Director, Partnerships and Events

tso.ca; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 110,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Telus-Health benefits

Pension contributions

3 weeks vacation

Complimentary tickets to TSO concerts

Hybrid work environment

Job summary

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is seeking a Director of Partnerships & Events to drive its corporate revenue portfolio across partnerships, sponsorships, collaborations, and activations. You will lead a three-person team and own strategic and revenue accountability for community giving and development events, while shaping a new pillar within Development.

You will secure high-value commitments, manage multi-year pipelines, and collaborate with senior leaders to position the TSO as the

Qualifications

• 7+ years in corporate partnerships, sponsorship, or business development with six- and seven-figure commitments.
• Experience designing, valuing, negotiating, and renewing complex, multi-channel partnerships.
• Experience leading a fundraising events program with net revenue targets.
• Strong fundraising principles and full gift cycle knowledge.
• Proven people leadership, delegation, and talent development.

Responsibilities

• Set the strategic direction for the corporate partnerships portfolio, including collaborations, sponsorships, and activations, and align with mission.
• Personally identify, cultivate, negotiate, and close significant partnership commitments.
• Hold accountability for annual partnership revenue targets and multi-year pipeline health.
• Design, price, and refresh the partnership offer with tiered pricing, valuation, and bespoke proposals.
• Own accountability for delivering contracted benefits and activations to partner audiences.

Skills

Strategic partnerships

Fundraising & development

Negotiation

Leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Post-secondary degree

Job description

Director, Partnerships & Events

Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) – Toronto, ON | Permanent, Full-time

Reports to: Chief Development Officer

Leads: A team of three across corporate partnerships, community giving, and events

Status: Permanent Full-time

Are you a strategic dealmaker, a natural matchmaker, and a creative collaborator –someone who believes the strongest partnerships are built on shared values and a shared vision, and knows how to turn that belief into commitments that last?

Join us as Director, Partnerships & Events – building a portfolio of changemakers and city builders.

The Role

The Director, Partnerships & Events is a commercially astute, entrepreneurial senior leader who drives the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's corporate revenue portfolio – spanning strategic partnerships, sponsorships, collaborations, and activations – and holds strategic and revenue accountability for the TSO's community giving program and Development events portfolio. Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, you will personally secure high-value, mission-aligned, multi-year commitments; deliver ambitious growth across corporate partnerships, community giving, and event revenue streams; and lead a high-performing team of three that positions the TSO as the corporate and community partner of choice among Canada's cultural institutions.

You will shape the strategy, the offer, and the systems of a new pillar within the Development department – with the backing of a leadership team that has made partnership growth an institutional priority, and a horizon of major international touring and campaign initiatives that will demand partnership leadership at the highest level.

About the TSO

For more than a century, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) has been a cornerstone of Canadian culture, steadfast in its commitment to musical excellence and to the vibrant communities we serve. Through acclaimed concerts, recordings, and tours, the TSO enriches audiences while reflecting the diversity of Toronto—one of the world's most multicultural cities. Music Director Gustavo Gimeno brings artistic vision and a sense of adventure to the 93‑musician orchestra. Engaging audiences of all ages, the TSO leads a myriad of education, health‑and‑well‑being, and community‑access programs, including the tuition‑free Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, cultivating the next generation of Canadian artists.

What you'll do

• Set the strategic direction for the TSO's corporate partnerships portfolio – collaborations, sponsorships, and activations – evolving it toward deeper, mission‑aligned, commercially compelling, multi‑year relationships.
• Personally identify, cultivate, negotiate, and close the TSO's most significant partnership commitments, including six‑ and seven‑figure, multi‑year, and integrated agreements.
• Hold full accountability for annual partnership revenue targets, and for the health, coverage, and conversion of a multi‑year prospect pipeline.
• Design, price, and refresh the TSO's partnership offer – tiered model, valuation methodology, activation concepts, and bespoke proposals – to respond to market conditions and maximize both commercial and philanthropic value.
• Own partner‑facing accountability for the stewardship and delivery of every contracted benefit and activation, working with internal teams to ensure each commitment is executed with excellence for the partner's audiences, employees, and clients.
• Provide strategic oversight and revenue accountability for the TSO's community giving program, and senior leadership for corporate and community fundraising in support of major international touring, campaign, and special‑initiative priorities – including partnerships with corporate, institutional and community stakeholders.
• Hold strategic and net‑revenue accountability for the TSO's Development events program – signature fundraising galas and donor cultivation, stewardship, and recognition events – setting annual strategy, targets, and success metrics, and delivering through a dedicated events lead.
• Integrate event sponsorship, hospitality partnerships, and contra revenue into the corporate pipeline, ensuring one coordinated institutional approach to corporate and community prospects with no duplicate or competing solicitations.
• Equip and partner with Board members, Development Committee members, and senior corporate volunteers to open doors and drive peer‑to‑peer cultivation and solicitation.
• Support the Chief Development Officer and Executive Leadership Team in planning for future campaign initiatives, including the identification, cultivation, and solicitation of corporate campaign commitments.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of three direct reports spanning corporate partnerships, community giving, and events delivery – setting clear expectations, building commercial and fundraising capability, and fostering an entrepreneurial, collaborative, high‑performance culture.
• Partner with the Director, Philanthropy and Director, Individual Giving to identify and convert cross‑portfolio opportunities in all directions – between corporate, community, individual, event, and audience pipelines.
• Maintain commercial and operational discipline across all three portfolios – contract management, benefits‑delivery tracking, pipeline reporting, CRM hygiene, budget oversight, and KPI accountability for revenue growth, partner retention, pipeline coverage, and conversion.
• Bring a current view of the market – tracking trends in corporate philanthropy, sponsorship, brand activation, community giving, fundraising events, and arts‑sector partnerships – and an opportunity‑spotting mindset to growing every portfolio.
• Maintain a strong on‑site presence at TSO performances, partner activations, and donor events, using these moments to deepen relationships, host prospects, and represent the TSO at the executive level.

