Partnership & Community Growth Lead

We believe meaningful human connection is a fundamental need in an increasingly divided and distracted world. Makuma creates structured social experiences where we practice authentic conversation, facilitated digitally and guided by our five core values: curiosity, compassion, consent, presence, and courage. We create spaces where people can be genuinely seen and build communities that reduce loneliness and increase intercultural understanding.

www.makuma.games | @makuma_cluj

Is This You?

• You've sold something before (even if "sales" wasn't your job title), and love the process of getting to know the customers' needs and how we can help them.
• You're excited to learn how to do sales and get good at it.
• You're patient in the process of building relationships and you fully accept that this process requires persistence and consistent follow-up.
• This is your jam: you love diving into a crowd, compassionately connecting with people and then consistently following up so that fun meetings turn into fruitful collaborations. You love to work in a team but you don't need anyone looking over your shoulder to feel motivated.
• The challenge of launching a community from scratch in a new city - finding the right organizations, building trust, following up and watching it grow - genuinely excites you. You love the idea of becoming a nomad that leaves a blossoming community behind in each city you visit.

The Role

You'll spend your days calling likeminded organizations, attending networking events and business conferences, listening carefully to people's needs, keeping track of everyone you met and following up persistently. Sometimes you'll be figuring out a collaboration with a grassroots NGO, other times schmoozing a potential sponsor or being the smiling face greeting people at a Connection Games event or on our social media videos.

You will also support your colleagues in creating thoughtful and fun marketing materials for FB & IG, mostly by shooting video footage such as customer interviews and stories, short promotional reels to camera, video presentations of the Connection Games for organisations or business partners etc.

As we expand into new European cities, you'll be a key part of that launch: identifying key community organizations, securing local media coverage, and rapidly building the partnership network that turns a new city from zero to thriving community in 1-2 months.

What We Need From You

Essential:

• Energized by people: Social situations fuel you, not drain you. A day of calls and meetings is a good day.
• Comfortable in the spotlight: on stage or online, you enjoy publicly representing Makuma.
• Mission-aligned: You care about reducing loneliness and building intercultural understanding.
• Self-directed: You see what needs doing and make it happen.
• Culturally adaptive: You read rooms instinctively - business executives, NGO activists, student organizers - and build rapport across contexts.
• Fluent in English (as we work internationally).
• Sales experience: You've done this before and you're good at it. Cold calling feels like a creative challenge.

Bonus:

• Experience in social entrepreneurship, NGO work, or community organizing
• - Existing connections in Cluj's international, student, business or personal development communities.
• - You've lived the international/expat experience yourself.
• - Romanian fluency, and any other languages.

What We Offer

Flexible schedule + opportunity for hybrid work: In the first 2-3 months of onboarding you'll work mostly in our casual, friendly office in a central area in Cluj. After the onboarding period you can choose to work in a hybrid regime (office + remote work). The schedule is flexible - we are strong advocates of work-life balance. As long as you are delivering results and are flexible to schedule calls and meetings at the times potential clients & collaborators are available, you don't need a rigid schedule if that doesn't suit you.

Meaningful: Your success means fewer people feeling lonely. Watch communities form, people bloom, friendships cross cultural boundaries. Be part of increasing social cohesion through authentic human connection. Work with a tight-knit team that values clarity, deep focus, authenticity and regular check-ins that are also about how we feel, not just what we did.

Fun: Be part of something new and innovative, meeting loads of lovely new people while exploring new places.

You'll be a permanent full-time employee, earning 2699 RON/month NET, negotiable + benefits: meal tickets (45 RON/day) and a vacation allowance of up to 1200 RON/year.

Funding Requirements

Makuma Connection Games is a social enterprise funded partly through EU funds. As this position is funded by these grants, part of the funding requirements are:

1. Every employee must have the residence (domiciliu) in a city in the North-West, North-East or Central Regions in Romania.
2. Every employee must be in at least one of the following categories:
3. - Persons without an active employment contract (including students that are not working)
4. - Persons looking for employment (registered at AJOFM)
5. - Unemployed (șomer - registered at AJOFM)
6. - Single parent (parinte singur sau unic intretinator al familiei)
7. - Disabled persons
8. - Post-institutionalized youth

PS: If you feel that you'd love to contribute to the mission of Makuma and that you are a strong match with this role, but are confused about the requirements or feel like you don't "fit" them we still encourage you to apply or to drop us a message. We'd love to guide you through the whole process.

Our Team & Culture

We're growing a small team of friendly and enthusiastic humans. We value deep focus over multitasking, clarity over chaos, and regular check-ins over assumptions. Non-hierarchical, but you own your domain, take full responsibility for your work and can ask for guidance whenever you need it. We practice curiosity, compassion, and courage - not just for participants, but also for how we work together.

If that all sounds good to you, we're looking forward to meeting you!

First, please complete this application form: https://forms.gle/UK5L6H1ZwefEjL349