Partnerships Manager

Reservoir is an agricultural innovation center (Reservoir Farms) and venture capital fund (Reservoir VC). We operate on-farm agtech and robotics incubators in California's Central Coast and Sonoma wine country, with locations developing in the Central Valley, eastern Washington, and Arizona's Yuma region.

Our model puts early-stage companies in direct contact with growers, labor, and field conditions — and the public and civic partnerships we build in each region are what make that possible.

THE ROLE
This is an individual contributor role responsible for building and sustaining Reservoir's public-private partnerships across its operating regions. Your job is to establish Reservoir as trusted economic development infrastructure in agricultural communities — with local governments, county and state agencies, universities, community colleges, workforce organizations, and civic institutions — and to convert those relationships into catalytic capital, grants, contracts, and operational support.

You'll develop a repeatable playbook for entering new regions and deepening roots in existing ones. Each engagement follows the same pattern: understand what the local government, agency, or institution cares about; connect that to Reservoir's impact and presence; and build a durable relationship that generates real commitments over time. You'll work directly with Reservoir's CEO and leadership team and represent Reservoir credibly across a wide range of civic and institutional settings.

WHAT YOU'LL DO
Land in new regions

— Map the economic development and civic landscape in each region Reservoir enters. Identify the right people, build the initial relationships, and establish Reservoir's presence before the incubator opens its doors.

Deepen roots in active regions

— Maintain active partnerships with local governments, chambers, SBDCs, CDFIs, workforce boards, and state economic development offices where Reservoir operates. Show up at their events, bring Reservoir's story into their work, and look for durable ways to collaborate — board seats, co-hosted events, shared programming.

Generate catalytic capital

— Identify and pursue grants, discretionary awards, contracts, event sponsorships, and other non-dilutive support from local, regional, and state partners. Manage proposals alongside leadership and co-applicants, and track progress against revenue targets across the portfolio.

Engage universities and colleges

— Build partnerships with land-grant universities, UC ANR, and regional community colleges in each operating area. Identify joint proposal opportunities where Reservoir provides the field and industry context. Connect Reservoir to workforce pipelines, applied research, and campus advisory roles.

Represent Reservoir in public forums

— Speak at partner events, board meetings, legislative briefings, and regional convenings. Bring growers, startups, and field stories into civic and institutional spaces. Keep Reservoir in the rooms where rural economic development decisions are made.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

Experience in economic development, government affairs, public-private partnerships, or a closely related field — ideally in agriculture, food systems, or rural innovation

Demonstrated ability to build relationships across a wide range of civic institutions: local governments, state agencies, universities, chambers, community organizations

Experience identifying and pursuing public funding — grants, contracts, and discretionary awards from county, state, or other public sources

Comfortable operating as an individual contributor with high autonomy across multiple regions and relationships simultaneously — organized, self-directed, and consistent about follow-through

Strong written and verbal communication — able to represent Reservoir credibly across civic, institutional, and community settings

Genuine interest in agriculture and rural communities — curiosity about how food gets grown and what it takes to make farming more viable

NICE TO HAVE

Existing relationships in California's Central Coast or wine country, the Central Valley, eastern Washington, or the Yuma region

Experience in agtech, specialty crop production, or working directly with growers and farm operators

WHERE AND HOW
This role requires meaningful presence in the regions where Reservoir operates. Travel is a regular part of the job — attending partner events, visiting incubator sites, and showing up in rooms where Reservoir needs to be seen and heard. We work in a small team where execution matters more than process, and where showing up reliably is the baseline.

Reservoir is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are especially interested in candidates with roots in the agricultural communities we serve.

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