected].

At-will Employment

This job description is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a contract of employment for any specific duration. Employment with Greentown Labs is at-will, meaning that the employment relationship can be terminated by the employee or the Company at any time, for any reason, with or without notice.