Director, Global Strategic Partnerships - Business Development

Position Title: Director, Global Strategic Partnerships - Business Development

Location: SOI Headquarters Washington D.C. (Hybrid, 2 days a week in the office)

Department: Global Strategic Partnerships

Reports to: Vice President, Global Strategic Partnerships

FLSA Status: Exempt

Salary Range for US Based Staff: $86,660 - $101,953

 

Organization Overview:

Founded in 1968, Special Olympics is a global movement to end discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities. We foster acceptance of all people through the power of sport and programming in education, health, and leadership. With nearly four million athletes and Unified Sports® partners and one million coaches and volunteers in more than 170 countries, Special Olympics delivers more than 30 Olympic-type sports and nearly 50,000 games and competitions every year. Learn more at SpecialOlympics.org.

 

Position Overview:

Special Olympics International (SOI) seeks to form mutually beneficial, long-term partnerships with corporations that can offer reach and revenue to support the brand and its organizational priorities. Based on the Global Strategic Partnerships team, this position will primarily focus on securing new financial and budget relieving resources to support Special Olympics programming, games properties and the overall mission (unrestricted). This position will work to identify and develop new assets, processes, and best practices to support and enhance Special Olympics’ fundraising efforts.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Together with the VP Global Strategic Partnerships, Sr. Directors Global Strategic Partnerships – New Business, design and execute an annual development strategy to annually secure and generate $1-1.5M in new revenue toward the corporate team’s overall revenue goal
• Identify, develop, and foster relationships with potential donors and companies to build out a robust long-term new business pipeline
• Collaborate with Programmatic teams and other functional leads in developing compelling proposals based on strategic priorities, funding needs, and organizational capacity
• Identify and develop SOI signature property assets that can be integrated into business development strategy
• Lead presentations/direct solicitations on behalf of SOI at the senior level
• Prepare statements of work, presentations/proposals and other requests to solicit financial support along with budget relieving in-kind donations
• Devise concepts and work cross-functionally with SOI legal and finance teams to develop partnership contracts and ensure clarity on revenue allocation
• Collaborate with SOI regions, country/state-based chapter executives, and Local Organizing Committees (LOCs) for major games properties on key prospects and develop cultivation strategies
• Develop, monitor, and forecast new partnerships and ensure all leads/contacts/status are documented in donor management system while providing weekly updates on progress against targets
• Travel to be expected (20%)

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree and at least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in corporate partnership sales within the nonprofit sector and/or managing corporate sponsorship and CSR efforts in the private sector
• Experience working with a variety of international corporate-based divisions including, but not limited to foundations, marketing, CSR and sponsorship divisions
• Ability to negotiate complex and diverse giving structures/programs to develop multi-faceted partnerships
• Demonstrated ability to identify donors and cultivate relationships leading to substantial (7 figure) commitments with an exceptional ability to close deals
• Demonstrated success driving revenue growth in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment
• Strong organizational and communication skills
• High energy, sense of humor and passion for SOI’s mission is essential

Desired Qualifications:  

• An established network of corporate leaders and influencers to begin sharing campaign concepts for consideration and/or introductions to target prospects
• Working knowledge and background of federated non-profit organizational structures and corporate giving structures
• Fluency with Salesforce and all Microsoft Office products, including Copilot, and other AI-based products
• Fluency in English with other languages a plus

 

*For USA based staff: Special Olympics offers full-time employees a generous and comprehensive benefits package, which includes: medical, dental, vision, HSA, FSA, life insurance, dis