Director, Corporate Partnerships

Director, Corporate Partnerships

Special Olympics Illinois is a not-for-profit organization offering year‑round training and competition in 18 sports to Illinois athletes with intellectual disabilities. We are dedicated to shaping a culture where people with and without intellectual disabilities are fully integrated into the community by providing opportunities in competitive sports, health education, leadership, and personal development. As part of the Special Olympics Illinois team, you’ll join an energetic and hard‑working group committed to transforming the lives of those we serve.

The Director, Corporate Partnerships is a strategic leader responsible for driving SOILL’s transition to high‑impact, long‑term corporate partnerships. This role leads consultative engagement with partners, focusing on growing high‑value, multi‑year partnerships that support SOILL’s mission and impact storytelling. The Director will proactively secure new partnerships through targeted prospecting and business‑development strategies.

• Secure and steward high‑impact relationships
• Maximize unrestricted or lightly restricted revenue
• Ensure partnerships align with SOILL’s strategic priorities and deliver measurable outcomes
• Lead new partnership acquisition and prospecting efforts

• Support development of SOILL’s corporate strategy for its key mission pillars (e.g., Sports & Competition, Healthy Athletes, Athlete Leadership, and Youth & Education).
• Partner on the design, launch and implementation of corporate volunteer engagement programs.
• Advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in all prospect and partnership activities, ensuring inclusive recruitment and engagement of corporate partners, volunteers, and board members.
• Support fundraising strategies anchored by corporate giving for major initiatives (e.g., Special Olympics USA Games, Unified Leadership).

• Develop and execute a proactive prospecting strategy to identify, research, and engage new corporate partners aligned with SOILL’s mission and strategic priorities.
• Build and manage a robust pipeline of prospective partners, utilizing CRM tools and market research to track outreach, cultivation, and conversion.
• Set annual targets for new and existing partnerships and report regularly on progress to leadership.
• Lead outreach efforts through cold calls, networking events, conferences, Linked In, and warm introductions.
• Collaborate with grants, marketing, finance and program teams to develop integrated partnership solutions, create compelling pitch materials and customized proposals for prospects and partners.

• Steward existing corporate partners to maximize engagement and impact.
• Identify volunteer opportunities for corporations and coordinate with Program Services leads to execute engagements (e.g., Summer Games, volunteer trainings).
• Write and develop comprehensive year‑round partnership proposals, collaborating with internal program leaders for mission alignment.
• Ensure sponsorship deliverables are met and documented (e.g., signage, event invitations, fulfillment reports).
• Create donor impact reports with key metrics and mission narratives (e.g., social media metrics, athlete stories, stats).
• Identify volunteer leaders for committees and boards; cultivate Corporate Chairs for major events.
• Represent SOILL at Lunch & Learns and workplace giving events; present “About Us” and other key presentations.

• Manage Leaders Council or other high‑level volunteer boards, including strategy, recruitment, engagement, and stewardship.
• Plan and execute council meetings and initiatives; serve as main SOILL liaison.

• May supervise Assistant Director or Manager, Corporate Partnerships.

• Establish and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) for new business development, including number of new partners acquired, revenue generated, and pipeline growth.
• Maintain accurate records of prospecting activity and outcomes in Salesforce (or other CRM).
• Regularly analyze market trends in corporate giving, CSR and…