Account Specialist, Strategic Partnerships - Office Of Communications & Marketing - UTK

University of Tennessee•Knoxville, TN

14d•Onsite

About The Position

Reporting to the Director of Strategic Partnerships, the Account Specialist is a member of the Brand Partnerships & Licensing team within the Office of Communications & Marketing (OCM). This role supports the overall mission and goals of the University of Tennessee campus. Leads the service components of campus (non-athletics) partner projects to ensure consistent and first-rate partner experiences, while maintaining excellent lines of communication with internal stakeholders to ensure executional success.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree and three years experience in sponsorship activation, marketing, or account management
Ability to conduct themselves with a high level of initiative
Ability to work independently
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Ability and willingness to initiate and maintain personal relationships
Skilled at being highly organized; able to prioritize and execute multiple tasks
Skilled at attention to detail
Ability to maintain a positive, upbeat attitude under pressure

Nice To Haves

Five years experience in sponsorship activation, marketing, or account management
Experience working onsite at a university or sports property
Knowledge of University of Tennessee, Knoxville, campus, programs, & athletics

Responsibilities

University partnership operations: manage day-to-day activation and fulfillment for a portfolio of university brand and corporate partnerships, ensuring commitments, timelines, deliverables, and expectations are executed in alignment with institutional priorities.
Partnership project management: serve as project manager for partnership initiatives, overseeing activations, campus engagements, partner assets, and approvals from initiation through completion.
Partnership planning and documentation: develop partnership briefs and documentation in collaboration with leadership, defining scope, milestones, deliverables, timelines, and success measures.
Partner hosting and engagement coordination: plan, coordinate, and execute partner hosting and on-campus engagement experiences, including itineraries, logistics, approvals, and visit materials.
Meeting coordination and facilitation: schedule, plan, and facilitate partner and campus stakeholder meetings; prepare agendas, lead discussions as needed, document outcomes, and manage follow-up communications.
Campus partner engagement: serve as a primary liaison between external partners and campus stakeholders, facilitating clear, consistent communication throughout the partnership lifecycle.
Issue resolution and judgment: exercise independent judgment and discretion to resolve complex partnership issues involving multiple stakeholders, institutional policies, and partner expectations.
Partnership growth and renewal support : identify opportunities to enhance and expand partnerships; support renewals through reporting, year-end recaps, and preparation of leadership briefing materials.
Partner research and analysis: conduct research on current and prospective partners; monitor relevant industry and account developments; communicate pertinent updates to internal stakeholders.
Reporting and outcomes evaluation : prepare partner reporting, post-event analyses, and recap communications; gather outcomes to inform future partnership strategies and improvements.
Asset and records management : organize and maintain partnership assets, documentation, and materials in accordance with university branding, accessibility, and records retention standards.
Cross-team collaboration: collaborate with campus units, communications, creative, athletics, and administrative teams to support partnership initiatives and ensure alignment.
Campus representation: represent the Office of Strategic Partnerships in campus meetings, planning sessions, and cross-functional committees, as appropriate.
Other duties as assigned: perform additional responsibilities in support of departmental and institutional goals.