Head of Partnerships

Tech United:

NJ is a nonprofit organization strengthening New Jersey’s innovation economy by connecting founders, operators, investors, corporate leaders, and policymakers. Through high-impact programs, flagship events, and strategic partnerships, we support entrepreneurship, workforce development, and innovation across the state.

Our work is powered by philanthropic funding and corporate sponsor ships, including support for awards programs, summits, and large-scale ecosystem events.

The Role

Tech United is seeking a Head of Development & Partnerships to lead and grow philanthropic fundraising and sponsorship revenue across donors, foundations, and corporate partners.

This is a senior, externally facing leadership role responsible for securing funding through a combination of donations, grants, and sponsor ships tied to Tech United’s awards, summits, and events, and scaling total fundraising toward a $1.5M annual goal.

The role works closely with the CEO, leadership team, and partners cross-functionally with Events, Programs, and Marketing to align funding with impact.

What This Role Is (and Isn’t)

This role is…

• Corporate partnerships + sponsor ships tied to Tech United’s mission, programs, and ecosystem impact

• Anchored in outcomes, narrative, and multi-year value

• Built for a lean team with limited internal support

• Highly autonomous: you own the pipeline end-to-end

• Focused on securing five- and six-figure commitments and building repeatable partner relationships

This role is not…

• Membership sales (managed separately)

• A “perk package” role based on micro-deliverables and excessive customization

• A platform/community role without revenue accountability

• A resourced enterprise sales org with large internal support teams

Key Responsibilities:

Partnerships & Sponsorship Strategy (Programs, Awards, Summits & Events)

• Own corporate partnership and sponsorship strategy and revenue across Tech United’s flagship awards programs, summits, ecosystem events, and mission-aligned initiatives

• Develop and close partnership packages tied to Tech United’s outcomes in entrepreneurship, workforce development, and innovation ecosystem growth

• Build and steward long-term partner relationships beyond one-off events, with an emphasis on renewals and multi-year commitments

• Translate Tech United’s mission and programs into compelling partner narratives that drive meaningful investment (not transactional deliverable buying)

• Serve as a primary point of contact for corporate partners from discovery through close, renewal, and long-term stewardship

Sponsorship Packaging & Positioning (Outcomes & Micro-Deliverables)

• Build structured, repeatable sponsorship packages and tiers that are easy to sell and realistic to fulfill

• Shift Tech United away from a la carte sponsorship expectations by setting clear value frameworks and boundaries

• Anchor partner conversations around outcomes, impact, and recognition rather than long lists of micro-deliverables

• Collaborate with Events and Marketing to ensure partner recognition and visibility is delivered cleanly without excessive customization

• Create lightweight templates and systems (decks, one-pagers, follow-up flows) to increase speed and consistency given limited internal bandwidth

• Own partnership revenue goals and forecasting in partnership with the CEO and leadership team

• Maintain a disciplined partnership pipeline including prospecting, relationship management, active follow-up, and renewals

• Reactivate and convert warm or dormant partner leads through concise outreach, strong positioning, and consistent follow-through

• Track pipeline health, forecasted revenue, partner stages, and performance metrics; report regularly to leadership

• Identify opportunities to grow multi-year commitments and expand partner relationships across Tech United’s portfolio

Partner Stewardship & Cross-Functional Execution

• Ensure partner experience remains high quality while protecting Tech United’s capacity and operational bandwidth

• Work cross-functionally with Programs, Events, and Marketing to align partner commitments with real outcomes and impact

• Support sponsor retention by establishing clear…