Director of Corporate Relations at The Ohio State University

Director of Corporate Relations at The Ohio State University

Job Type
Full-time
Posting Date
June 12, 2019
Location of Position

Columbus, OH

Company Summary

For 144 years, The Ohio State University's campus in Columbus has been the stage for academic achievement and a laboratory for innovation. It's where friendships are forged. It's where rivalries and revelry are born.

The university's main campus is one of America's largest and most comprehensive. As Ohio's best and one of the nation's top-20 public universities, Ohio State is further recognized by a top-rated academic medical center and a premier cancer hospital and research center. As a land-grant university, Ohio State has a physical presence throughout the state, with campuses and research centers located around Ohio.

Duties and Responsibilities
Position Overview

Joining the corporate relations team of The Ohio State University Office of Advancement means working in a highly complex and dynamic environment.  It means extensive interaction with C-level individuals both within the university as well as with our corporate partners.  And, it means successfully building and maintaining relationships within the community to help advance the highly visible and far-reaching missions being driven by Ohio State.

The Director of Corporate Relations maximizes the university’s potential in securing philanthropic support from local, regional, national and international businesses and corporations.  The selected individual will further the team’s presence as a collaborator among university colleagues for business and industry while working jointly to drive growth in the economic investment and campus-wide engagement of these constituencies.   The Director will also develop and execute strategies that significantly deepen the relationship with and improve the quality of services for current and prospective corporate partnerships to support the campaign and beyond.

Reporting to the Executive Director of Corporate Relations, the Director of Corporate Relations will develop and implement long and short term plans to secure major gifts from corporations, corporate foundations and other entities with an emphasis on gifts of $100,000 and above in primary support of university-wide initiatives. The Director of Corporate Relations will have responsibilities for coordination, communications and collaboration with the Corporate Engagement Office (CEO), Industry Liaison Office (ILO), Colleges and other internal initiatives to strategically grow corporate engagement and support.

Organizational Overview

Our Corporate Relations team works with organizations to build mutually beneficial partnerships that connect business and industry to university initiatives. Our team collaborates with many Ohio State academic and administrative units to develop positive long-term relationships with our corporate partners. In return, we provide our partners with the opportunity to collaborate with our world-class faculty and staff, as well as our outstanding students, who are preparing to become the leaders of tomorrow's business and civic communities.  Corporations that partner with Ohio State have the opportunity to:

  • Strengthen ties to the nation’s largest university
  • Support and access innovative research
  • Contribute to the community and enhance brand profile
  • Play a leading role in the region’s economic development
  • Secure a prominent role in attracting Ohio State’s talented and diverse graduates to the workforce
Position Requirements
The Successful Candidate for this Position will Possess
  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education/experience
  • At least three years of professional fundraising experience or professional transferable experience (i.e. managing relationships with required measurable output, making calls, conducting face-to-face appointments, creating and presenting proposals, and other fundamental elements of client relationship or sales-related activities)
Required Experience
Desired Qualifications Include
  • At least three years of professional fundraising experience raising the highest level of philanthropic gifts at an organization (preferably five or six figures and above)
  • At least three years of professional fundraising experience in higher education or a hospital/health care environment; Experience working in other advancement departments such as donor relations and stewardship, donor communications and/or alumni relations
  • Experience fundraising via corporate/business partners or doing related work in a corporate environment 
Additional Skills and Abilities
  • A background and skillset of working to develop and enhance strategic relationships, preferably in large, complex environments while having some combination of education fundraising, nonprofits, and/or corporate relations exposure are preferred.
  • The ability to conceptualize and create complex and comprehensive proposals across university assets and expertise. Confidence and experience presenting proposals to company decision-makers.
  • Responsiveness to supervisor and senior leader’s requests for detailed information on corporate prospects.
Apply Here

Questions may be directed to Greg Bright, Recruiter, at bright.159@osu.edu.  You may also visit advancement.osu.edu to find out more about University Advancement.

Closing Statement

The Ohio State University is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, national origin, disability status, or protected veteran status.