Associate Director, Activations & Partnerships

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Associate Director, Activations & Partnerships serves as a leader on Sundance Institute’s Partnerships team and is primarily responsible for overseeing partnership activations, experiential strategy, operational execution, mission-aligned partnerships, and in-kind partnership management across Sundance Institute’s Festival and year-round programs.

Reporting to the Director of Partnerships, this role anchors the post-sale ecosystem, leading operational delivery and execution of partnership experiences that align with Sundance Institute’s mission, values and audience experience, which supports high renewal rates for the department’s $13–15 million in contributed/earned revenue.

The Associate Director, Activations & Partnerships operates as part of an integrated Partnerships leadership team alongside the Associate Director, Corporate Partnerships and the Associate Director, Partnerships Marketing. Together, these leaders share responsibility for achieving ambitious departmental growth goals, strengthening organizational relationships, and building scalable partnership systems and experiences.

This role requires a strategic, collaborative, and relationship-centered leader who can manage complex partnerships while fostering a culture grounded in equity, inclusion, accessibility, creativity, and belonging.

This full-time position is based within a commutable distance to Boulder, CO in order to work onsite in a hybrid capacity throughout the year. The role requires flexibility, including extended hours, evenings, and weekends during peak periods, as well as travel to Institute locations, events, and meetings as needed.

Top priorities include but are not limited to:

Partnership Activations & Operational Execution

• Leading all partnership activations, experiential initiatives, and operational partnership execution for Sundance Institute programs and events.
• Overseeing planning, logistics, implementation, and operational delivery of sponsor activations and partner experiences.
• Developing scalable activation systems, operational frameworks, and implementation processes capable of supporting significant organizational growth.
• Collaborating with internal teams to ensure activations align with organizational priorities, audience experience goals, and operational feasibility.
• Overseeing activation timelines, partner fulfillment, resource coordination, and execution standards.

Mission-Aligned & Community Partnerships

• Leading management of non/low-revenue and mission-aligned partnerships including community, cultural, nonprofit, venue, and in-kind partnerships.
• Building authentic relationships with community organizations, local businesses, venues, government representatives, and operational stakeholders.
• Supporting strategic partnerships that strengthen community engagement, accessibility, audience development, and organizational impact.
• Partnering with Legal, Operations, and Community Relations teams to support permitting, compliance, and non-sanctioned partnership prevention efforts.
• Overseeing and supporting the Institute-wide in-kind partnership program.

Strategic Collaboration

• Partnering closely with the Associate Director, Partnerships Marketing to support high-quality partner experiences, activation execution, and fulfillment of partnership commitments.
• Collaborating with the Associate Director, Corporate Partnerships to ensure proposed sponsorship opportunities are operationally feasible and aligned with organizational capacity.
• Working collaboratively with Programming, Artist Programs, Events, Operations, Marketing & Communications, Legal, and Advancement teams to support integrated partnership planning and execution.
• Participating in department-wide planning, forecasting, process improvement, and organizational growth initiatives.

Team Leadership & Culture

• Building, mentoring, developing, and leading a team through inclusive leadership practices, coaching, accountability, and professional development.
• Fostering a collaborative, equitable, and inclusive team culture where employees feel supported, empowered, and connected to organizational goals.
• Creating opportunities for mentorship, learning, and career growth across year-round and seasonal teams.
• Leading with transparency, empathy, curiosity, and accountability while supporting a culture of belonging.

Relationship Management

• Building authentic and trusted relationships with partners, sponsors, community organizations, venues, vendors, and internal stakeholders.
• Serving as a collaborative and solutions-oriented representative of Sundance Institute across partnership activations and operational initiatives.
• Supporting relationship management efforts that strengthen long-term partner engagement and organizational trust.

Collaborative Leadership

• Operating as part of an integrated Partnerships leadership team with shared accountability for departmental growth, partner retention, and organizational success.
• Collaborating across workstreams to ensure consistent communication, seamless partner experiences, and strategic alignment.
• Contributing to operational planning efforts that support scalability, sustainability, and long-term organizational growth.
• Fostering strong cross-functional relationships across Advancement, Programming, Events, Operations, Marketing & Communications, Legal, Community Relations, and Artist Programs.
• Advancing Sundance Institute’s commitment to equity, inclusion, accessibility, and belonging through leadership practices and partnership strategy.

You have the following direct or transferable skill sets:

• 8 years of experience in experiential marketing, partnership activations, live events, festival operations, partnership management, or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience working within arts, culture, entertainment, media, or other mission-driven creative-sector organizations, either for-profit or nonprofit.
• Experience leading complex operational initiatives and large-scale activations.
• Strong leadership and people management experience with the ability to build and lead collaborative, effective teams.
• Proven ability to navigate mission-aligned partnerships while balancing operational execution and organizational priorities.
• Exceptional relationship-building, communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to equity, inclusion, accessibility, and fostering a culture of belonging internally and externally.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and collaborate effectively across teams and stakeholders.
• Legal authorization to work in the United States.

You will be successful in this role if you...

• Deliver high-quality activations and partnership experiences that strengthen long-term relationships and organizational impact.
• Build scalable operational systems and partnership processes that support significant future growth.
• Collaborate effectively across teams to align activation strategy with organizational goals and partner expectations.
• Lead and mentor team members in ways that foster engagement, inclusion, accountability, and growth.
• Build authentic relationships with community stakeholders, partners, and internal teams.
• Navigate operational complexity with flexibility, empathy, and strategic thinking.

In addition to an annual salary of $100,000.00 to $120,000.00*, this position** is eligible for our comprehensive benefits package, highlights include:

• Health, vision, and dental insurance
• 25 paid Institute holidays plus accrued vacation time
• Paid sick, family, and medical leave
• Employee Wellness initiatives
• 401(k) with automatic 3% employer contribution after one year of employment
• Sundance Film Festival passes and benefits (varies each year)

*Final rate of pay is determined based on the applicant's geographic location, relevant experience and skills, and internal equity among similar positions within our organization.

**Applications open 06/08/2026 and will be accepted for at least one week