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The Associate Director of Business Partnerships is responsible for soliciting and managing non-gift revenue for the CSU Alumni Association. This work includes managing key business partnerships, sponsorships, and in-kind donations with emphasis on increasing revenue streams and off-setting operational expenditures. This individual will maintain a portfolio of clients and contractual agreements and manage a calendar of deliverables for all advertising, sponsorship, affinity partners and other non-gift revenue streams, including managing the Rams Travel program. This position will work closely with Alumni staff as well as other campus partners to ensure relationships are strategic and properly managed. They will identify opportunities for the Alumni Association to strengthen its position with the CSU alumni business community. The Associate Director must be results-oriented with professional characteristics that include leadership, attention to detail, commitment to confidentiality, flexibility, team-orientation, ability to work independently, and commitment to cultivating relationships that are mutually beneficial to the Alumni Association and its business partners. This person must be mindful to ensure that alumni and partners of all backgrounds feel represented and included.

Position Information

• Position Title: Associate Director of Business Partnerships
• Organization Name: Colorado State University Foundation
• Department / Program: Alumni Association
• Employment Type: Full-time
• FLSA Status: Exempt
• Location: Fort Collins, CO
• Salary Range: $75,000 - $90,000 annually
• Priority Consideration Date: 09/13/26

Organizational Overview

Located in the beautiful town of Fort Collins, Colorado, Colorado State University is a premier land-grant institution with world-class programs in education, outreach, and research. CSU has a student body of over 34,000 students, 7,400 employees, 271,000 living alumni, and annual research expenditures exceeding $498 million.

The Colorado State University Foundation is in the midst of exciting growth as the University Advancement division of CSU transitions to the Foundation. This merger will allow us to more effectively serve our donors, alumni, and stakeholders with a more unified structure, strengthen accountability, and build the capacity to scale our fundraising enterprise. With one of the leading development teams in the country, we most recently achieved our highest fundraising year to date in 2025, and our most successful Day of Giving in dollars raised in 2026.

The CSU Alumni Association is part of the CSU Foundation and facilitates meaningful relationships between alumni and the University. The Alumni Association strives to celebrate the success of our alumni, build an emotional connection back to CSU, and help alumni to identify connections that are meaningful to them. The Iris and Michel Smith Alumni Center serves as a place of pride and home base for alumni when they return to campus as well as a gathering space for alumni and student programs and events.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Secures non-gift revenue to support the Alumni Association budget by achieving specific performance metrics. Attention will be given to securing affinity/affiliate partnerships and sponsorships through multi-year agreements, in addition to growing bookings in the Rams Travel program.
• Maintains a portfolio of partner clients to ensure successful renewals and expand partnership opportunities. Research, identify and pursue new leads as well as cultivate and steward existing relationships. Collaborate with the Alumni team to identify opportunities for partnership to integrate with programming.
• Negotiates contracts between partners and CSU Foundation/Alumni Association, serve as main contact for partner businesses, ensure partners comply with policies regarding trademarks, confidentiality, list compliance, privacy, etc.
• Manages a master calendar of activation and deliverables for all revenue partnerships. Collaborate across the Alumni team to integrate partnership fulfillment into programming as well as marketing and communications. Includes attendance at Alumni events to ensure proper delivery of fulfillment elements.
• Collects and analyze data related to partnerships’ performance, generate reports and deliver annual proof of performance reports to all clients as well as other reporting as needed.
• Oversight of Rams Travel program including trip selection, marketing fulfillment and traveler pre and post trip communications.
• Serves as a member of the CSUF Engagement Operations team and share in responsibilities as assigned by the Executive Director, Engagement Operations.
• Actively participates in growing membership, license plate sales, sponsorship, and revenue partnerships. All Alumni Association employees share a responsibility to meet and surpass Association revenue goals.

Supervision

No supervisory responsibilities

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution
• Minimum five years’ experience in a client-facing business development or sales/marketing role
• Demonstrated success in face-to-face solicitation, negotiation, and crafting proposals
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively in writing
• Willingness to work non-standard hours, including early mornings, evenings, and weekends, with some regional travel
• Must have valid driver’s license or the ability to obtain a driver’s license or access to a licensed driver by employment start date and reliable transportation
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in business development, sponsorship sales, affinity/affiliate marketing
• Experience fulfilling business partner/sponsorship commitments and contracts
• Demonstrates attention to detail and timely delivery on commitments
• Demonstrates ability to be metric-driven and achieve revenue goals
• Experience writing proposals, agreements, and annual reports
• Demonstrates commitment to collaboration, working with staff and partners to achieve goals
• Demonstrates problem-solving skills and ability to anticipate and address upcoming assignments and challenges and effectively manage demanding work situations.
• Ability to exercise considerable initiative, independent judgement, self-motivation, and discretion
• Experience working in alumni relations and/or university advancement, higher education
• Knowledge of Colorado State University and its alumni association

We are committed to supporting the holistic health and well-being of our employees. Our comprehensive benefits package includes medical, dental, vision and retirement plans; generous paid time off; and a robust Employee Assistance Program.

CSU Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) it is our policy to provide reasonable accommodation when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with a disability unless such accommodation would cause undue hardship.