Head of Strategic Partnerships/Revenue

Summary of Position:

The ideal candidate will have a demonstrated history of success in the entertainment industry and a well-established reputation in sponsorship and partnership sales, working with a mix of major brands and agencies. This Strategic Partnership role is pivotal in cultivating and managing key partnerships, driving business opportunities to fuel revenue growth, and enhancing the Academy of Country Music’s (ACM) brand and market presence.

Key responsibilities include overseeing partnership activation, ensuring that deliverables sold through partners, vendors, and ACM are executed with precision and exemplary customer service. Additionally, this role will support ACM across various business development activities, such as identifying prospective partners, crafting compelling pitches, and negotiating agreements to maximize revenue opportunities.

The position involves close collaboration with senior leadership to align business development strategies with ACM’s long-term objectives for sustainable growth and success. Exceptional communication skills are essential, as is a deep understanding of entertainment award shows, live events, and multimedia content development and sales.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Understands prospective client objectives and develops partnership plans aligned with the Academy of Country Music's goals.
• Meet and exceed all Academy of Country Music & ACMLL revenue goals.
• Build and maintain a pipeline of new business prospects while retaining contract business within the ACM portfolio and partner organizations. Oversee the development, negotiation, and retention of partnership agreements, ensuring clear terms, mutual goals, and aligned expectations.
• Build and sustain strong relationships with key decision-makers, including partners, stakeholders, and ACM/ACMLL board members. Take ownership of ACM partner strategies and decision-making frameworks to identify growth opportunities, while maintaining regular communication and strategic meetings to ensure mutual satisfaction and the achievement of partnership goals.
• Oversee cross-functional teams to strategize, plan, and execute partnership programs. Responsibilities include managing leads, negotiating deals, providing account management, and ensuring partner initiatives align with ACM’s company-wide strategies through effective communication across departments and external partners.
• Implement partnership strategies by organizing joint marketing, co­branded, and cross-promotional activities to maximize visibility and mutual benefits and achieve marketing objectives.
• Manage/retain ongoing partner relationships through regular communication, performance reviews, and strategic meetings to ensure continued alignment and identify opportunities for growth.
• Resolve any issues or conflicts that arise with partners in a timely and professional manner to maintain strong, productive, and long­ term relationship sustainability.
• Monitor and report tracking document (dashboard) on the performance of partnerships, including analyzing the data to assess the success of partnership activities, making recommendations for new market entries, and return on investment in efforts of keeping the company at the forefront of industry trends and opportunities.
• Work with Coordinator to maintain standard and customized proposals, recap decks, tracking documents for all ACM partners and prospects, as well as in administrative support whilst ensuring deadlines are met.
• Research and apply for partnership awards and recognitions to enhance the organization's reputation and showcase successful collaborations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience in Business Administration, Marketing, Communications, or related field required. 
• 5-7 yrs Strategic Partnership experience required
• Previous Non-for-Profit, industry experience, and knowledge preferred.
• Proven relationship management, strategic planning, contract negotiation, stakeholder engagement, conflict resolution, and performance monitoring skills are essential.
• Interpersonal and communication skills, both in person and in writing, within an internal team environment as well as to external 3^rd parties.
• Experience using various Microsoft Office Products (Word, Excel, and Outlook), Google Suite, and the ability to learn business related systems and/or software. 
• Strong team player, maintains professional disposition, and the ability to perform under pressure.
• Self-motivated and results oriented person, able to lead projects, highly organized, detail-oriented, flexible, and adaptable.
• Ability to maintain strict confidentiality when working with sensitive employee and business data.

Working Conditions / Physical Requirements

This role in Strategic Partnerships typically works Monday through Thursday shifts from the home office in Nashville, TN and work from home on Friday.  Due to the additional requirements surrounding events; evenings, weekends, and travel is required and efforts are made to communicate to the team in advance.  The physical requirements that must be met by an employee to perform the essential functions of this job consist of and/or may include sitting and/or standing for extended periods of time, frequent mental and visual concentration for computer usage, and both internal and external office and event tasks.

Disclaimer

This job description may not list all duties for this position. The incumbent in the position may be asked to perform other duties. Academy of Country Music reserves the right to revise the job description at any time. This job description is not a contract for employment, and either the incumbent or Academy of Country Music may terminate employment at any time, for any reason.

This job is in Nashville Tennessee and does not include a relocation.

We are not engaging with recruitment agencies or third-party recruiters for this position. Any unsolicited outreach from agencies will not be considered.

To apply, please send your resume and cover letter to resume@acmcountry.com.