Vice President, Business Development & Strategic Partnerships

About Sesame Workshop:

Sesame Workshop is the global impact nonprofit behind Sesame Street and so much more. For over 50 years, we have worked at the intersection of education, media, and research, creating joyful experiences that enrich minds and expand hearts, all in service of empowering each generation to build a better world. Our beloved characters, iconic shows, outreach in communities, and more bring playful early learning to families in more than 150 countries and advance our mission to help children everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder.

Learn more at www.sesame.org and follow Sesame Workshop on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and X. 

Position Overview:

Sesame Workshop is seeking an accomplished executive to lead new business development and strategic partnerships. This highly visible role will explore, define, analyze, and execute new revenue growth opportunities, establishing high-value alliances across partners, platforms, content ecosystems, and global distribution channels. The primary focus areas will be developing new business strategies based on key industry and audience trends, utilizing market research and intelligence to identify opportunities, negotiate and close deals—especially in the media and technology space—and overseeing implementation of viable opportunities alongside partner leaders for ongoing execution and growth. Critical to this role will be success with cross functional management while ensuring alignment with Sesame’s educational mission and brand values. The ideal candidate combines creative deal-making with deep respect for internal collaboration, working hand-in-hand with colleagues across Strategy, Revenue, Marketing, Communication, Production, Product, Education, Research Legal, and Operations to accelerate and build long-term enterprise growth.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer (COO), this position is based in New York, NY (Manhattan). Sesame Workshop follows a hybrid work model with a minimum of 2-designated in-office days.

Primary Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership & Market Intelligence

• Lead business development strategy aligned to organizational goals and market trends across global multi-platform content distribution.
• Monitor emerging trends in children’s media and technology space to proactively identify new opportunities and threats.
• Collaborate with the executive team to define and evolve the organization’s go-to-market strategy across key platforms.
• Stay informed on industry trends, competitive landscape, and partnership innovations. Utilize/Conduct market research and competitive analysis to identify new business opportunities and inform new business strategy.
• Monitor partner performance and surface insights to inform strategic decisions and new initiatives

Partnership Development & Deal Execution

• Identify, evaluate, pitch and negotiate new partnerships and revenue-generating deals across media distribution, interactive content, edtech, AI, licensing, co-productions, and distribution platforms.
• Build relationships with key partners including streaming platforms, digital distributors, gaming studios, edtech and AI companies.
• Work alongside Business Affairs to develop deal frameworks, term sheets, and long-term value models, working cross-functionally with legal, finance, product, production and content teams. Negotiate agreement terms and manage execution timelines.
• Own and manage key partner relationships, serving as a primary point of contact and advocate throughout the partnership lifecycle.
• Leverage your knowledge of industry verticals and relationships with key players to support deals across new technologies and platforms

Execution & Revenue Delivery

• Drive execution from signed deal to launch, ensuring high-quality implementation, partner satisfaction, and alignment with brand and educational values.
• Track performance of strategic deals, optimizing revenue contribution, audience reach, brand value, and learning impact.
• Own business forecasts and dashboards related to partnership revenue and performance metrics.

Team Collaboration & Representation

• Collaborate closely with departments throughout the organization, including revenue, production, product, education, research, marketing, and philanthropy teams to ensure partnerships enhance mission and organizational priorities.
• Represent the organization externally at industry events, conferences, and partner meetings to position the brand as a leading voice in children’s educational media.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in business development, partnerships, content licensing, or strategic growth roles within media, entertainment, gaming, or consumer products
• Proven track record leading business development, partnerships, or corporate strategy at the VP or equivalent level
• Deep expertise in the media and tech business models
• Demonstrated success collaborating cross-functionally to bring complex deals from idea to execution
• Strong understanding of children’s media, educational IP, or mission-based brand management
• Experience with content distribution, licensing models, and interactive/gaming ecosystems
• Entrepreneurial mindset with comfort navigating ambiguity and leading through influence
• Strong analytical and financial modeling skills to assess deals, partnership value and strategic fit
• Exceptional executive presence with experience briefing C-level stakeholders and boards
• Demonstrated ability to lead through influence and drive alignment across complex organizations
• Experience negotiating and executing high-impact, multi-stakeholder deals
• Comfort operating in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment with a strong sense of ownership
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and storytelling skills

Preferred Skills:

• Experience leading global expansion, M&A, or strategic investments in the media or tech sector
• Experience in the DTC media space
• Background in corporate development, strategy, or management consulting

Equal Opportunity Employment (EOE) Statement: Sesame Workshop is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, predisposing genetic characteristics, pregnancy-related condition, familial status, domestic violence victim status, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

PSEA Statement: Sesame Workshop is an equal-opportunity employer. All employment decisions are based on the business needs, job requirements & suitability of the candidate. Sesame Workshop strictly follows the Child Safeguarding Policy, and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Policy. These have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of program participants from exploitation and to clarify the responsibilities of Sesame Workshop staff, consultants, visitors to the program and partner organization, and the standards of behavior expected from them.

Pay Transparency Policy Statement: As a federal contractor, Sesame Workshop follows Pay Transparency and non-discrimination provisions as guided by the U.S. Department of Labor.