What you'll bring

• 7+ years of progressive experience in corporate partnerships, sponsorship, or business development, with a demonstrated track record of personally securing and growing six‑and seven‑figure, multi‑year commitments.
• Demonstrated experience designing, valuing, negotiating, and renewing complex, multi‑channel partnership agreements – including activation strategy, benefit fulfillment, performance measurement, and ROI reporting to senior corporate decision‑makers.
• Experience holding portfolio‑level accountability for a fundraising events program – including signature galas and donor cultivation, stewardship, and recognition events – with responsibility for net revenue targets, budgets, and outcomes.
• Strong command of fundraising principles and the full gift cycle, with the ability to move fluidly between partnerships, philanthropic, and community giving frameworks and to structure blended commitments across them.
• Proven people leadership, including management of senior professional staff, delegation of operational portfolios with retained accountability, performance management, and talent development.
• Strong strategic planning, analytical, and financial acumen, including experience managing revenue targets, multi‑year pipelines, event and program P&Ls, forecasting, and board‑level reporting.
• Sophisticated interpersonal, presentation, and negotiation skills, with the credibility to engage C‑suite executives, senior donors, board members, diplomatic and community leaders, and executive leadership as a peer.
• Experience leading cross‑functional delivery with marketing, communications, artistic, production, and finance teams to bring partner commitments, activations, and events to life at a consistently high standard.
• Experience in the performing arts, cultural, educational, or complex not‑for‑profit environment strongly preferred; agency‑side or brand‑side sponsorship experience is equally valued.
• High level of professionalism, discretion, and ethical judgment, including the management of confidential donor, partner, and organizational information.
• Post‑secondary degree or equivalent professional experience.

Why the TSO

Be part of an organization that believes music connects, heals, and inspires – and that the right partnerships broaden that impact in ways neither partner could achieve alone. This is a rare opportunity to build a function rather than inherit one: a newly created Partnerships & Events pillar, a seat among the Development department's portfolio Directors, an orchestra that brings Toronto's business and civic leadership into Roy Thomson Hall week after week, and a horizon of international touring and campaign initiatives that will reward partnership leadership at the highest level. You'll have the platform, the partners, and the profile to build the kind of partnerships that matter – to your career, to the TSO, and to the city we serve.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary range: $110,000 to $120,000 CAD (commensurate with experience).

Benefits: 100% company paid benefits including Telus-Health Employee Family Assistance program (provided after successful completion of the first three (3) months of employment); Company paid pension contributions provided after the completion of one year of employment; 3 weeks vacation prorated during the first year, complimentary tickets to TSO concerts and a hybrid work environment.

Our Commitment

The TSO is committed to building a workforce that reflects the diversity of the City of Toronto and encourages applications from all qualified individuals. We are also committed to providing accommodations throughout the recruitment process, in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Ontario Human Rights Code; if you require accommodation, we will work with you to meet your needs.

Work Environment / Physical Demands

The work is performed primarily in a professional office environment, with significant time spent externally meeting with corporate partners, prospects, agency representatives, community stakeholders, and senior leaders. The role requires regular attendance at TSO performances, rehearsals, Development events, and partner activations at Roy Thomson Hall and external venues, with evening and weekend availability increasing around signature events. Physical and sensory demands include extended periods of sitting, standing, and walking, and focused attention in dynamic public and event settings. Local travel across the Greater Toronto Area is expected, with regular regional travel and occasional national or international travel to support partner cultivation, stewardship, and major initiatives. The TSO operates a hybrid work environment.