Senior Director, Partnerships & Development

GRAMMY Museum; New York (NY); On-site; USD 145,000 - 155,000; Full time

Job summary

The GRAMMY Museum Foundation is seeking a Senior Director of Partnerships & Development in New York, NY. This senior executive will source, secure, and manage brand partnerships, driving growth across traveling exhibits, public programs, and education initiatives nationwide.

The role requires building consensus across teams, cultivating Fortune 500 relationships, and leading revenue-driven partnerships with significant industry impact.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA a plus.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in strategic partnership sales, sponsorship sales, business development, or related fields.
• Experience in music, entertainment, nonprofit, or adjacent industries strongly preferred.
• Proven track record of structuring and closing high-value, complex partnership agreements.
• Strong financial acumen with experience developing business cases and partnership valuation models.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Outlook).
• Deep expertise in Salesforce CRM and disciplined pipeline management practices.
• Demonstrated ability to identify and leverage emerging technologies, including AI, data analytics, and marketing automation to enhance partnership strategy, audience insights, and revenue opportunities.
• Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills with strong executive presence.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive global partnerships strategy aligned with organizational growth priorities and brand positioning.
• Identify, evaluate, and secure new strategic partners that align with mission and commercial objectives.
• Design and negotiate multi-year, multi-platform partnership agreements.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Communications to refine positioning and portfolio development.
• Lead cross-functional teams to design activation strategies and measure ROI.

Skills

Partnership sales

Business development

Strategic partnerships

Revenue growth

Forecasting

Salesforce CRM

Data analytics

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree

MBA a plus

Tools

Salesforce CRM

Microsoft Office

Job description

The Grammy Museum Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization with a mission dedicated to celebrating and exploring music from yesterday and today to inspire the music of tomorrow through music preservation, education, exhibitions, and public programming. Our Grammy in the Schools education programs are offered year-round for students, teachers, and schools throughout the United States, and include Grammy Camp, the industry leading music industry camp for high school students, and boasts alumni including Maren Morris and Chappel Roan. Additionally, the Foundation produces approximately 130 Public Programs annually in New York and Los Angeles, which in the past year have included artists such as Ryan Beatty, Olivia Dean, Robert Plant, Raye, Noah Kahan, Arlo Parks, Slayyter, Olivia Rodrigo, Questlove, Charlie xcx, Melissa Ethridge, Anthony Hopkins, Adam Lambert, and many more. Finally, the Foundation curates major exhibitions at the Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles, and traveling exhibitions on display in venues across the country.

Position Summary

The Senior Director, Partnerships & Development is a strategic executive responsible for sourcing, securing and managing relationships with brand partners. The role will manage existing relationships and drive incremental growth with new relationships. The position is responsible for selling against traveling exhibits and exhibits at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, Public Programs in LA and New York City, and education programs in major markets around the country, namely New York City, LA, Nashville, Seattle, and Miami. Additionally, the Foundation produces the annual GRAMMY Hall of Fame Gala, which has become a significant source of revenue and industry participation.

This leader will develop and execute innovative, multi-dimensional partnership strategies that elevate brand value, unlock new revenue streams, and create long-term, mission-aligned collaborations across music, entertainment, media, nonprofit, and corporate sectors.

The Senior Director will participate in and contribute to the global partnership ecosystem at The Recording Academy and AEG through the above channels. The Senior Director will work cross-functionally, building consensus among colleagues and stakeholders while cultivating meaningful external relationships with Fortune 500 brands, agencies, platforms, foundations, philanthropists, and thought leaders worldwide.

The role is full-time, based in New York, NY, and reports to the President / CEO of the Grammy Museum.

Specific Responsibilities

Strategic Growth & Business Development

• Develop and execute a comprehensive global partnerships strategy aligned with organizational growth priorities and brand positioning.
• Identify, evaluate, and secure new strategic partners that align with organizational mission, cultural leadership, and commercial objectives.
• Identify and cultivate partnerships that extend the organization’s brand ecosystem across consumer brands, technology platforms, experiential programs, and cultural collaborations.
• Structure and negotiate complex, multi-year, multi-platform partnership agreements.
• Ensure all partnerships strengthen the organization’s cultural leadership and align with its mission to serve, support, and advocate for the global music community.

