Director, Sponsor Relations

Remote

Full Time

Senior Manager/Supervisor

XPRIZE Overview

XPRIZE is an established global leader in designing and executing large-scale competitions to solve humanity’s greatest challenges. As a 501(c)3, our unique model democratizes innovation by incentivizing crowd-sourced, scientifically viable solutions to create a more equitable and abundant future for all. Since our founding in 1994, we’ve awarded over $300M in prize purses, inspired thousands of global innovators, and collaborated with the most forward-thinking changemakers of our time. We operate across 7 areas of impact, including:

Climate & Energy
Biodiversity & Conservation
Food, Water & Waste
Quantum & Deep Tech
Space & Exploration
Learning, Innovation & Society
Health

Join XPRIZE to help empower humanity to achieve breakthroughs and architect a more equitable and abundant future for all.

Position Description

The Director of Sponsor Relations serves as a key strategic lead in managing and growing XPRIZE’s sponsor portfolio which includes some of the world’s most prominent leaders and philanthropists. The Director is responsible for building and executing an organizational strategy to create a best-in-class sponsor journey that drives clarity and mutual value. The Director will communicate with key external stakeholders to ensure XPRIZE’s 30X impact is articulated and understood in the context of sponsorship. This person will be a leader in building key relationships with a variety of internal and external stakeholders to ensure successful fundraising. They are directly responsible for ensuring that not only are contractual obligations met but also that expectations are exceeded and sponsors and partners are delighted and become active promoters of the XPRIZE Foundation.

Responsibilities:

Responsible for overseeing the total portfolio of past and current sponsors and their experiences with XPRIZE.
Maintains strong working relationships with Domain Leads and Advancement Leads, with understanding of strategic priorities of the organization and each Domain.
Convenes and leads regular sponsor working group meetings with appropriate stakeholders including Advancement, Domains, Marketing, Legal, Finance, etc.
Establishes, champions, and coaches sponsor-centric best practices; builds templates, tools and resources needed to put sponsor-centric behavior into practice throughout the organization (e.g., sponsor guidelines, rules of engagement, reporting templates that are sponsor-friendly, etc.).
Demonstrates mastery of the relational and technical aspects of sponsorships (e.g., relationship building, soft skills, delivery of assets and benefits); maintains strong relationship with Legal Compliance Coordinator to balance relational/technical elements.
Regularly and proactively assembles sponsor working groups to review and assess health of current sponsor relationships.
Adheres to best practices and established processes in CRM; leverages data for insights and decision-making.
Develops and executes a strategic plan to acknowledge partners/sponsors and supporting organizations. Seeks out opportunities for partners/sponsors to be properly recognized at events, through XPRIZE’s online channels and through other mediums.
Follows the negotiation process, in partnership with Advancement, Business Affairs and other internal stakeholders, to understand sponsor/partner expectations.
Works closely with the Domain Lead and Prize Director to keep up to date on prize/project status and support sponsor communications as needed.
Collaborate with Marketing and Impact Departments to regularly evolve prize impact materials for distribution.
Proactively identifies risks and coordinates with internal partners to develop and implement mitigation strategies.
Works closely with Advancement leadership to identify and close opportunities while also expanding and maturing existing relationships.

Qualifications

8+ years proven track record of account management or relationship management
Experience in philanthropy, partnerships, sponsorships, B2B or other related field
Experience with contract management, business negotiations (sponsor fulfillment a plus)
Experience as a customer service representative or similar is a plus
Impeccable presentation skills, sophistication and outstanding communication skills essential for interactions with sponsors and partners at the C level
Fluency in using Salesforce.com to manage accounts and opportunities
Advanced knowledge of MS Outlook, MS Exchange, and MS Office Suite, especially MS Word, MS Excel, and MS PowerPoint
Travel requirement 40%+

The anticipated base salary for this position is $120,000 to $140,000 and may also qualify for an annual incentive. This role is eligible for our extensive benefits package and generous paid time off including vacation, sick, and holidays. The actual base salary offered will depend on a variety of factors including the qualifications of the individual applicant, years of relevant experience for the role, level of education attained, and certifications and/or other licenses held. XPRIZE is a remote-first environment.

The XPRIZE FOUNDATION is an equal opportunity employer and does not unlawfully discriminate in employment. Equal access to employment, services, and programs is available to all persons. Those applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application and/or interview process should notify a representative of the organization.

Please note: Though submitting a resume to the XPRIZE FOUNDATION implies that you are interested in a position(s), it does not imply that you are an applicant. You are not considered an applicant until you have been contacted directly by a Talent Acquisitions representative requesting that you begin the designated application process, which may involve phone and/or in-person interview(s), job-related testing, and background checks.

Apply for this position

Required*

First Name*

Last Name*

Email Address*

Phone*

Address

Resume*

We've received your resume. Click here to update it.

Attach resume or Paste resume

Attach resume as .pdf, .doc, .docx, .odt, .txt, or .rtf (limit 5MB) or Paste resume

Paste your resume here or Attach resume file

How did you hear about this role?*

Do you require sponsorship now or in the future to work in the United States?*

What are your compensation requirements?*

If you were referred to this job by an XPRIZE employee, please list their first and last name here:

Describe a time when you successfully managed a high-profile sponsorship/partnership. What strategies did you use to ensure both the sponsor/partner's needs and your organization's objectives were met? What were the key outcomes of the relationship?*

How have you built and maintained long-term relationships with sponsors or partners? Can you give an example of how you exceeded expectations?*

Tell us about a time when you identified and mitigated a risk in a sponsorship or partnership relationship. What steps did you take to address it and what were the key learnings or outcomes?*

The following questions are entirely optional.

To comply with government Equal Employment Opportunity and/or Affirmative Action reporting regulations, we are requesting (but NOT requiring) that you enter this personal data. This information will not be used in connection with any employment decisions, and will be used solely as permitted by state and federal law. Your voluntary cooperation would be appreciated. Learn more.

Gender

Race/Ethnicity

Invitation for Job Applicants to Self-Identify as a U.S. Veteran

A “disabled veteran” is one of the following:
- a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or
- a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.
A “recently separated veteran” means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.
An “active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran” means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.
An “Armed forces service medal veteran” means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Veteran status

I IDENTIFY AS ONE OR MORE OF THE CLASSIFICATIONS OF PROTECTED VETERAN LISTED ABOVE
I AM NOT A PROTECTED VETERAN
I DON’T WISH TO ANSWER

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability Form CC-305
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
Blind or low vision
Cancer (past or present)
Cardiovascular or heart disease
Celiac disease
Cerebral palsy
Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
Diabetes
Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
Intellectual or developmental disability
Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
Short stature (dwarfism)
Traumatic brain injury

Please check one of the boxes below:

YES, I HAVE A DISABILITY, OR HAVE HAD ONE IN THE PAST NO, I DO NOT HAVE A DISABILITY AND HAVE NOT HAD ONE IN THE PAST I DO NOT WANT TO ANSWER

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.

You must enter your name and date
Name	Date

Human Check*

Submit Application

Thanks for visiting our Career Page. Please review our open positions and apply to the positions that match your qualifications.

Director, Sponsor Relations

Apply for this position