Director, Strategic Partnership Management

Director, Strategic Partnership Management

Robinson College of Business

RCB Career Management Services

Georgia State University's J. Mack Robinson College of Business is the sixth-largest business school in the country and educates more than 9,000 students across multiple physical campuses throughout the Atlanta region. Known for producing business leaders and innovators, Robinson College and Georgia State University have produced more of Georgia's top executives with graduate degrees than any other school in the country. Our undergraduate and part-time MBA programs for working professionals are ranked among the best by U.S. News & World Report, and our Executive MBA is ranked among the world's best by CEO Magazine.

These are exciting times at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. We are growing, and we are thrilled that you are interested in joining our team. We are surrounded by individuals empowered to use their expertise and talents to achieve our mission of pursuing excellence.

WHAT MAKES J. Mack Robinson College of Business A GREAT PLACE?

• A flexible work environment

• Generous benefits, including health, dental, vision, tuition assistance, retirement, etc.

• A knowledge-sharing organization that works collaboratively with diverse partners.

• Professional development opportunity and mentorship

• A rapidly growing center within an academic setting

The Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University seeks a director to provide relationship management and business development support for our growing portfolio of strategic partnerships. This role reflects alignment with the College's strategic plan

• Accelerate 2025 - which calls for increased efforts to infuse immersive and experiential

l programming broadly across the college and proactively engaging organizations in multi-disciplinary sponsored research and activities that foster innovation.

Reporting directly to the Sr. Director, Strategic Partnerships, the person in this role will act as the key relationship manager and liaison between various Robinson College of Business and GSU stakeholders to engage and support top employers and strategic partners based upon a culture of trust, collaboration and execution, and value creation.

• Experience with proposal development, contracting and negotiation, and conflict management skills

• Demonstrated ability to navigate partner businesses and influence key decision-makers across all levels of technical and business functions including C-level executives

• Possesses a strategic mindset with a passion for creating focus and driving execution, able to translate ideas into operational goals

• Experience effectively leading execution and influencing others to achieve results in a matrix environment and boundary-spanning role that requires the development and execution of multi-faceted plans from idea to reality across large, complex systems in collaboration with stakeholders at all levels

• Excellent organizational skills and demonstrated ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, process-driven environment while maintaining exceptional attention to detail and accuracy with lean staff support

• Demonstrated ability to manage time-sensitive problems in a constructive, positive manner

• Experience working effectively with faculty, University administrators, and advisory board members preferred

• A willingness to travel 25% local to global as needed is required.

• Schedule flexibility to include occasional evenings, early mornings, and weekends are required.

• This position may also assume other duties as assigned.

Essential Functions/Responsibilities

• In collaboration with the Associate Dean and Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships, identify opportunities for increased partnership engagement and investment with RCB and across GSU - including driving innovative new models - to ensure these activities foster new and expand existing relationships across the college and beyond in our pillars of activity including, but not limited to:

o Talent Recruitment and Development

o Immersive Programs and Scholarships

o Sponsored Research

• Support the growth of a strategic partnership pipeline by implementing data-driven outreach strategies to high-potential partners

• Position Robinson and GSU as a highly valued source of business talent, education, professional development, and applied research for partner organizations and pro-actively facilitate partnership engagement and investment

Strategic Partnership Relationship Management

• Develop and support deep relationships and engage strategic partners at senior levels.

• Manage strategic partnership relationships post proposal acceptance, including facilitating the timely and successful execution of required contracts, partnership launch activities, relationship management, invoicing and payment, and partnership renewal.

• Provide ongoing partnership support by maintaining a regular cadence of partnership meetings and check-ins, including GSU stakeholders as appropriate, to ensure the successful and timely execution of partnership activities.

• Represent external partnership perspective with internal stakeholders while also ensuring partnership activities are mutually beneficial, sustainable, and support GSU's priorities.

• Develop detailed partnership launch action plans and timelines and lead internal and external project meetings with key stakeholders to launch new partnership activities and facilitate successful execution.

• For sponsored research projects, facilitate research team meetings to ensure successful execution and timely delivery of outputs to clients, including supporting the definition of project scope, timeline, and deadlines; budget required resources, and delegation of tasks in collaboration with research teams and act as a research liaison between an interdisciplinary team of faculty and undergraduate/graduate/doctoral students and external partners.

