Assistant Athletic Director for Corporate Partnerships

DHRM•Lexington, VA

8d•Onsite

About The Position

The Assistant Athletic Director for Corporate Partnerships is responsible for leading the development, solicitation, activation, and management of corporate partnerships for Virginia Military Institute Athletics. This position serves as a key member of the external operations team and is responsible for generating new revenue while strengthening relationships with corporate partners, local businesses, alumni, and community stakeholders.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, sports management, communications, public relations, or a related field.
Professional experience in corporate partnerships, sponsorship sales, business development, fundraising, marketing, or a related area.
Demonstrated experience developing and maintaining relationships with corporate partners, businesses, community organizations, or other external stakeholders.
Experience with sales prospecting, presentations, negotiations, contract development, partnership activation, and account management.
Strong written, verbal, interpersonal, organizational, and presentation skills.
Ability to develop customized proposals and sponsorship packages aligned with partner objectives.
Ability to collaborate effectively with internal departments and external partners.
Ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines, and partnership deliverables simultaneously.
Proficiency with standard office and business communication software.
Ability to work evenings, weekends, and nontraditional hours as required for athletic events, partner activities, and departmental initiatives.

Nice To Haves

Experience in collegiate athletics, professional sports, sports marketing, or the entertainment industry.
Established relationships with local, regional, or national businesses and community stakeholders.
Experience creating and executing in-venue, digital, social media, hospitality, experiential, or promotional activations.
Experience managing revenue goals, budgets, sales pipelines, and partnership performance metrics.
Knowledge of corporate partnership trends, sponsorship valuation, branding, licensing, and fan engagement.
Demonstrated ability to generate new revenue and retain long-term business relationships.
Strong community engagement skills and the ability to represent VMI Athletics professionally.
Availability to travel and attend athletic events or partner functions as needed.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute comprehensive corporate partnership sales strategies to increase annual partnership revenue and expand VMI Athletics’ corporate partner portfolio.
Identify, prospect, cultivate, and solicit new corporate partners through direct sales, networking, community engagement, referrals, and relationship development.
Manage the full corporate partnership lifecycle, including prospecting, presentations, negotiations, contracting, activation, fulfillment, renewal, and retention.
Create customized partnership proposals and sponsorship packages aligned with prospective partners’ marketing, branding, community engagement, and business objectives.
Build and maintain strong relationships with corporate partners through consistent communication and high-quality service.
Collaborate with marketing, creative, ticketing, communications, facilities, licensing, and other internal departments to execute partnership assets and activations.
Develop and implement creative in-venue, digital, social media, hospitality, experiential, and promotional activations that deliver value to partners and enhance the fan experience.
Increase VMI Athletics’ visibility and identify potential corporate partnership opportunities within the community.
Assist with the development of annual revenue projections, sales goals, budgets, and departmental strategies related to corporate partnerships.
Support department-wide external initiatives and other revenue-generating opportunities as assigned.
Generate new revenue while strengthening relationships with corporate partners, local businesses, alumni, and community stakeholders.
Work collaboratively across VMI Athletics and with external partners to create mutually beneficial partnerships that support the department’s financial and strategic objectives.