Partnership Executive
Opportunity Overview
At Canadian Food Innovation Network, we are committed to being the best, and that starts with finding the best people. We have built a team of extraordinary people working across Canada; we are problem solvers, risk takers, innovators, and thought leaders that take our work building Canada’s fastest growing food innovation community seriously but have fun doing it. We challenge ourselves to get smarter and sharper every day; we value personal and professional growth and believe in rewarding and celebrating our successes.
The Partnership Executive is responsible for building partnerships within the food ecosystem and driving CFIN’s business sustainability efforts. Based in Canada, the ideal candidate will have experience in B2B sales, as well as skills related to strategic analysis, relationship building and marketing. In this role, you will be responsible for initiating and developing relationships with strategic partners, managing RFP responses and negotiating contracts and closing deals. You’ll support the product development process and work closely with the communications department to create compelling sales materials and promotional campaigns. Frequent travel throughout Canada is required for this position.
This is a full-time position starting in April 2025. The successful candidate will receive comprehensive benefits and 4 weeks paidvacation and up to 5 paid sick days annually. The role reports to the Vice President, Partnerships and Development and works closely with the communications department and our team of Regional Innovation Directors. This role is remote first and you will mostly work from home. The candidate can be located anywhere in Canada.
About the Canadian Food Innovation Network
The Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN) is the most dynamic, trusted, national, member-based organization dedicated to advancing Canada's food business ecosystem. We’re focused on becoming the ultimate solution centre for Canada’s food industry—fostering collaboration, innovation, and growth for companies of all sizes.
Joining CFIN means becoming part of a high performing team that connects industry leaders, researchers, and innovators to solve pressing challenges, drive transformative ideas, and create sustainable solutions that enhance competitiveness and productivity in the food sector.
What Makes CFIN Stand Out?
- Collaborative Ecosystem: We excel at building partnerships that unite diverse collaborators to transform innovative ideas into impactful solutions.
- Focus on Impact: CFIN champions commercialization projects that push the boundaries of food science, technology, and sustainability, delivering real solutions to the food industry’s toughest challenges.
- Industry-Led Initiatives: Guided by input from our members, Innovation Advisory Council, and Board of Directors, we design funding programs, tools, workshops, and resources that empower innovators to break through barriers.
Who you are:
You are a creative problem solver and a highly self-motivated individual, with strong relationship building and communication skills. You are driven to meet goals and can manage your time well. You work effectively in a collaborative, fast-paced, agile, and sometimes high-pressure environment. You are curious and want to find better, novel, more innovative ways to solve business problems.
What you’ll be doing:
- Assist VP Partnerships and Development in building and executing revenue generation and partnership strategy for CFIN.
- Maintain a steady inflow of new leads into our pipeline of potential partners and sponsors and maintain relationships with existing partners and qualified leads.
- Work closely with Regional Innovation Directors to develop programming and collaborations that will add value for CFIN members and for our partners/sponsors.
- Conduct purposeful, goal driven business meetings with prospective partners to drive CFIN’s strategy forward.
- Create contract-winning proposals for current and prospective partners in collaboration with finance and communications teams
- Negotiate contract terms with partners, draft agreements and manage ensuing projects by activating internal teams to execute contracted activities on time and as agreed
- Become a subject matter expert on CFIN’s products, processes and operations, and remain up to date on industry trends, news and current events.
- Create and share monthly updates on partnership and sponsorship goals with Senior Leadership Team.
- Conduct performance analysis and create reports and project updates for short and long-term partners.
What you bring:
- Business degree or equivalent work experience in B2B sales.
- Demonstrated success working in B2B sales and account management.
- Negotiation acumen with the ability to build consensus and identify solutions where all parties benefit.
- Unwavering integrity and commitment to CFIN’s core values.
- Basic data visualization skills.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including conceptualization, creation and facilitation of group presentations.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and the use of CRM software.
- Understanding of the food sector, with the ability to become a subject matter expert on the job.
- Well-developed organizational and project management skills.
Also beneficial:
- Fluency in both English and French languages is a significant asset.
- A good level of knowledge of the structure and functioning of Canada's food ecosystem, including an understanding of the complexity of the food industry.
Why join us?
This is a unique opportunity to join a winning team during an exciting time of growth. At CFIN, you’ll play a vital role in shaping the future of food in Canada and be part of a forward-thinking, purpose-driven organization where your contributions will make a tangible impact on the industry. Together, we’ll build a more innovative, sustainable, and competitive food ecosystem.
The Canadian Food Innovation Network is an equal opportunity employer. To attract and serve a strong national membership base, CFIN embraces diversity in all its forms including personal, geographical, sectoral, etc. We deliver services equitably in both official languages and using multiple communication formats to ensure inclusiveness.
Apply today and let’s transform the future of food—together! Please send resume and cover letter to HRCrystal@cfin-rcia.ca
Note: We thank all applicants for their interest but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
