Account Manager, Partnership Development

The Forte Foundation • Austin, TX

4d • Remote

About The Position

The Account Manager, Partnership Development drives new revenue for Forté by identifying, developing, and advancing business opportunities across business schools, companies, and advertisers. Reporting to the Senior Director, Development and Partnerships, the role turns alumni and school relationships into qualified corporate prospects and sells new school memberships, event sponsorships, and advertising. It combines consultative selling with disciplined prospecting, relationship development, and pipeline management. Success is measured by new school and sponsor revenue, a full and accurate pipeline, and a steady flow of qualified meetings for the Senior Director.

The position manages corporate prospecting, new school business, advertising sales, Forté 500 prospect development, pipeline and revenue management, and cross-functional collaboration. The Account Manager works with the programs team, the Benefits Manager, Schools, and Marketing, and represents Forté at conferences, school visits, and events. The role is based in a virtual work environment, with employees working independently from home offices. Forté provides a computer, phone, office supplies, and internet service.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree.
• At least 5 years of experience in business development, partnership or sponsorship sales, advertising sales, account management, or development.
• Proven ability to manage the full sales cycle from prospecting through closing and meet or exceed revenue goals.
• Strong consultative communication skills, including the ability to engage decision-makers and tailor value propositions to their goals.
• Working knowledge of CRM systems such as Salesforce and commitment to accurate documentation and pipeline management.
• Proficiency in MS Office, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Comfort using Zoom, Slack, Asana, and online research tools.
• Ability to independently manage many prospects and priorities in a fast-paced, virtual environment with a solutions-oriented approach.
• Professional, engaging presence and strong relationship-building skills.
• Ability to travel to conferences, meetings, and events as needed, approximately 15%.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working with business schools, higher education, or edtech, especially MBA admissions or enrollment.
• Background in membership, sponsorship, or advertising sales, ideally in a mission-driven or nonprofit organization.
• Experience turning alumni or community networks into warm introductions and new business.
• Familiarity with prospecting tools such as LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
• Ability to use data and trends to inform outreach and revenue planning.

Responsibilities

• Research, identify, and qualify corporate prospects that align with Forté’s priorities and revenue goals.
• Conduct outbound outreach to decision-makers and book qualified discovery meetings for the Senior Director.
• Develop warm introductions through alumni and school partner relationships, and follow up on referrals from Forté programs, events, and the Alumni Board.
• Map Forté alumni at target companies and identify internal champions.
• Identify, qualify, and close new MBA, EMBA, and affiliate school memberships, including lapsed and former affiliate schools and affiliate-to-member upgrades.
• Grow the undergraduate pipeline of school memberships with schools that feed Forté’s MBA programs.
• Sell school sponsorships for Forté Forums, pre-MBA webinars, and MBALaunch to member and non-member schools using program-team packages and pricing.
• Tailor proposals to school enrollment and recruiting goals, negotiate terms, close agreements, and request invoices.
• Hand new school partners to the Benefits Manager, Schools for onboarding, with a clear record of commitments.
• Sell advertising across Forté channels, including newsletters, websites, and events, to schools, companies, and education service providers.
• Manage outbound and alumni-sourced advertising leads through signed insertion orders and coordinate delivery with Marketing.
• Identify and nurture alumni and senior professionals as Forté 500 philanthropic community prospects, and pass qualified candidates to the Senior Director.
• Maintain an accurate, proactive Salesforce pipeline, including opportunity stages, next steps, engagement history, and forecasts.
• Prepare monthly sales and productivity reports covering revenue status, forecasts, and prospect movement through the pipeline.
• Meet or exceed annual revenue goals for new school memberships, school event sponsorships, and advertising.
• Create and update sales materials, including proposals, pitch decks, and one-pagers, with Marketing.
• Collaborate with the programs team on sponsorship packages and pricing, with the Benefits Manager, Schools on partner handoffs, and with Marketing on outreach campaigns.
• Represent Forté at conferences, school visits, and events to build relationships and generate leads.

Benefits

• 401(k) retirement plan with 5% matching available after one month of employment.
• Health, dental, vision, short-term disability, long-term disability, and life insurance.
• Generous paid time off and holiday schedule.
• Virtual work environment with a home office.
• Forté provides a computer, phone, and office supplies and covers the cost of internet service.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level