Senior Manager of Partnerships & Programs

University City District•Philadelphia, PA

About The Position

University City District (UCD) is seeking a Senior Manager of Partnerships & Programs to strengthen its relationships with businesses, property owners, institutions, and other stakeholders; create meaningful opportunities for the University City business community to connect and engage; and grow private-sector support for UCD programs and initiatives. The Senior Manager will serve as a key connection between UCD and the University City business community. The position develops relationships with employers, retailers, property owners, developers, and other private-sector partners; learns stakeholder needs; connects businesses with UCD resources and initiatives; identifies collaboration opportunities; and helps ensure UCD is responsive to the district’s economic and operating environment. The role leads planning and execution of UCD’s annual State of University City event and develops additional networking, informational, and engagement opportunities throughout the year. It also leads UCD’s sponsorship strategy, building partnerships that generate financial and in-kind support for events, programs, public spaces, commercial corridor initiatives, and other activities. The ideal candidate is energetic and highly relational, comfortable cultivating senior leaders and small business owners, developing sponsorship proposals, and managing the details required to deliver high-quality events.

Requirements

At least five years of experience in business engagement, corporate partnerships, events, sponsorships, external affairs, fundraising, stakeholder engagement, or a related field.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
Demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with businesses, corporate leaders, institutional partners, and other external stakeholders.
Experience executing high-quality, large-scale events, meetings, or convenings involving multiple stakeholders and senior business and institutional leaders.
Experience developing, managing, and securing sponsorships, partnerships, and other revenue-generating relationships.
Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to establish credibility with a wide range of audiences.
Exceptional organizational and project management skills, including the ability to manage complex events and multiple deadlines simultaneously.
Ability to identify opportunities, initiate relationships, and independently move projects from concept through completion.
Strong judgment and ability to represent UCD professionally in external settings.
Collaborative working style and demonstrated ability to work effectively across departments and organizational functions.
Comfort using CRM, event-management, or other systems to track relationships, outreach, registrations, and opportunities.
Ability to occasionally work evenings or other nontraditional hours associated with UCD events and external engagements.

Responsibilities

Manage relationships with businesses, employers, property owners, developers, retailers, and other private-sector stakeholders throughout University City.
Develop and maintain a systematic approach to business outreach and relationship management.
Conduct regular outreach and business visits to understand stakeholder needs, challenges, priorities, and growth opportunities.
Connect businesses with relevant UCD programs, services, data, events, workforce resources, public-space initiatives, and other opportunities.
Coordinate across UCD to respond to business needs and identify ways the organization can provide value or facilitate connections.
Strengthen engagement with commercial corridors, small businesses, and business associations throughout the district.
Identify emerging issues affecting University City businesses and communicate trends internally to inform UCD strategies and priorities.
Maintain accurate stakeholder relationship, interaction, need, and opportunity information in UCD relationship-management systems.
Plan and execute stakeholder events, including the annual State of University City event, in collaboration with teams across the organization.
Manage event planning, including venue selection, logistics, program development, speakers, invitations, registration, vendors, sponsorship activation, and day-of execution.
Work with UCD leadership, Marketing & Communications, Advancement, and other teams on event content, messaging, and experience.
Create an annual calendar of events and convenings that meets local business community interests and supports meaningful networking and engagement.
Develop engagement formats such as networking events, business roundtables, briefings, panels, stakeholder meetings, and other convenings.
Convene stakeholders around emerging issues, shared challenges, district initiatives, and opportunities affecting University City.
Develop event partnerships with UCD board members, institutional partners, businesses, and other organizations.
Set goals and measures for events and engagement activities and use participant feedback and other data to improve programming.
Ensure events meet consistent standards of quality, professionalism, hospitality, and stakeholder experience.
Develop, solicit, and implement UCD’s sponsorship strategy for events, programs, public spaces, commercial corridor initiatives, and organizational activities.
Build and manage a prospective sponsor pipeline and establish annual goals for sponsorship revenue and in-kind support.
Develop sponsorship and custom partnership opportunities that provide value to partners and support UCD initiatives and priorities.
Integrate sponsorship opportunities into the annual event and engagement calendar and cultivate longer-term partner relationships.
Manage sponsor relationships from initial outreach through proposal development, activation, recognition, and stewardship.
Coordinate with Marketing & Communications to ensure sponsorship commitments and benefits are delivered effectively.
Build and maintain relationships with civic, business, institutional, community, and government partners relevant to UCD’s work.
Represent UCD at meetings, business gatherings, community events, conferences, and other external forums.
Connect UCD leadership with external stakeholders and identify opportunities to strengthen relationships important to UCD’s mission.
Support the President & CEO and senior leadership in preparing for external meetings and stakeholder engagement as needed.
Identify opportunities for UCD and its leadership to participate in relevant external events, panels, meetings, and conversations.
Collaborate with Marketing & Communications to ensure external engagement reinforces UCD’s priorities and organizational positioning.