Community Engagement, Growth & Partnerships Lead

Lead ACS community engagement, membership growth, retention, and strategic partnerships across SAMEA. Serve as the primary regional relationship manager, translating local market insight into programs and partnerships that increase member value, strengthen scientific communities, and advance ACS regional growth objectives.

Key Responsibilities

Community Engagement & Member Experience

• Develop and execute a regional engagement strategy that increases participation, satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy.
• Deliver high-value member programs, including webinars, networking, peer learning, onboarding, and career development.
• Create targeted journeys for students, early-career professionals, industry members, women in chemistry, and sustainability-focused scientists.
  
  

Academic & Industry Partnerships

• Build strategic relationships with universities, research institutions, scientific networks, and industry organizations across SAMEA.
• Develop partnership pipelines that expand ACS visibility, membership, institutional participation, sponsorship, and member value.
• Engage faculty, researchers, student groups, academic leaders, and industry stakeholders to identify regional needs and opportunities.
  
  

Membership Growth & Retention

• Drive member acquisition, onboarding, engagement, renewal, re-engagement, and advocacy across the full member lifecycle.
• Develop recruitment pipelines through academic institutions, industry partners, scientific events, and ACS programs.
• Use membership, engagement, renewal, and attrition data to identify growth opportunities and retention risks.
• Partner with Marketing to localize campaigns, messaging, and value propositions for diverse regional audiences.
  
  

Events & Regional Presence

• Plan and deliver ACS and partner-led workshops, webinars, networking programs, onboarding sessions, and regional events.
• Represent and support ACS at scientific meetings, chemistry congresses, industry conferences, and university events.
• Maintain an annual SAMEA engagement calendar and convert events into opportunities for member and partner growth.
  
  

Strategy, Insights & Reporting

• Develop the annual SAMEA Community Engagement, Growth & Partnerships Plan aligned with ACS priorities.
• Serve as the regional voice of the member and provide market intelligence and recommendations to ACS leadership.
• Maintain dashboards, measure program effectiveness, and provide timely executive updates and recommendations.
  
  

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Life Sciences, Marketing, Communications, Business, or a related field.
• 8-10+ years of relevant experience in community engagement, membership growth, partnerships, business development, or association management.
• Proven track record of delivering measurable growth, retention, engagement, or partnership outcomes.
• Experience managing senior relationships across academic, scientific, nonprofit, government, or industry sectors.
• Strong analytical, strategic planning, stakeholder management, and written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience with Salesforce or another CRM or membership platform.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, matrixed, cross-cultural environment and travel up to 30% across SAMEA.
  
  

Preferred

• Master's degree or advanced credential in a relevant discipline.
• Experience with a scientific society, professional association, or STEM-focused organization.
• Knowledge of scientific, academic, and industry networks across South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
• Experience delivering virtual and in-person engagement programs and familiarity with ACS offerings.
  
  

Core Competencies

Community engagement

• Membership growth and retention
• Strategic partnerships
• Academic and industry outreach
• Stakeholder influence
• Data-driven decision-making
• Program and event management
• Cross-cultural communication
• Results orientation
  
  

Success Measures

• Member acquisition, renewal, retention, engagement, satisfaction, and advocacy.
• Growth and conversion of academic, institutional, and corporate partnership pipelines.
• Participation, repeat attendance, and outcomes from regional programs and events.
• Quality and timeliness of regional strategy, market insights, dashboards, and executive reporting.
• Delivery of agreed annual SAMEA membership, engagement, and partnership objectives.
  
  

First-Year Priorities

• Build sustainable membership pipelines through priority universities, research institutions, and industry partners.
• Launch high-value regional programs and targeted member journeys that strengthen engagement and retention.
• Establish strategic partnerships that increase ACS visibility, relevance, and member value across SAMEA.
• Implement a scalable regional engagement model with clear measures for acquisition, retention, satisfaction, and advocacy.