Strategic Partnership and Business Development Specialist

Albany State University; Albany (GA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Albany State University is seeking a Strategic Partnerships and Business Development Specialist to drive corporate partnerships and new revenue initiatives. You will engage Fortune 500 employers, manage an active partnerships portfolio, and develop MOUs to enable program growth.

The role supports the VP and Chief University Growth Officer, with a clear path toward Director of Strategic Partnerships within 2–3 years and a focus on external relationship building across campus and industry partners.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Communications, Public Relations, Marketing, or related field.
• Minimum two years of experience in business development, account management, corporate relations, or related role.
• Strong written and verbal communication with experience creating proposals and briefing materials.
• Ability to manage multiple stakeholder relationships and project timelines.
• Proficiency with CRM platforms, project management tools, and Microsoft Office.
• Professional demeanor representing the institution externally.

Responsibilities

• Research and prepare briefing materials, partnership proposals, and stakeholder presentations for Fortune 500 outreach.
• Maintain employer partnership pipeline with contact status, meetings, commitments, and next steps.
• Support development, negotiation, and execution of MOUs with corporate partners.
• Follow up on commitments to ensure timely communication and relationship continuity.
• Coordinate employer partner campus visits and partner events.
• Prepare executive-ready briefing materials for government and external meetings.

Skills

Business development

CRM management

Stakeholder management

Proposal writing

Presentation design

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business or related field

Tools

Salesforce

HubSpot

Asana

Monday.com

Job description

Job Title: Strategic Partnership and Business Development Specialist

Location: Albany State Rec. Location

Regular/Temporary: Regular

Full/Part Time: Full-Time

Job ID: 304683

About Us

Albany State University is a fully accredited senior unit of the University System of Georgia. Employees receive benefits provided by the University System of Georgia, including, but not limited to, medical and major medical insurance, group life insurance, participation in the Georgia Teachers' Retirement System, Optional Retirement Plan (Faculty and exempt employees only), Social Security and Tuition Assistance Program after six months of employment.

Location

Our West Campus is located at 2400 Gillionville Road, Albany, GA 31707. Our East Campus is located at 504 College Drive, Albany, GA 31705. The Human Resources office for both campuses is located on the West Campus in Building K, Suite 209.

Job Summary

The Strategic Partnerships and Business Development Specialist is a new position within the University Growth Office that supports the VP and Chief University Growth Officer in executing Albany State University's corporate partnership strategy and new revenue development agenda. This role serves as the execution partner for stakeholder engagement, Fortune 500 outreach, MOU development, and partnership activation - ensuring that the VP is not the sole point of contact for every employer relationship. The position is designed as an intentional growth track: the incumbent is expected to develop direct employer relationships and portfolio ownership that positions them to advance to a Director of Strategic Partnerships role within two to three years.

Sponsorship is not available for this position.

Responsibilities

Corporate Partnership Support

• Research and prepare briefing materials, partnership proposals, and stakeholder presentations for Fortune 500 employer outreach meetings.
• Maintain the employer partnership pipeline, tracking contact status, meeting history, commitments, and next steps for all active and prospective partners.
• Support the development, negotiation, and execution of Memoranda of Understanding with corporate and employer partners.
• Follow up on partnership commitments and deliverables on behalf of the VP, ensuring employer partners receive timely communication and relationship continuity.

Research and Intelligence

• Research peer HBCU and regional university corporate partnership models, benchmarking ASU's portfolio against comparable institutions.
• Monitor Georgia employer talent gap data, workforce development trends, and Fortune 500 diversity hiring commitments relevant to ASU's academic strengths.
• Prepare competitive intelligence briefings on employer partners prior to outreach meetings.
• Track national HBCU partnership announcements and identify replicable models for ASU.

Stakeholder Engagement and Event Coordination

• Coordinate employer partner campus visits, including logistics, itineraries, briefing materials, and follow-up communications.
• Support the planning and execution of employer relationship events and partner cultivation activities.
• Represent the CUGO office at select employer and community events on behalf of the VP.
• Assist in preparing the VP for government and external affairs meetings including research, talking points, and stakeholder background.

