Sponsorship Manager

Stepping Stones Museum for Children; East Norwalk (CT); On-site; USD 3,444,000 - 5,510,000; Part time

Job summary

Stepping Stones Museum for Children is seeking a part-time Sponsorship Manager to lead corporate sponsorships and in-kind support for exhibitions, education initiatives, and public programs.

You will cultivate, solicit, secure, and steward partners, expanding revenue and engagement across departments. Flexibility to work evenings and weekends is required to support events and operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience is required.
• Experience in nonprofit development or corporate sponsorship is essential.
• Working knowledge of CRM systems (Blackbaud preferred) and constituent data.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills to articulate the museum's mission.

Responsibilities

• Manage and grow a portfolio of corporate and in-kind sponsors.
• Develop sponsorship strategies including prospecting, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and renewals.
• Research and secure new corporate partnerships through networking and outreach.
• Serve as primary liaison for sponsors with proposals, agreements, and impact reports.
• Oversee fulfillment of sponsorship benefits and sponsor experiences.
• Collaborate with internal teams for sponsor activities and previews.
• Track revenue, data, and reporting related to sponsorships.
• Represent the museum within area communities to raise visibility and drive visitation.

Skills

Fundraising

Relationship building

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Communications

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Blackbaud CRM

Job description

Position Overview

The Sponsorship Manager leads the development, stewardship, and growth of Stepping Stones Museum for Children through corporate sponsorship program, advancing the museum's fundraising and community partnership goals. This role cultivates, solicits, secures, and stewards corporate support for the museum's exhibitions, education initiatives, and public programs.

The Sponsorship Manager identifies new sponsorship prospects while deepening relationships with existing partners to grow engagement, retention, and revenue. Working across departments, this role ensures sponsorship benefits are delivered seamlessly, partner experiences are exceptional, and corporate partnerships align with the Museum's mission.

This is a part-time position of twenty (20) to twenty-eight (28) hoursper week and requires schedule flexibility, including occasional evenings, weekends, and holidays to support museum operations, experiences, and events as needed.

Position Responsibilities

• Manage and grow a portfolio of corporate and in-kind sponsors supporting Museum exhibitions and educational initiatives.
• Develop and execute sponsorship strategies — prospecting, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and renewals — to increase revenue and engagement.
• Research and secure new corporate partnerships through networking, outreach, and relationship-building.
• Serve as primary liaison for sponsors, developing customized proposals, agreements, presentations, and impact reports.
• Oversee fulfillment of sponsorship benefits, including branding, recognition, VIP experiences, event access, hospitality, and tours.
• Collaborate with internal teams to design and execute sponsor activities, corporate tours, and exhibition previews.
• Manage sponsorship revenue tracking, data, and reporting.
• Act as an ambassador and actively share information within area communities to raise awareness of the museum and to drive visitation.
• Represent Stepping Stones as a highly respected educational resource and effectively share the vision, mission and strategy in a variety of settings.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• Demonstrated success working in development or corporate sponsorship for a nonprofit organization
• Working knowledge of CRM systems (Blackbaud preferred) and experience managing constituent data
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to persuasively articulate the museum's mission to external audiences
• Strong project management, problem-solving, and execution skills
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively across departments and teams