Director, Corporate Partnerships

Director, Corporate Partnerships

The Advancement, Institutional Partnerships Team at National Geographic Society cultivates, solicits, and stewards philanthropic foundations, government, and corporate partners who invest in the Society to drive impact through science, technology, education, exploration, and storytelling. The team collaborates with Society teams, often working closely with NatGeo Content, to build transformative and impact-driven strategic partnerships. They also produce global events that deepen connections and leverage the Society’s power to convene, and direct robust annual, major, and planned giving programs empowering the Society with a broad base of public support.

The Director, Corporate Partnerships is a leader on the Institutional Partnerships, Corporate Partnerships team. This role is responsible for identifying, cultivating, securing, and stewarding corporate philanthropic partnerships to advance the Society’s priorities and goals. They will design and implement market-driven strategies for business development outreach aligned with the National Geographic Society brand and mission.

Reporting to the Senior Director, Corporate Partnerships and located at the Society’s headquarters office in Washington, DC, the Director, Corporate Partnerships will collaborate across the Advancement, Communications, and Programs teams to develop compelling partnership proposals that engage leading global corporations and corporate foundations in the Society’s work. This professional will be creative and solutions-oriented, with demonstrated experience in building successful corporate partnerships that leverage meaningful impact to meet mutual business objectives. They will steward a portfolio of high-impact, high-value partnerships, ensuring strategic alignment across internal teams and external partners, while driving measurable impact and deepening engagement to advance shared partnership goals.

This includes serving as the relationship manager for the Chubb partnership, specifically the Blue Boundaries Initiative—a new research and conservation program focused on freshwater wetlands, coastlands, and reefs. This position will ensure the partnership is well-managed and executed across several programmatic areas, oversee the fulfillment of partnership deliverables, stay attuned to evolving partnership needs, lead monthly reporting and updates for the partnership, and serve as the primary point of contact with the company.

This is a fixed-term position with an end date of 12/31/2033.

Responsibilities Include:

• Manage and cultivate a portfolio of high-value, high-impact partnerships, ensuring strong alignment between internal stakeholders and external partners, while delivering measurable results and fostering sustained engagement to achieve the partnership’s shared objectives (75%).
• Identify, cultivate, and steward potential new and current corporate partnerships that align with NGS priorities through proactive outreach, including representing NGS in meetings, events, trade shows, etc. (5%).
• Lead the internal development, coordination, and review of corporate philanthropic partnership proposals, including collaboration and strategic alignment across Advancement, Communications, and Programs divisions (10%).
• Develop, implement, and track strategic plans for corporate partnership engagement for priority NGS programs working closely with other Institutional partnership engagement staff as well as program leads (5%).
• Serve as a thought partner in developing creative and compelling partnership strategies across the Institutional Partnerships Team to engage, retain, and grow NGS’s corporate partners (5%).

Educational Background

Bachelor’s Degree Required, Master’s Degree Preferred.

Minimum Years and Type of Experience

10+ years of experience in corporate partnerships, fundraising, corporate social impact, partnership marketing, business development or related fields.

Necessary Knowledge and Skills

• Demonstrated success in securing and managing 6-7 figure corporate partnerships in a non-profit setting.
• Understanding of current trends in corporate social responsibility, sustainability, DEI, and communications.
• Strong communication and presentation skills with a high degree of confidence in interacting with senior executives.
• Evening/weekend hours for assigned meetings or events and 15-20% travel will be expected when normal operations resume.

Desired Qualifications

• A creative, solutions-oriented approach to building mutually beneficial partnerships.
• Ability to be flexible and adaptable to effectively collaborate across multiple departments.
• Excellent attention to detail and follow through as demonstrated through effective project management experience.
• Experience fundraising for science, education, environmental conservation, or cultural/historic preservation preferred.
• A dedication to the mission of the National Geographic Society.

Supervision

No direct reports

Salary Information

The National Geographic Society offers a competitive and holistic total rewards package. Our compensation structure and transparent pay philosophy are based on industry-specific market data for similar-sized nonprofit organizations. The salary range for this position accounts for a wide range of factors including but not limited to organizational need; specific skill sets; experience and training; certifications; and more. At the National Geographic Society, individuals are typically hired at or near the starting point of the salary range for their role, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. The salary range for this position is $145,300.00 - $153,000.00. In addition, the National Geographic Society offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits package that includes, but is not limited to, medical, dental, and vision insurance; engaging and comprehensive wellness program; 401(k) retirement savings plan with matching contributions after 6 months of employment; flexible paid time off benefits with up to 22 days of paid annual leave per calendar year (15 days for new hires in their first year, prorated based on the number of pay periods remaining in the year) and 10 days of sick leave; 12 paid holidays and a paid winter break between December 25 and 31 (May not apply to all roles that are required to work during high volume seasons or essential workers. Please check with the hiring manager for confirmation.); paid parental leave, adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility benefits; learning and development opportunities; Lifestyle Spending Account; pet adoption assistance and insurance; pre-tax transportation benefits with a generous employer subsidy; employer-paid life insurance and disability benefit; and a variety of National Geographic discounts and perks.

Job Designation

Hybrid - At the Society, we believe in the advantages of coming together to build community, mentor and learn from colleagues, and connect more deeply with our mission. As a result, the majority of our staff are Hybrid. Our Hybrid category requires that staff work at Base Camp two days each week: every Tuesday and Wednesday. Hybrid staff are also always welcome to come in additional days each week if preferred. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States. This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship. We encourage you to apply even if your experience is not a 100% match with the position. We are looking for someone with relevant skills and experience, not a checklist that exactly matches the job description. We want to help you grow and in return, you help us grow into a stronger, more inclusive organization.

Key skills/competency

• Corporate Partnerships
• Philanthropic Fundraising
• Business Development
• Partnership Management
• Strategic Planning
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Relationship Management
• Communication Skills
• Non-Profit Advancement
• Stakeholder Engagement