Corporate Partnerships Officer, New Business

Griffin Museum of Science and Industry•Chicago, IL

4d•$60,000 - $75,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Corporate Partnerships Officer, New Business is an entrepreneurial fundraiser responsible for identifying, cultivating, and securing new corporate partnerships, with a focus on high-touch portfolio management, sponsorship and strategic engagement opportunities. This is a highly external-facing role for someone who thrives on identifying new partners, building authentic relationships, and creating innovative partnerships. This role manages a developing portfolio of new, lapsed, and early-stage corporate partners and prospects, while supporting the execution of sponsorship packages and partnership activations across the Museum’s exhibitions, programs, and events.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
5–7 years of relevant experience in fundraising, business development, corporate partnerships, marketing partnerships, or related fields.
Demonstrated success identifying new opportunities, building relationships with decision-makers, and generating revenue through consultative business development
Exceptional communication, presentation, and storytelling skills with the ability to inspire prospective partners and articulate compelling value propositions.
Ability to travel up to 10%
Demonstrated confidence initiating conversations with senior executives, cultivating relationships from cold outreach through close, and building long-term partnerships.
Highly organized with strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities.
Experience with CRM systems (Salesforce preferred) and Microsoft Office Suite.
Curious, resourceful, and energized by building relationships from scratch.
Comfortable navigating ambiguity and creating structure where none exists..
Willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends for events and networking.
Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, standard operating procedures, etc.
Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.
Ability to speak effectively before groups of employees of the organization.
Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as percentages, turnover rates, retention rates, etc.
Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel and talk or hear.
The employee frequently is required to stand, walk, and reach with hands and arms.
The employee is occasionally required to sit; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and taste or smell.
The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

Responsibilities

Build and maintain a robust pipeline of prospective corporate partners through research, networking, referrals, market intelligence, and creative prospecting strategies.
Initiate and lead proactive outreach, including cold and warm prospecting, networking, and leveraging existing relationships to generate new partnership and funding opportunities.
Design and execute cultivation and solicitation strategies for new corporate donors and sponsors, including preparing outreach materials, proposals, and pitch decks.
Understand prospective partners' business objectives and develop customized partnership opportunities that create shared value.
Partner with senior team members to advance and close new business opportunities.
Serve as a visible ambassador for the Museum, actively building relationships throughout Chicagoland's corporate community and identifying new opportunities to expand the Museum's network
Manage and grow an assigned portfolio of 50-75 corporate partners, serving as the primary day-to-day relationship manager.
Execute all stages of the donor lifecycle, with a focus on qualification, cultivation, onboarding, and early-stage stewardship.
Maintain regular communication with corporate partners to ensure strong engagement, satisfaction, and retention.
Monitor progress toward individual and team revenue goals, ensuring accountability and timely follow-up.
Develop and execute creative corporate sponsorship opportunities tied to exhibitions, public programs, and events.
Think beyond traditional sponsorships to identify innovative opportunities for employee engagement, thought leadership, customer experiences, community impact, and brand visibility.
Assist in creating and packaging sponsorship assets, ensuring alignment with marketing, brand, and audience engagement goals.
Collaborate with Marketing & Communications and Events teams to deliver high-quality sponsor activations and visibility opportunities.
Ensure fulfillment of sponsorship benefits, including brand placement, recognition, and experiential engagement.
Track and maintain accurate records of pipeline, proposals, agreements, and correspondence in the CRM system.
Assist in preparing donor-facing materials, including proposals, reports, and presentations.
Coordinate logistics for corporate meetings, site visits, tours, and events, including ticketing and catering needs.
Support donor cultivation and recognition events, including sponsor activations and receptions.
Collaborate with colleagues across departments to ensure coordinated outreach and consistent partner experience.
Additional Duties as assigned