Manager, Special Events & Partnerships

Position Description: Manager, Special Events & Partnerships

THE ORGANIZATION

Junior Achievement of New York (JA New York) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people for success. Through a dedicated volunteer network of corporate and community individuals, JA New York provides high-quality K-12 in-school, workplace-based, after-school, and summer educational programs. These programs focus on three key content areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. JA New York reaches more than 60,000 students each year across New York City, Long Island, and the Lower Hudson Valley.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Manager, Special Events & Partnerships plays a key role in driving revenue growth for JA New York by supporting the execution of special events and leading front-end business development efforts across event sponsorships and programmatic partnerships. This is a pipeline-building and relationship development role, designed to expand JA New York’s corporate engagement and revenue base.

The role reports to the Director of Special Events & Marketing, who leads all special events, and works closely with the Senior Vice President of Development and the Institutional Giving team on prospect identification and development. The Manager is responsible for executing assigned components of the events portfolio and providing direct support to the Director across all aspects of special event planning, execution and follow-up.

This position is responsible for identifying and cultivating new corporate prospects, conducting outreach, qualifying prospective partners, and advancing early-stage sponsorship conversations. As opportunities progress to more advanced stages, the Manager will incorporate and formally engage appropriate members of the Development team into the process while continuing to support relationship management, stewardship, and opportunity advancement.

This role works in close coordination with the team to build and foster opportunities that:

• Align corporate outreach and avoid duplication

• Strengthen sponsorship and funding strategies

• Ensure consistent messaging and sponsor visibility

• Support pipeline tracking, reporting, and forecasting

Key Responsibilities

1. Special Events Execution and Support (approx. 40%)

Manage the logistics and execution of fundraising and engagement events.

• Provide planning and delivery support for all JA New York special events including the Annual Gala, Golf Classic, all Bowl-A-Thons and other peer-to-peer events, including charity races, as well as cultivation and stewardship events

• Execute assigned aspects of logistics, vendor coordination, timelines, and materials

• Support sponsor experience, tracking and fulfillment during events, and the delivery of sponsor benefits across event lifecycle

• Assist with on-site event management and post-event follow-up

• Assist in event financial management and reconciliation

2. New Business Development & Pipeline Building (approx. 35%)

Contribute to annual sponsorship and partnership revenue goals through prospect identification, qualification, and advancement.

• Identify and research new corporate prospects for Event sponsorships (Gala, Golf, Bowl-A-Thons, etc.) and Programmatic funding (JA Finance Park, JA Stock Market Challenge, etc.)

• Build, manage, and maintain a consistent pipeline of qualified prospects, including tracking outreach and engagement activity

• Assess and qualify prospects based on alignment with JA priorities, capacity, and likelihood to engage

• Conduct proactive outreach (email, phone, networking) to introduce JA New York and its partnership opportunities

• Lead initial discovery conversations and early-stage solicitation efforts

• Contribute to the development of tailored outreach strategies aligned with corporate priorities (brand visibility, CSR priorities, employee engagement)

• Conduct consistent weekly outreach activity (calls, emails, meetings) to drive pipeline growth

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date records of prospect activity in CRM systems

3. Programmatic Sponsorship Development (approx. 25%)

Support the development and marketing of event and program sponsorship opportunities including:

• Assess and qualify prospects based on alignment with JA priorities, capacity, and likelihood to engage

• Position program investments as integrated partnerships that may include event visibility, employee engagement, and mission alignment

• Identify and prioritize high-potential opportunities for advancement to senior team members

• Collaborate with other team members on proposal development and pitch materials

• Help steward current sponsors through ongoing communication and engagement

• Ensure sponsor benefits are properly tracked and fulfilled in coordination with events and marketing teams

Qualifications & Experience

• 3–5 years of experience in fundraising, business development, sales, or event management

• Demonstrated ability and/or strong interest in prospecting, outreach, and relationship building

• Experience with prospect research tools (e.g., LinkedIn, ZoomInfo, etc.) and equivalent methods

• Comfort with external-facing communication and initiating new connections

• Strong organizational skills with ability to track multiple prospects and timelines

• Experience with CRM systems and Microsoft Office

• Familiarity with giving platforms (Bloomerang preferred)

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Core Competencies

• Proactivity & Initiative: Takes ownership of outreach and prospect development

• Business Development Mindset: Actively seeks opportunities and consistently builds pipeline

• Relationship Building: Establishes strong early connections with potential partners

• Results Orientation: Focuses on pipeline growth and opportunity creation

• Collaboration: Effectively engages senior staff to advance and close opportunities

• Execution: Reliably supports high-quality event delivery

• Adaptability: Manages competing priorities in a dynamic environment

Position Impact

This role is critical to:

• Building a consistent and scalable new business pipeline

• Strengthening sponsorship strategies and expanding corporate engagement

• Aligning corporate outreach to ensure consistent messaging and clear prospect management/tracking

• Improving coordination between special events, institutional giving, and programs

COMPENSATION: Salary Range: $70,000–$75,000, commensurate with experience.

Physical Requirements: The physical demands described here represent those necessary for an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this role. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions.

• Frequently required to sit, walk, and communicate verbally.

• Occasionally required to reach with hands and arms, bend, lift, or climb.

• Must be able to lift and carry up to 50 pounds as needed for event setup and logistics.

• Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment & Expectations

• Hybrid work environment

• Availability for occasional evenings and events

• Ability to travel to and support on-site event logistics and execution

JA New York is committed to developing talent and building a diverse, high-performing team. We offer competitive compensation and a robust benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision; 401(k) plan; commuter benefits; summer Fridays; and six weeks of PTO.

To Apply: Please submit resume and cover letter to Wendy Eng at weng@jany.org