Director of Strategic Partnerships

InProduction•Ashland, VA

8h•Remote

About The Position

InProduction is the leading provider of temporary seating, staging, structures, and scenic production for the U.S. live events industry. The Company is a valuable partner to event organizers throughout the entire venue transformation process, with core services including design and fabrication, delivery and installation, on-site execution, and tear down. These services span a variety of end verticals including golf, motorsports, music festivals, other sports & entertainment, and corporate events. InProduction maintains a total commitment to excellence for an exceptional outcome at every event. The Company is backed by ZMC. ZMC is a leading private equity firm comprised of experienced investors and executives who invest in, and manage, a diverse group of media and communications enterprises. Founded in 2001, ZMC’s investment philosophy centers on operational value creation driven by targeted investment themes, deep sector expertise, and strong partnerships with industry and operating executives. ZMC approaches its investments in collaboration with management teams and has a successful track record of actively adding value to portfolio companies. Come join us! Check out our web page https://inproduction.net/welcome/ The Director of Strategic Partnerships is a senior, individual contributor role focused on opening and developing high-value relationships across our three verticals: Live Sports, Live Entertainment, and Corporate and Brand Activations. This role is the relationship architect for InProduction. The work is to build senior connectivity at the leagues, teams, venues, agencies, promoters, and brands that matter most to our growth. It is to get InProduction in the room, validated as the right partner, and positioned to win. From there, the assigned sales representative carries the deal through to close. This role exists because our sales team is at full capacity executing on active relationships and recurring projects. We need a dedicated senior leader who can build the relationship pipeline that feeds them, and who can do so without leaning on the operating team for the early-stage work. The Director of Strategic Partnerships reports to the Sr. Director of Sales and Marketing and works closely with the C-Suite on the most senior pursuits.

Requirements

Minimum, High School diploma or GED equivalent
Ten or more years in senior business development, strategic sales, or partnership roles.
Proven track record of opening, developing, and helping structure complex, multi-stakeholder commercial relationships.
Experience selling into one or more of: leagues, teams, venues, promoters, agencies, large brands, or corporate event programs.
Comfort operating as a senior individual contributor without a large support team.
Discipline with CRM, pipeline hygiene, and written reporting.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience in live events, sports infrastructure, hospitality builds, or temporary structures.
Existing senior network across one of our three verticals.
Experience working in or alongside a private equity backed business.

Responsibilities

Open and develop strategic relationships
Own a defined book of priority targets across Live Sports, Live Entertainment, and Corporate and Brand Activations.
Lead first-call discovery, follow-up, and senior relationship development through the point that the buyer is ready to engage on a specific opportunity.
Hand off qualified opportunities to the assigned sales representative and stay engaged at the relationship level through close.
Reactivate dormant accounts where InProduction has prior history but no current activity.
Manage assigned strategic relationships
Serve as the senior relationship owner for a defined set of existing strategic accounts (such as governing bodies, league partners, and major venue groups).
Identify and surface new lines of business within those accounts.
Coordinate with the sales team and operating leaders to ensure these accounts receive the senior attention they require.
Build the relationship pipeline
Maintain a clean, accurate, and current view of the relationship pipeline in HubSpot, including target accounts, contact-level progress, and conversion to qualified opportunity.
Provide weekly written updates on relationship development, conversions, and blockers.
Identify pattern signals across pursuits that should inform pricing, positioning, or product decisions.
Carry the brand
Represent InProduction in senior rooms at industry events, customer headquarters, and partner conversations.
Build a personal network of decision makers and influencers that compounds over time.
Engage CEO, COO, and other executives at points of leverage in pursuit, not as a default.
Partner with the team
Work alongside the sales representatives who own deal execution. The sales team closes deals. The Director of Strategic Partnerships opens the doors and supports them through close.
Provide field input that sharpens our positioning, case studies, and pursuit collateral.
Work with the marketing team to convert closed work into reference stories and proof points.