Senior Partnerships Manager

<div class="content-intro"><p>At Vast, our mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space. Vast is developing next-generation space stations to ensure a continuous human presence in space for America and its allies, enabling advanced microgravity research and manufacturing, and unlocking a new space economy for government, corporate, and private customers. Using an incremental, hardware-rich and low-cost approach, Vast is rapidly developing its multi-module Haven Station. Haven Demo’s 2025 success made Vast the only operational commercial space station company to fly and operate its own spacecraft. Next, Haven-1 is expected to become the world’s first commercial space station when it launches, followed by additional Haven modules to enable permanent human presence by 2030. Our team is all-in, committed to executing our mission safely and on time. If you want to work with the most talented people on Earth furthering space exploration for humanity, come join us.</p></div><p>Vast is seeking a <strong>Senior Partnerships Manager</strong> to join our team. Reporting to the <strong>VP, Communications and dotted line to the Head of Partnerships,</strong> you are a commercially minded, highly organized marketing and communications professional who will own the day-to-day management of Vast’s existing brand partnerships and work closely with the Head of Brand Partnerships to develop and build new partnership opportunities. </p> <p>The ideal candidate will have experience developing and managing brand partnerships, and a strong understanding of the media and communications landscape. We would love someone who brings creativity and cultural fluency to the role: this is a rare opportunity to shape how brands and consumers engage with the future of space exploration. </p> <p>This will be a <strong>full-time, exempt</strong> position located in our <strong>Long Beach </strong>location.</p> <p><strong>Responsibilities: </strong></p> <ul> <li>Own the day-to-day management of Vast’s existing brand partnerships, serving as the primary point of contact and relationship manager </li> <li>Lead delivery against contractual commitments, tracking deliverables, activation timelines and campaign performance </li> <li>Identify and develop opportunities to expand existing partnerships in alignment with partner objectives and new opportunities in Vast’s ecosystem </li> <li>Research and identify prospective brand partners that align with Vast’s mission </li> <li>Maintain a well-organized pipeline, tracking outreach, prospect status, deal stages and actions and provide regular reporting to the VP, Communications/ Head of Brand Partnerships</li> <li>Work with the Head of Brand Partnerships and Marketing &amp; Design colleagues to develop creative concepts, presentation materials, and pitch decks</li> <li>The ideal candidate will also support the Communications team from time-to-time as needed. This could include managing announcements, media engagements and public engagement campaigns, reviewing press materials and developing and aligning communications plans across partner agencies and Vast. </li> </ul> <p><strong>Minimum Qualifications:</strong></p> <ul> <li>8-10 years of experience in partnerships, business development, or related commercial fields </li> <li>Demonstrated experience managing brand partnerships end-to-end, including rights management, campaigns and activation, and performance evaluation </li> <li>Strong commercial acumen; comfortable building partnership proposals, rights frameworks and pricing benchmarks </li> <li>Excellent project management skills with the ability to manage multiple partners, projects and timelines simultaneously </li> <li>Ability to translate complex or technical concepts into clear, compelling commercial narratives </li> <li>Exceptional relationship-building and stakeholder management skills with internal and external partners </li> </ul> <h4><strong>Preferred Skills &amp; Experience:</strong></h4> <ul> <li>Experience managing high-value or high-profile brand partnerships </li> <li>Experience in business development or commercial solutions</li> <li>Familiarity with communications, PR and marketing workflows; comfortable working across partnerships and communications tasks </li> <li>Strong understanding of the media and brand landscape, including broadcast, digital and social platforms </li> <li>High attention to detail, particularly in regulated or approval-heavy environments</li> <li>A strong interest in space, exploration, and emerging spaceflight capabilities</li> </ul> <p><strong>Additional Requirements:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Willingness to work extended hours, including nights and weekends, to support mission-critical milestones and real-time operations as needed</li> </ul><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="title">Pay Range: California</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$129,000</span><span class="divider">&mdash;</span><span>$183,000 USD</span></div></div></div><div class="content-conclusion"><p style="line-height: 1;"><strong>COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS<br></strong><br>Base salary will vary depending on job-related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand. Salary is just one component of our comprehensive compensation package. Full-time employees also receive company equity, as well as access to a full suite of compelling benefits and perks, including: medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, generous paid time off; up to 20+ days of vacation for exempt staff and up to 10+ days of vacation for non-exempt staff with the ability to cash-out unused vacation annually, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, ClassPass credits, personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health, and other discounts and perks. We also take pride in offering exceptional food perks, with snacks, drip coffee &amp; onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge, and lunch subsidized as part of Vast’s ongoing commitment to providing high-quality meals for employees.</p> <p style="line-height: 1;"><strong><br>U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS<br><br></strong>The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore, must either be a “U.S. person” as defined by <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-22/section-120.62">22 C.F.R. § 120.62</a> or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. This status includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending.<br><br></p> <p style="line-height: 1;"><strong>EQUAL OPPORTUNITY</strong><br><br>Vast is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Vast is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.</p></div>