Director, Strategic Partnerships

Director, Strategic Partnerships 
American Public University System

The Director, Strategic Partnerships will be responsible for managing individuals who are responsible for as well as directly promoting the University and its programs to prospective partner organizations and current partners to develop new business opportunities. The role works with its reports to and directly establishes relationships and opportunities with organizations across industries and their key influencers to include executives, senior corporate leaders, mid-level managers, business development partners within organizations and account management counterparts within the University. This role will lead and collaborate with team members as well as internal department contacts to develop a strategic plan for each account, to promote AMU & APU growth and expansion.

Responsibilities: 

• Develops and manages professional development strategies for internal constituents.
• Collaborates to develop targets and account level goals with internal reports and manages goals on a routine basis.
• Evaluate and presents strategy and results to internal constituents including executives
• Locates and proposes potential new business by contacting potential partners, discovering, and exploring opportunities.
• Develops and closes new business through new opportunities and executed agreements.
• Establishes quarterly goals and tactics to achieve those goals for target accounts.
• Maintains strategic partnership target list for assigned sector, adding new targets upon target conversion.
• Assists in the creation and implementation of Strategic Partnerships Division strategic planning.
• Regulates departmental fiscal management including budget analysis, preparation, and administration.
• Impacts the partnered student enrollment, retention, persistence, and certificate and/or degree completion by supporting partnership initiatives.
• Facilitates engagement of APUS leadership with key accounts and sectors.
• Develops relevant partnerships by seeking new public and private business accounts.
• Develops a strategic plan for each new target or account, to engage or promote APUS growth and expansion.
• Drive sales process leadership from contact through strategy, proposal, presentation & successful conclusion for services within a defined market.
• Aggressively research, identify, qualify and target potential APUS new accounts and account expansion as well as develop access strategy to initiate contact.
• Exercise creativity and independent judgment in developing and evaluating sales and marketing strategies in selling within defined market.
• Identify needs and develop student-specific solutions for those needs.
• Utilize resources from across APUS in order to design and deliver student desired outcomes
• Develop relationships with intermediaries to build pipeline of opportunities and awareness of capabilities.
• Communicate APUS's value to potential partners using effective, creative methods, incorporating marketing intelligence where appropriate.

Reporting Relationships:

Director, Strategic Partnerships will lead and collaborate with team members, and this role twill report to the AVP, Strategic Partnerships.

Requirements:

• BA/BS is required for this position. MBA preferred.
• Significant years of demonstrated partnership development success/ track record of developing complex services relationships from cultivating relationships from the early stages
• Team leadership and supervision experience required.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, presentation skills, and computer skills.
• Ability to understand and execute strategic sales planning and methodologies.
• Financial acumen and the ability to understand operations and develop proposals.
• In-depth understanding of the higher education partnership markets, gained through direct personal experience
• Strong people leadership skills and abilities
• Skill in developing and maintaining cooperative work relationships partnerships
• Knowledge of APUS academic and student services policies
• Leadership skills that include initiative, problem solving, stress tolerance, quality decision making, time management, prioritization, oral/written/presentation communications abilities, planning, organization, personal and organizational sensitivity, interpersonal skills, negotiating skills, and the ability to develop effective relationships with constituents both within and external to the organization.
• Acts as a role model; anticipates and plans for change; communicates vision to the teams. Ability to lead, dir