Associate Director, Institutional Partnerships

Job DescriptionJob DescriptionPosition Description/Mission:

The Associate Director sets the annual strategy for maximizing The Washington Center’s college and university partnerships, including hundreds of institutions within and outside of the United States. Additionally, they lead efforts to develop new business directly with higher education institutions by positioning TWC as a solutions provider and customizing its offerings to fit each school’s needs.

In this capacity, the Associate Director leads a team of account managers and aligns numerous resources, including government and philanthropic funding, to ensure TWC meets its application/enrollment goals and secures more than $8 million in revenue annually.

TWC is a majority remote organization: for most employees, employment with TWC will not be contingent on physical presence in an office space. However, the person in this role is required to reside in the D.C. region to work in the office about one day per week and support regular student and partner visits to TWC, as well as periodic events. Additionally, this position requires travel up to 25%, and some evening and weekend work.

JOB FUNCTION

Strategy

• Oversee relationship management and Account-Based Marketing (ABM) strategic frameworks, lead annual planning and goal-setting processes for institutional partners, which includes translating TWC’s significant revenue goals into institution-specific application and enrollment targets.
• Annually refine partnership classifications, account tiers, portfolio management and marketing strategies, with an eye toward maximizing outcomes, meeting application/enrollment goals, and growing new business.
• Develop and manage strategies for marketing TWC’s programs to students via our partners (B2B2C), including by mapping TWC’s program offerings to ideal partner targets, considering the availability of and planned use of state/provincial funding, designing campaigns, and coordinating outreach.
• Guide relationship management and promotional strategies and be jointly accountable for securing TWC’s AIP and short-term application goals, based on established annual revenue targets.
• Identify colleges and universities that present growth opportunities and direct resources, including staff time, customized content, business development, and recruitment initiatives accordingly.

Business Development & Account Management

• Manage a portfolio of 10-20 top-tier college and university partners and secure targeted enrollment/revenue for each of TWC’s programs and cycles.
• Serve as TWC’s lead on business development opportunities with existing and new university partners. Seek out opportunities to match TWC’s offerings (programs, housing, etc.) as solutions, create new customized programs to meet university needs, and grow existing relationships in new directions.
• Foster supportive relationships with key accounts managed by direct reports.
• Travel to prospective and partner institutions to meet in person with stakeholders and/or conduct recruitment activities, as aligned with strategic vision for each institution.
• Attend and present at conferences (AAC&U, EACE, etc.) as driven by strategy.

Staff Management

• Lead a team of 3-4 staff members with responsibility for managing TWC’s institutional partnership network. Set expectations for engagement with institutions and guide direct reports as they develop relationships and map TWC’s offerings as solutions. Identify opportunities for growth, professional development, etc.
• Establish expectations related to meeting objectives for applications submitted and participants enrolled for each program and exercise appropriate accountability in ensuring TWC meets goals.
• Set annual goals in collaboration with direct reports and supervisor and conduct quarterly check-ins to ensure progress is met.
• Establish expectations for customer service, B2B marketing outcomes, relationship management, database integrity, and monitor team performance.
• Establish expectations for maintenance of departmental systems, particularly account-level data in CRM, team-wide projects in Asana, Slack channels and SharePoint file system.

Required Education and Experience: An equivalent combination of education, training, and experience will be considered.

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Proven results leading colleagues to meet critical performance targets, especially revenue goals
• 5+ years of work experience in higher education, nonprofit management, or association management
• Experience with strategic account management, partner engagement and new business development, and/or marketing (especially B2B or account-based marketing)
• Experience successfully leading and managing staff

Preferred Education/Qualifications and Experience:

• Prior experience managing revenue-generating relationships
• Experience with Salesforce, HubSpot or a similar CRM
• Experience working with Microsoft Office and Teams, Asana, and Slack

Leadership Competencies required to perform the job successfully.

• Leads/develops/empowers people, develops relationships, inspires trust
• Effectively executes organizational priorities
• Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving
• Change Management

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Demonstrated ability to build strong relationships with external partners
• Willingness to take on any and all projects with enthusiasm and an entrepreneurial spirit
• Proven track record of leveraging relationships to meet institutional goals
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Results-driven mindset with a track record of meeting or exceeding performance metrics
• Exceptional organizational skills and comfort working in a fast-paced environment
• Ability and strong desire to provide excellent customer service to all stakeholders
• Ability and willingness to travel frequently (up to 25%) on a seasonal basis and work some weekend or evening events throughout the year
• Valid driver’s license

Supervisory Responsibility

This position supervises two regular, full-time staff members and may also supervise a temporary, full-time staff member.

The Washington Center’s Values guide our mission work in every regard–internally and externally.

• Equity & Inclusion
• Learning
• Connection & Collaboration
• Integrity
• Impact

Equipment Used to Perform the Job which may be representative but not all-inclusive of those commonly associated with this position:

• Cloud-based technologies
• Standard company laptop
• Job-related software

We Take Care of Our People
Our Mission is to create flexible, immersive pathways to enhance the pipeline of diverse talent and build more equitable, inclusive workplaces and communities. Whether you’re looking to launch a new career or grow an existing one, TWC is the type of organization where you can balance rewarding work with a great life. Your age is only a number. It doesn’t matter if you’re just out of college or your children are we need you for what you can do to better the lives of students.

We strive to have parity of benefits across the organization and while regulations differ from place to place, we believe taking care of our people is the right thing to do.

• Competitive pay based on your experience
• Health coverage for you and your family in all locations
• Ability to work in a remote or hybrid environment
• Generous number of vacation days each year with company closure the last week of the year between Christmas and New Year
• Half Friday’s restoration and development
• One day per year use toward volunteer projects you love
• Embracing parenthood with a max of 15 extra days of parental leave
• Recognize all Federal Holidays
• One-Hundred-and-fifty-dollar stipend towards office equipment

Physical Abilities are commonly associated with the performance of the functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation can be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the described essential functions of this job. These physical demands are representative of the physical requirements necessary for an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

The Washington Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It is TWC's policy to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. Provisions in applicable laws providing for bona fide occupational qualifications, business necessity or age limitations will be adhered to by the organization where appropriate.

The Washington Center stands in solidarity with all marginalized communities. We believe communities are strengthened by the inclusion of and equity for all people. Racism, hate, and violence have no place in our society, and we condemn all such acts. We are committed to becoming an anti-racist and anti-hate organization.

We commit to continuously striving for diversity, equity and inclusion through ongoing education, reflection, and awareness. As an organization nearing five decades in existence, we recognize we have work to do. At The Washington Center, each person brings unique and varied lived experiences which inform our thoughts, actions, and decision-making processes. We aim to create an inclusive, safe environment for our staff, students, and all stakeholders, where everyone’s differences are honored, every perspective is valued, and everyone is safe to bring forth their authentic selves.

*TWC DOES NOT ENGAGE IN RECUITMENT WITH STAFFING AGENCIES*

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