Manager, Partnerships

tso.ca; Toronto; On-site; CAD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Telus-Health benefits

Company paid pension contributions

3 weeks vacation (pro-rated)

Complimentary tickets to TSO concerts

Hybrid work environment

Job summary

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is seeking a Manager, Partnerships to lead its corporate partnerships portfolio in Toronto. You will own relationships, delivery, and renewals, building systems, tracking fulfillment, and driving revenue growth.

You will report to the Director, Partnerships & Events and help shape the new Partnerships unit within Development, collaborating across Marketing, Education, and Finance to achieve ambitious partnership outcomes.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive experience in corporate partnerships or sponsorship.
• Experience delivering contracted partner benefits across multiple channels.
• Strong business writing and presentation skills for partner-facing materials.
• Ability to read and apply contract language with attention to renewal terms.
• Experience building pipeline and fulfillment records with data hygiene.

Responsibilities

• Serve as day-to-day account lead for the corporate partnerships portfolio.
• Build and execute annual stewardship plans for each partner.
• Prepare partner impact reports with data and outcomes.
• Host partners at performances and events within entitlements.
• Manage renewal negotiations and renewal cases for assigned accounts.
• Identify growth opportunities within existing accounts and campaigns.
• Draft proposals, decks, and program information for prospects.
• Maintain the partnership fulfillment tracker and CRM records.
• Coordinate recognition asset delivery with Marketing and Communications.
• Produce regular pipeline and fulfillment reports for leadership.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams to deliver activations on time and budget.

Skills

Partnership management

Accounts management

Negotiation

Communication

CRM experience

Education

Post-secondary degree or equivalent professional experience

Tools

Tessitura

Job description

Manager, Partnerships

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

Reports to: Director, Partnerships & Events

Status: Permanent Full-time

Are you energized by the power of collaboration, a believer that a partnership is greater than the sum of its parts, and happiest working at the intersection of business and creativity?

Join us as Manager, Partnerships – the account lead for the TSO's corporate partners, turning every commitment into something delivered, every relationship into one worth renewing, and building the systems that a new partnerships function runs on.

The Role

The Manager, Partnerships is the account management and delivery lead for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's corporate partnerships portfolio. Reporting to the Director, Partnerships & Events, you will hold day-to-day accountability for the stewardship, contract fulfillment, reporting, and renewal readiness of every active partnership; carry a personal revenue target for renewals and mid-tier new business; and build and run the systems – pipeline, fulfillment tracking, asset inventory, and CRM – that the partnerships program runs on.

This is one of two new positions in a newly created Partnerships & Events pillar within the Development department. You will help build the practices of the function rather than inherit them, working directly with a Director whose focus is the TSO's largest partnerships while you own the relationships, the delivery, and the detail that make partners want to renew.

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

• Serve as day-to-day account lead for the full corporate partnerships portfolio – season, presenting, program, and series partners – managing the working relationship with partner marketing, sponsorship, and community investment contacts.
• Build and run an annual stewardship plan for each partner – touchpoint cadence, hosting, mid-season check-ins, and year-end reporting – calibrated to what that partner is trying to achieve.
• Prepare partner impact reports that document delivered benefits, audience and reach data, and program outcomes against agreed objectives, with every figure verified before it goes to a partner.
• Host partners and their guests at performances, activations, and TSO events, managing ticket allocations and hospitality within contracted entitlements and TSO ticket policy.
• Carry a personal annual revenue target, agreed with the Director, for renewals of assigned accounts and for new mid-tier partnerships – leading renewal negotiations for your accounts and preparing renewal cases for the accounts the Director leads.
• Identify growth opportunities within existing accounts – additional programs, series, touring, and campaign commitments – and build the case for them with the Director.
• Research and qualify prospects against TSO programming, category availability, and partner fit; draft proposals, decks, and program information tailored to each prospect's objectives; and support the Director on major solicitations with research, briefing notes, and follow-up.
• Build and maintain the partnership fulfillment tracker covering every contracted benefit, its internal owner, deadline, proof of delivery, and status, for every active agreement.
• Maintain a current record of the contract terms that govern the portfolio – exclusivity and category protection, rights of first refusal, renewal and opt-out windows, recognition entitlements, and approval rights – and flag deadlines and conflicts to the Director well in advance.
• Coordinate delivery and partner approval of recognition assets with Marketing & Communications, including logo placement, digital and social content, print, program content, and verbal acknowledgement.
• Own CRM records for the portfolio – contacts, agreements, activity, pipeline stage, and revenue schedule – and produce regular pipeline and fulfillment reports for the Director.
• Manage invoicing schedules with Finance, reconcile payments against agreements, and track partner revenue against budget; maintain the partnership asset inventory that informs pricing, valuation, and proposal design.
• Act as the partnerships point of contact for Marketing & Communications, Education & Community, Artistic and Orchestra Operations, Roy Thomson Hall, and Finance on activation delivery, and lead planning and on-site delivery for partner activations.
• Coordinate with Community Giving and Philanthropy colleagues to prevent duplicate approaches to shared prospects and to move relationships between portfolios where that serves the partner and the TSO.
• Maintain a regular presence at TSO performances, partner activations, and Development events.

What you'll bring

• 5+ years of progressive experience in corporate partnerships, sponsorship, account management, or business development, including direct responsibility for managing six-figure, multi-year partner accounts from contract execution through renewal.
• Demonstrated experience delivering contracted partner benefits across multiple channels – brand recognition, hospitality and ticketing, digital and social, on-site activation, employee and community engagement – and documenting fulfillment against agreement terms.
• Strong business writing and presentation skills, with experience producing partner-facing proposals, decks, activation plans, mid-term and year-end impact reports, and renewal cases.
• Working knowledge of sponsorship valuation and asset inventory, with the ability to price and package assets under the direction of a senior lead.
• Experience building or maintaining pipeline and fulfillment records, with disciplined data hygiene, accurate forecasting, and regular reporting to a manager or director; experience with Tessitura or a comparable CRM is an asset.
• Ability to read and apply contract language – exclusivity and category protection, rights of first refusal, renewal and opt-out windows, recognition entitlements, approval rights – and to elevate conflicts before they become delivery failures.
• Project management experience coordinating cross-functional delivery with marketing, communications, artistic, production, education, and finance colleagues to bring activations to life on time and on budget.
• Financial literacy sufficient to manage partner budgets, invoicing schedules, revenue timing, and variance reporting.
• Interpersonal skills and professional credibility to work directly with marketing, sponsorship, and community investment managers at corporate partners, and to represent the TSO on-site at performances and activations.
• Experience in the performing arts, cultural, sport, or complex not-for-profit sector is an asset; agency-side or brand-side sponsorship experience is equally valued.
• High level of professionalism, discretion, and ethical judgment, including the management of confidential partner, donor, 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 corporate partnerships broaden that impact across the city. You will join a new function at the point where its systems and standards are being set, work with partners who are in the room because they share the TSO's ambition for Toronto, and see the results of your work every week at Roy Thomson Hall. For a partnerships professional ready to own a portfolio end to end, this is the role where the discipline you bring becomes the program's.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary range: $70,000 - $90,000 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 regular time on-site at Roy Thomson Hall for performances, activations, and hosting, and periodic meetings at partner offices and external venues. The role requires flexibility to work evenings and weekends in alignment with the performance schedule and partner activation calendar. Physical demands include extended periods at a computer, standing and walking during activations and hosting, and occasional lifting and set-up of signage and activation materials. Local travel across the Greater Toronto Area is expected; occasional regional travel may be required to support community concerts and partner activations. The TSO operates a hybrid work environment.