• Support talent requests from strategic partners, including, but not limited to, connections to key faculty, staff, and student organizations; resume referrals, campus Interviews, information sessions, and access to resume books; support ad hoc talent requests from potential partners as needed.

Partnership Reporting & Communications

• Identify new business challenges and potential targeted solutions that leverage RCB resources.

• Effectively position Robinson and GSU as a highly valued source of business talent, education, professional development, and applied research to current and potential partner organizations through written and oral communications.

• Support the communication of RCB strategic partnership activities, success stories, and successful value creation via marketing materials, articles, newsletters, press releases, and other vehicles.

• Provide input into the development of effective marketing materials, high-quality presentations, partnership roadmaps, and formal partnership proposals.

• Continuously update and maintain partner records in Salesforce in a timely manner to ensure that all information is current and relevant, including contacts, partner activities, partnership-related documents, contracts, agreements, and pipeline and revenue forecasts.

• Create and generate reports and dashboards in Salesforce to provide insights into partnership performance, key metrics, and trends.

Unit, College and University-wide Collaboration

• Capture data to illustrate mutual value creation and prepare ad-hoc and standard reports that can be shared with university stakeholders and partners.

• Serve as a liaison and representative of RCB's Strategic Partnership team with Robinson's Graduate Programs team, college and university development staff, corporate and foundation relations staff, and academic leaders, faculty, and staff across the university.

• Act as a liaison between strategic partners and the GSU Foundation, GSU Sponsored Research Foundation, GSU's legal affairs office, and other departments as appropriate to support the successful execution of contracts, invoicing, payment, and partnership renewal processes

• Engage in regular internal meetings to expand strong university-wide strategic partnerships in collaboration with the Assoc. Dean, Sr. Director, Dean, Development and CFR with an emphasis on long-term, holistic relationships

• Provide input into and support the development of efficient processes and templates to improve partnership contracting, invoicing, payment tracking and effective communications between all parties involved.

• Seek out and share knowledge of best practices and emerging models for business-to-higher education partnerships, including human capital acquisition, talent development, research collaboration, and industry association alliances.

• The Director collaborates closely with internal constituents to ensure strategic partnerships enhance the visibility of the College and University, with a focus on multi-disciplinary activities.

Benefits

- The University System of Georgia (USG) provides comprehensive benefits to Georgia State employees. USG offers healthcare, dental, vision, and other benefits, as well as retirement plan options. https://hr.gsu.edu/service-centers/benefits/

Flexible Work Schedules

The role will work in the main downtown Atlanta campus. This position is eligible for a flexible schedule and hybrid remote working that meet the needs of the employee and Robinson College.

USG Retirement

• Optional Retirement Plan -- ORP is a 401(a) Defined Contribution Plan. Employees contribute 6%, and USG contributes 9.24% to the plan. Employees are immediately vested.

• Teacher Retirement System -- TRS is a Defined Benefit Plan, a traditional public pension plan. Employees contribute 6%, and USG contributes 19.81% to the plan. Your retirement benefit is calculated by factoring in years of service, final salary, and a 2% multiplier. Employees are vested after 10 years.

See the retirement comparison for more information.

Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) -- Full-time employees enrolled in a USG degree program may earn their degree for free.  Find the TAP details here

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in business, education, psychology, or a related field, and six years of job-related experience or a combination of education and experience.

Preferred Hiring Qualifications:

• Outstanding relationship skills and exceptional degree of emotional intelligence with the ability to establish credibility, work collaboratively, foster a culture of collaboration and trust, and influence outcomes with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders

• Possesses a strategic mindset related to the achievement of goals, able to communicate vision and translate ideas into operational goals effectively. Excellent organizational and management skills and functions with a high degree of professionalism and integrity

• Outstanding written, verbal, and presentation skills and the proven ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels

• Ability to maintain composure, humor, and positive attitude during lengthy periods of high-volume work

• Highly motivated self-starter who works well independently

• A willingness to travel 25% local to global as needed is required.

• Evenings, early mornings, and occasional weekends are required.