Associate, Partner Relations

POSITION SUMMARY 

Opportunity: Full-time Position at Cradles to Crayons 

Department: Operations  

Title: Partner Relations Associate 

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt 

Reports to: Associate Director of Partnerships and Engagement 

Location: Philadelphia, PA 

 

About Cradles to Crayons:  

Cradles to Crayons (C2C) was founded in 2002, with the mission of providing children living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive - at home, at school and at play.  We supply clothing, shoes, diapers, school supplies, and more, free of charge.  Our vision is that one day all children will have the essentials they need to thrive.  

Two in 5 kids in the United States are currently facing Clothing Insecurity, going without essentials like pants, shoes, diapers, and school supplies during their critical development years.  Three of the top 10 reasons kids miss school are rooted in Clothing Insecurity – just one example of the significant short and long-term social and economic costs when these needs go unmet.  Cradles to Crayons keeps Clothing Insecurity at the core of our mission and is the only large-scale nonprofit organization to focus on this resource gap.  Since its founding, Cradles to Crayons has distributed more than three million customized packages of essentials to children in Massachusetts, Greater Philadelphia, and Chicagoland. 

Cradles to Crayons takes a two-pronged approach to mitigating Clothing Insecurity: 

1.  In-person Engagement – through tens of thousands of children and adults volunteering at our Giving Factory warehouses to sort and package high volumes of new and like-new donations from our communities for our Service Partners to distribute to the children  

1. Advocacy and Awareness – Cradles to Crayons is uniquely positioned to raise Clothing Insecurity as a national issue through awareness campaigns, data/evaluation, and legislative outreach. 

Cradles to Crayons’ strong financial health and ongoing effectiveness and reliability have helped it earn a Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator every year since 2009. C2C has a budget of $20M for FY26 and a total staff of approximately 100.  

POSITION OVERVIEW: 

The Partner Relations Associate is based in our Giving Factory and plays a key role in distributing essential items to our partner organizations.   This position is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with partner account holders, managing partner orders, and delivering exceptional customer service across our network of service partners.   

 

Our service partner network includes schools, hospitals, homeless shelters, community health centers, early intervention programs, and other community-based organizations.  Additional responsibilities include supporting the Associate Director of Partnerships and Engagement with service partner onboarding, coordinating diaper distributions, and monitoring order fulfillment. 

 

All Cradles to Crayons staff participate in monthly in-person volunteer shifts to stay closely connected to our mission.   

 

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Model and lead a positive “One Cradles” culture, underpinned by Cradles’ Cultural Values and related behaviors. 

 

Customer Service 

• Provide excellent customer service to Service Partners by greeting them upon arrival, locating completed orders, assisting in getting orders to the point of transportation, and assisting with donation loading. 

• Ensure quality correspondence with Service Partner account holders regarding their orders, accounts, partnership questions, and more. 

• Provide technical support to partners using the online ordering system aka “the portal”. 

• Assist the AD of Partnerships & Engagement with new service partners, including orientation, training, creating and reactivating existing accounts in the database. 

• Partner with the AD of Partnerships & Engagement on preparing and distributing ad-hoc, monthly, and quarterly reports in regards to order fulfillment and inventory issues. 

• Attend and assist with partner cultivation events as appropriate. 

 

Operations 

• Work collaboratively with the Manager of Production & Volunteer Engagement to prepare orders for fulfillment each week  

• Oversee the daily distribution of orders and coordinate pickups with Partner account holders. 

• Monitor and prepare any expedited Emergency Order fulfillment and distribution. 

• Ensure data integrity by: 

• Closing out orders in the online database as they are picked up. 

• Accurately recording any items that are either cancelled or added at pick-up. 

• Reviewing and maintaining accurate account holder information. 

• Help lead seasonal distribution events, including Backpack-a-thon and Diaper Distributions. 

• Assist the AD of Partnerships & Engagement with yearly analysis of Service Partners, including our waitlist, and identify areas for growth. 

• Effectively communicate with Service Partners around compliance of pick-up and order etiquette. 

• Manage the “Partner Shelf” by ensuring appropriate items are offered, and any tracking of items distributed is accurate. 

• Assist the Inventory & Logistics Associate with the movement, organization, and tracking of inventory while maintaining general warehouse cleanliness and organization. 

• Maintain Family Assistance resources, creating and updating geographic one-pagers and updating website search features to ensure timely updates for accurate assistance support. 

• Prepare and send monthly Partner Relations newsletter to account holders. 

• Other duties as assigned. 

 

Performance measures: 

• Maintain the highest level of customer service with staff members, volunteers, donors, and Service Partners. 

• Effective, regular, and responsive communication exists with other staff members, volunteers, and vendors. 

• Data is tracked accurately, and date entry completed in a timely manner. 

• Maintain a safe and organized work environment. 

• Functions are completed in accordance with established standards, policies, and procedures. 

 

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE/KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES: 

• Bachelor’s degree preferred. 

• 2 years of relevant work experience required.  Customer service experience preferred. 

• Ideal candidates for this position are individuals who thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced, and collaborative work environment. 

• Strong written and verbal communication skills are critical. 

• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, and Excel), Salesforce experience preferred. 

• A clean driving record. 

• Spanish fluency a plus. 

• Ability to work evening and weekend hours occasionally. 

• Candidates must also be physically capable of walking up and down stairs, standing for long periods of time, and bending, reaching, pushing, pulling and lifting up to 50 lbs. 

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:  

The estimated starting salary for this position is $24.00/hour.   

Cradles to Crayons is committed to pay equity and uses geographic benchmarks to ensure fair compensation. The compensation offered to the successful candidate may vary from the posted range based on work experience, education, and/or skill level, among other things.  

This is a benefits-eligible position. Cradles to Crayons offers a generous benefits package, which includes, but is not limited to: 

• Health benefits including medical, dental, vision and a Health Reimbursement Arrangement 

• A monthly cell phone and internet usage stipend 

• Employer-sponsored short- and long-term disability and basic life insurance  

• Retirement plan matching 

• Annual professional development stipend 

 

DIVERSITY IS OUR STRENGTH: 

Diversity and Inclusiveness are core values at Cradles to Crayons, and we continuously strive to be a team where everyone feels welcome and supported. It is the policy of Cradles to Crayons to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information and/or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. Individuals from underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply. 

 

Working Conditions: 

This position must manage these responsibilities in a warehouse environment and normal changes in temperature are to be expected while working inside the warehouse or outside, on or around the loading dock. There are no hazardous or significantly unpleasant conditions.  

 

Accommodation:  

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is possible that requirements may be modified to reasonably accommodate disabled individuals. However, no accommodations will be made by Cradles to Crayons which may pose serious health or safety risks to the employee or others, or which impose undue hardships on the organization.  

 

To Apply: 

Please send a cover letter and resume with relevant experience to https://www.cradlestocrayons.org/what-we-do/careers/