Director of Strategic & Brand Partnerships Full Time NEW

About Solid Starts

Every day, millions of parents sit down to feed their baby for the first time — overwhelmed, second-guessing themselves, and desperate for guidance they can actually trust. Solid Starts exists for that moment. We’ve built the most comprehensive resource in the world for families starting solids: a food database covering 1,000+ ingredients, expert-led guides on allergen introduction, and an app that meets parents exactly where they are. Our content is created by feeding therapists, dietitians, and pediatricians — and it’s trusted by over 4 million families because it shows. We’re not a media company that stumbled into parenting. We’re a mission-driven team that genuinely believes every family — regardless of income, zip code, or how they found us — deserves access to the information that helps their baby thrive.

About the Role

We’re looking for a Director of Strategic and Brand Partnerships to build and steward the relationships that extend Solid Starts’ reach and credibility. This is a senior, strategic role that spans four areas: transformational partnerships (large-scale programs and platforms with the power to reach families at a population level), professional partnerships (pediatricians, dietitians, IBCLCs, occupational/speech therapists, and other clinicians who work with families), brand partnerships (values-aligned companies in the parenting, baby, and wellness space), and our affiliate program.

You’ll be the person who identifies the right partners, builds those relationships from the ground up, and makes sure every collaboration feels true to who we are. Some of these partnerships will be high-volume and transactional; others will be long, slow, relationship-first builds that have the potential to change how millions of families access information about feeding. You need to be equally comfortable with both — and senior enough to lead the strategy, not just execute it.

What You’ll Do

• Identify and pursue transformational partnerships with organizations that reach families at scale — think federal nutrition programs like WIC, major registry and baby destination platforms like Babylist, health systems, insurance networks, and large parenting communities — that can meaningfully expand access to Solid Starts for families who need it most.
• Handle inbound requests and identify, pitch, and develop professional partnerships with clinicians, feeding specialists, hospitals, pediatric practices, and parenting educators who can refer families to Solid Starts or collaborate on content and programs.
• Build and manage brand partnerships with companies whose products and values align with ours — negotiating terms, managing deliverables, and ensuring every collaboration serves our audience first.
• Own, build, and scale our affiliate program: recruit the right partners, manage relationships, track performance, and continuously optimize for quality over quantity.
• Develop and own the partnerships strategy — setting priorities, building the pipeline, and reporting to leadership on performance and opportunity.
• Work closely with our content, marketing, and clinical teams to make sure partnerships are integrated thoughtfully and deliver real value on both sides.
• Maintain a clear pipeline and reporting system so leadership always knows what’s in motion, what’s working, and what’s not.
• Represent Solid Starts externally — at conferences, in clinical settings, in brand negotiations, and in rooms where the right relationship could change everything for our reach.

What We’re Looking For

• 6–9+ years of experience in partnerships, business development, or a related role — with meaningful seniority and a track record of owning strategy, not just executing it.
• Experience navigating large, complex institutional or government partnerships alongside more traditional brand and affiliate work — you know these move differently and you have the patience and persistence for both.
• A genuine personal connection to the early parenting and infant feeding world — whether through your own experience as a parent, a professional background in pediatrics or maternal health, or both.
• Strong relationship-building instincts: you’re warm, credible, and people trust you quickly — whether you’re in a WIC regional office or a brand marketing meeting.
• Proven ability to build and manage a complex, multi-track pipeline with multiple stakeholders and timelines simultaneously.
• Experience working with both consumer brands and professional or clinical audiences.
• Comfort with affiliate platforms, tracking tools, and partnership management systems.
• Excellent written and verbal communication — you can write a cold outreach email that doesn’t feel cold, and you can represent Solid Starts’ mission compellingly in any room.
• Self-directed and highly organized; you set the agenda, you don’t wait for one.
• Deep alignment with our mission and a genuine belief that access to good feeding information should reach every family, not just the ones who find us on Instagram.

Bonus Points

• Experience working with or within federal programs, health systems, or public health organizations.
• Existing relationships in the baby registry, parenting platform, or family wellness brand ecosystem.
• Clinical background or close professional relationships in pediatric nutrition, therapy, lactation, or pediatrics.
• Experience in the baby food, feeding products, or parenting app space.

Compensation

$125,000 – $155,000 base, depending on experience, plus performance bonus tied to partnership revenue and program growth.

Note: We will not be accepting applications through LinkedIn. Please send why you are the perfect fit for this role and your resume directly to jobs@solidstarts.com to be considered.