Descriptionposition background
Do you love building relationships, developing creative business opportunities, and turning partnerships into measurable growth?
The 4As is looking for a commercially minded, relationship-driven business development leader to grow our strategic partnerships and sponsorship business. This is an opportunity to work at the center of the advertising industry, building relationships with leading technology companies, media platforms, brands, and other organizations that want to engage with and support the agency community.
From developing strategic partner relationships to creating sponsorship opportunities around high-profile industry events and programs, this role offers the chance to build meaningful partnerships that deliver value for our partners, our members, and the broader advertising industry.
position overview
The Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Sponsorships is responsible for growing non-dues revenue through strategic partner memberships, sponsorships, and other commercial opportunities across the 4As.
This is a highly visible, revenue-generating role focused on identifying new prospects, developing relationships with senior decision-makers, building a strong pipeline, and converting opportunities into new and expanded partnerships. The VP will work with organizations seeking to connect with advertising agencies and industry leaders, positioning the 4As as a valuable partner in achieving their business objectives.
The role requires a consultative approach to selling. Rather than relying solely on predefined packages, the successful candidate will understand each prospect's goals and develop relevant opportunities across the 4As' partner network, events, programs, and platforms. The VP will also manage and grow existing relationships, identify opportunities to expand partner investment, and collaborate with internal teams to deliver compelling, high-value experiences.
Success requires a combination of new-business development, strategic relationship management, commercial creativity, disciplined pipeline execution, and a clear focus on revenue growth.
position responsibilities
Strategic Partnerships & Business Development
- Develop and execute a business development plan to grow strategic partner membership and sponsorship revenue.
- Identify, prospect, and engage potential partners across advertising technology, media platforms, data and analytics, marketing services, and other relevant sectors.
- Build and manage a robust pipeline of prospective partners, using outbound outreach, referrals, industry relationships, conferences, and networking opportunities.
- Lead discovery conversations to understand prospective partners' business objectives, target audiences, and priorities.
- Develop tailored partnership proposals that connect partner objectives with the 4As' membership, programs, events, and industry relationships.
- Lead negotiations and close new partnership agreements, meeting or exceeding established revenue targets.
- Identify opportunities to expand the 4As' partner ecosystem and develop new sources of non-dues revenue.
Sponsorship Sales & Revenue Growth
- Drive sponsorship revenue across 4As events, conferences, awards programs, executive forums, and other industry initiatives.
- Develop and sell sponsorship packages that deliver meaningful visibility, access, engagement, and business value for participating organizations.
- Build relationships with prospective sponsors and decision-makers across marketing, business development, partnerships, and executive leadership.
- Identify opportunities to increase sponsor participation, expand existing sponsorships, and create new commercial offerings.
- Work closely with event and program teams to align sponsorship opportunities with audience needs, partner objectives, and organizational revenue goals.
- Maintain a forward-looking sponsorship pipeline and sales calendar to support revenue planning and program growth.
Sales Process & Performance Management
- Establish and maintain a disciplined sales process, including prospect research, qualification, pipeline management, proposals, negotiations, and closing.
- Maintain accurate records of prospects, opportunities, activities, forecast revenue, and partner agreements in Salesforce.
- Track progress against revenue targets and provide regular pipeline forecasts and performance updates.
- Develop a clear understanding of sales performance, conversion rates, deal values, and the activities that drive results.
- Work with the EVP, Strategic Partnerships & Growth, to establish revenue goals, prioritize opportunities, and evaluate performance.
- Identify ways to improve sales effectiveness, strengthen partner retention, and create a more scalable approach to partnership and sponsorship development.
Requirementsposition requirements- 7+ years experience in strategic partnerships, sponsorship sales, media sales, advertising technology, or consultative B2B sales.
- Demonstrated success generating new business and achieving or exceeding revenue targets.
- Proven ability to independently prospect, develop opportunities, negotiate agreements, and close revenue-generating deals.
- Strong relationship-building skills and the ability to establish credibility with senior executives.
- Ability to understand client and partner business objectives and translate them into compelling commercial opportunities.
- Excellent presentation, negotiation, written communication, and interpersonal skills.
- Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and consistent follow-through.
- Experience managing a sales pipeline, forecasting revenue, and using CRM tools to manage performance.
- Self-motivated, commercially curious, and comfortable balancing strategic thinking with hands-on sales execution.
- Willingness to travel occasionally for partner meetings, industry events, and conferences.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience working in advertising, marketing, media, marketing technology, or the broader advertising ecosystem.
- Existing relationships with senior leaders at technology platforms, media companies, marketing services organizations, or other potential strategic partners.
- Experience developing sponsorship programs for conferences, awards, executive events, or industry associations.
- Familiarity with Salesforce and other sales prospecting tools.
- Experience working with a trade association, professional membership organization, or industry network.