Partnership Development & Brand Value Creation

• Initiate and win partnership relationships across brand categories across travel, hospitality, financial services, luxury, automotive, technology, consumer, healthcare, music industry, and other categories.
• Design integrated partnership programs across exhibits, events, education initiatives, content, and digital platforms that maximize audience engagement and partner value.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Communications at the Foundation to refine positioning, messaging, and portfolio development plans consistent with enterprise branding.
• Clearly articulate and promote the Foundation’s vision, mission, and strategic objectives to prospective and existing partners.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Execution

• Deeply collaborate with the Sr. Director of Membership & Advancement to coordinate potential philanthropic connections with individual philanthropists and foundations.
• Serve as the face of the Foundation at events in New York City in collaboration with other New York City-based executives.
• Build organizational alignment and secure internal buy-in for partnership initiatives across departments and business units.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to design and execute high-impact activation strategies.
• Establish measurable frameworks to evaluate partnership effectiveness, including quantifiable ROI and market expansion metrics.
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with senior industry contacts, thought leaders, strategic advisors, and partners to drive business development and market insight.
• Develop and maintain relationships with key thought leaders and partners to gather real-time market insight and feedback.
• Ensure best-in-class partner lifecycle management from prospecting through activation, renewal, and expansion.

CRM & Data-Driven Performance Management

• Demonstrate deep expertise in CRM and lead softwares, including pipeline management, forecasting, partner lifecycle tracking, reporting, and data-driven relationship strategy.
• Lead, mentor, develop, and manage performance, succession planning, and professional growth for assigned staff.
• Foster a collaborative, high-accountability culture focused on innovation, execution, excellence, and continuous improvement.

Integrity & Ethical Leadership

• Operate with the highest standards of integrity, professionalism, transparency, and ethical judgment in all internal and external interactions.
• Ensure compliance with organizational policies, contractual obligations, nonprofit governance standards, and appropriate risk management practices.
• Proactively identifies and mitigates potential conflicts of interest or reputational risks.

Revenue Leadership & Performance Accountability

• Owns and is directly accountable for achieving and exceeding annual and multi-year global partnership revenue targets. Revenue generation and performance against established goals are primary success metrics for this role.
• Develops and executes a disciplined revenue strategy inclusive of new business acquisition, renewals, upsells, and multi-platform deal expansion.
• Partner with Foundation leadership to establish revenue goals, KPIs, forecasting processes, and executive reporting while driving a culture of accountability and results.
• Builds and manages a robust, data-driven sales pipeline with accurate forecasting and clear visibility into quarterly and annual revenue performance.

Digital Partnerships & Impression-Based Monetization Expertise

• Designs and sells multi-platform partnership programs that integrate live events, content, social, streaming, and owned-and-operated digital channels.
• Design and sell integrated sponsorship programs across live events, content, social, streaming, and digital channels while establishing valuation methodologies and ROI measurement frameworks.
• Partners closely with internal teams to create scalable digital sponsorship packages aligned to partner KPIs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; degree in Business, Finance, Marketing, or related field preferred. MBA a plus.
• Minimum 7+ years of progressive experience in strategic partnership sales, sponsorship sales, business development, or related fields.
• Experience in music, entertainment, media, performing arts, nonprofit, or adjacent industries strongly preferred.
• Proven track record of structuring and closing high-value, complex partnership agreements.
• Strong financial acumen with experience developing business cases and partnership valuation models.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Outlook).
• Deep expertise in Salesforce CRM and disciplined pipeline management practices.
• Demonstrated ability to identify and leverage emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, data analytics, and marketing automation to enhance partnership strategy, audience insights, and revenue opportunities.
• Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills with strong executive presence.

Compensation

The starting base salary for this position is $145,000 to $155,000 per year, plus incentives. The actual extended offer will depend on the candidate's experience, qualifications, and the role's requirements and will include our comprehensive benefits package.

The GRAMMY Museum Foundation, its affiliates, and the music industry have a strong culture of inclusion and respect for everyone. The Foundation makes intentional, courageous, and principled decisions for stronger business outcomes and ensures that all creators and professionals live and work in a fair and safe environment. It is the Foundation’s policy to provide equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees. The Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law.

The Foundation will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would result in an undue hardship to the organization.