Assistant Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations Strategy and Stewardship

The Assistant Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations Strategy and Stewardship serves as a key member of the NIU Foundation's Corporate and Foundation Relations team, supporting the development of meaningful partnerships between Northern Illinois University and corporate and foundation stakeholders.

This position is responsible for cultivating and managing internal university relationships, coordinating stewardship and engagement activities for corporate and foundation partners, and supporting data-informed decision-making processes that strengthen the Corporate and Foundation Relations program. The Assistant Director serves as a connector among faculty, staff, students, researchers, academic leaders, advancement professionals, and external partners to identify opportunities, facilitate collaboration, communicate impact, and advance relationship-building efforts.

The position works closely with university stakeholders to maintain awareness of research, academic initiatives, workforce development, and student success programs that align with corporate and foundation interests. Additionally, the Assistant Director supports stewardship planning, partner engagement, prospect development activities, and strategic data initiatives that help strengthen and grow corporate and foundation relationships.

• Serve as a key liaison between Corporate and Foundation Relations and university faculty, staff, researchers, administrators, and academic units to identify emerging corporate and foundation value propositions and accelerate cross-functional decision-making.
• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships across the university to identify and advance opportunities for corporate and foundation engagement.
• Consult with faculty and staff regarding partnership opportunities, project development, project readiness, and engagement strategies.
• Design and facilitate faculty and staff training related to corporate and foundation engagement, relationship development, and partnership best practices to increase institutional fundraising capabilities across academic units.
• Develop, maintain, and report on inventories of research, programs, projects, workforce initiatives, and student-centered opportunities with potential alignment with external partner interests.
• Coordinate with faculty and university stakeholders to assess program readiness and strategic fit for corporate and foundation engagement.
• Collaborate with Research and Innovation Partnerships, Sponsored Programs Administration, academic colleges, centers, institutes, and administrative units to identify partnership opportunities and emerging initiatives.
• Support development of project summaries, budgets, partnership concepts, and briefing materials.
• Partner with Alumni Relations and Advancement colleagues to identify opportunities for alumni involvement in corporate and foundation partnerships.

• Develop and implement stewardship plans that strengthen relationships with key corporate and foundation partners.
• Coordinate and support partner visits, campus engagements, meetings, networking opportunities, and recognition activities.
• Maintain and/or facilitate regular communication with external corporate and foundation partners through impact updates, success stories, newsletters, stewardship reports, and other engagement materials.
• Coordinate faculty, student, and partner participation in stewardship activities.
• Gather and communicate examples of partner impact, student outcomes, research accomplishments, and university successes.
• Prepare and coordinate stewardship communications, including reports, letters, presentations, videos, and other partner-facing materials.
• Track stewardship commitments and engagement activities to ensure fulfillment and continuity.
• Support relationship-management activities designed to strengthen long-term partnerships and encourage continued investment and engagement.

• Support data-informed planning and decision-making processes for Corporate and Foundation Relations.
• Support prospect management and portfolio development activities.
• Support efforts to integrate and leverage university and foundation data sources for relationship management and strategic planning.
• Assist with business intelligence activities utilizing institutional, alumni, procurement, industry, and partnership data.
• Support implementation of AI-enabled…