New Revenue Program Support

• Support the development of the Executive Education Institute, corporate sub-licensing models for Kaplan All Access, and IBM SkillsBuild employer partner engagement.
• Coordinate with Marketing and Communications on employer-facing campaigns and partnership announcements.
• Maintain documentation of partnership outcomes, student placements, and employer engagement metrics for reporting to the President and Cabinet.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Communications, Public Relations, Marketing, or a related field.
• Minimum two years of experience in business development, account management, corporate relations, or a related professional role.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with experience preparing professional presentations and briefing documents.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple stakeholder relationships and project timelines simultaneously.
• Proficiency with CRM platforms, project management tools, and Microsoft Office Suite.
• Professional demeanor with the ability to represent the institution in external settings.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in higher education, workforce development, or nonprofit partnership development.
• Familiarity with HBCU employer engagement models and diversity talent pipeline programs.
• Experience with Memoranda of Understanding or contract support.
• Strong research and data analysis skills.

Proposed Salary

Salary is Commensurate with education and experience.

Required Documents to Attach

Cover letter.

Resume.

Transcripts.

Three professional references.

Contact Information

For more information or questions about a job posting, please contact the Office of Human Resources at [phone], or by email at [e-mail]. For technical support, please call the USG Service Desk at [phone], or by email at [e-mail].

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

Knowledge

• Business development & corporate partnership principles.
• HBCU employer engagement models and diversity talent pipeline programs.
• Higher education institutional structure, governance, and culture.
• Georgia employer landscape, workforce trends, and Fortune 500 talent gap data.
• Fortune 500 commitments, HBCU partnership trends, and replicable partnership models.
• MOU structure, partnership agreement frameworks, and contract support basics.
• New revenue program models (Executive Education, IBM SkillsBuild, sub-licensing frameworks).
• Competitive intelligence methods and peer institution benchmarking.
• Microsoft Office Suite, project management tools (Asana, Monday.com), and CRM platforms (Salesforce, HubSpot).

Skills

• Professional written communication (proposals, briefings, presentations).
• Stakeholder relationship management and CRM pipeline tracking.
• Research, data synthesis, and competitive intelligence reporting.
• Event coordination, logistics planning, and executive itinerary management.
• CRM data management, pipeline reporting, and contact history maintenance.
• Cross-functional coordination across Marketing, Academic Affairs, and Program Offices.
• Presentation design and executive-ready briefing materials development.
• Employer engagement metrics tracking and outcomes documentation.
• Multi-channel follow-up (email, phone, LinkedIn) to maintain active partner communications.

Abilities

• Represent the institution professionally in external and executive settings.
• Manage multiple concurrent stakeholder relationships and project timelines.
• Work independently with minimal direct supervision under VP direction.
• Adapt communication style for C-suite executives, academic leadership, and community stakeholders.
• Identify replicable partnership models from peer HBCUs and transfer to ASU context.
• Maintain follow-through on partner commitments and ensure relationship continuity between meetings.
• Build trust-based relationships across diverse corporate and institutional stakeholder groups.
• Synthesize complex research into concise, executive-ready deliverables.
• Grow into Director of Strategic Partnerships responsibilities within 2-3 years through demonstrated portfolio ownership

USG Core Values

The University System of Georgia is comprised of our 25 institutions of higher education and learning as well as the System Office. The USG Statement of Core Values are Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect. These values serve as the foundation for all that we do as an organization, and each USG community member is responsible for demonstrating and upholding these standards. More details on the USG Statement of Core Values and Code of Conduct are available in USG Board Policy 8.2.18.1.2 and can be found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section8/C224/#p8.2.18_personnel_conduct.

Additionally, USG supports Freedom of Expression as stated in Board Policy 6.5 Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom found on-line