Director, Partnerships & Events

Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) – Toronto, ON | Permanent, Full-time

• Set the strategic direction for the TSO's corporate partnerships portfolio – collaborations, sponsorships, and activations – evolving it toward deeper, mission-aligned, commercially compelling, multi-year relationships.
• Personally identify, cultivate, negotiate, and close the TSO's most significant partnership commitments, including six- and seven-figure, multi-year, and integrated agreements.
• Hold full accountability for annual partnership revenue targets, and for the health, coverage, and conversion of a multi-year prospect pipeline.
• Design, price, and refresh the TSO's partnership offer – tiered model, valuation methodology, activation concepts, and bespoke proposals – to respond to market conditions and maximize both commercial and philanthropic value.
• Own partner-facing accountability for the stewardship and delivery of every contracted benefit and activation, working with internal teams to ensure each commitment is executed with excellence for the partner's audiences, employees, and clients.
• Provide strategic oversight and revenue accountability for the TSO's community giving program, and senior leadership for corporate and community fundraising in support of major international touring, campaign, and special-initiative priorities – including partnerships with corporate, institutional and community stakeholders.
• Hold strategic and net-revenue accountability for the TSO's Development events program – signature fundraising galas and donor cultivation, stewardship, and recognition events – setting annual strategy, targets, and success metrics, and delivering through a dedicated events lead.
• Integrate event sponsorship, hospitality partnerships, and contra revenue into the corporate pipeline, ensuring one coordinated institutional approach to corporate and community prospects with no duplicate or competing solicitations.
• Equip and partner with Board members, Development Committee members, and senior corporate volunteers to open doors and drive peer-to-peer cultivation and solicitation.
• Support the Chief Development Officer and Executive Leadership Team in planning for future campaign initiatives, including the identification, cultivation, and solicitation of corporate campaign commitments.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of three direct reports spanning corporate partnerships, community giving, and events delivery – setting clear expectations, building commercial and fundraising capability, and fostering an entrepreneurial, collaborative, high-performance culture.
• Partner with the Director, Philanthropy and Director, Individual Giving to identify and convert cross-portfolio opportunities in all directions – between corporate, community, individual, event, and audience pipelines.
• Maintain commercial and operational discipline across all three portfolios – contract management, benefits-delivery tracking, pipeline reporting, CRM hygiene, budget oversight, and KPI accountability for revenue growth, partner retention, pipeline coverage, and conversion.
• Bring a current view of the market – tracking trends in corporate philanthropy, sponsorship, brand activation, community giving, fundraising events, and arts-sector partnerships – and an opportunity-spotting mindset to growing every portfolio.
• Maintain a strong on-site presence at TSO performances, partner activations, and donor events, using these moments to deepen relationships, host prospects, and represent the TSO at the executive level.

• 7+ years of progressive experience in corporate partnerships, sponsorship, or business development, with a demonstrated track record of personally securing and growing six- and seven-figure, multi-year commitments.
• Demonstrated experience designing, valuing, negotiating, and renewing complex, multi-channel partnership agreements – including activation strategy, benefit fulfillment, performance measurement, and ROI reporting to senior corporate decision-makers.
• Experience holding portfolio-level accountability for a fundraising events program – including signature galas and donor cultivation, stewardship, and recognition events – with responsibility for net revenue targets, budgets, and outcomes.
• Strong command of fundraising principles and the full gift cycle, with the ability to move fluidly between partnerships, philanthropic, and community giving frameworks and to structure blended commitments across them.
• Proven people leadership, including management of senior professional staff, delegation of operational portfolios with retained accountability, performance management, and talent development.
• Strong strategic planning, analytical, and financial acumen, including experience managing revenue targets, multi-year pipelines, event and program P&Ls, forecasting, and board-level reporting.
• Sophisticated interpersonal, presentation, and negotiation skills, with the credibility to engage C-suite executives, senior donors, board members, diplomatic and community leaders, and executive leadership as a peer.
• Experience leading cross-functional delivery with marketing, communications, artistic, production, and finance teams to bring partner commitments, activations, and events to life at a consistently high standard.
• Experience in the performing arts, cultural, educational, or complex not-for-profit environment strongly preferred; agency-side or brand-side sponsorship experience is equally valued.
• High level of professionalism, discretion, and ethical judgment, including the management of confidential donor, partner, and organizational information.
• Post-secondary degree or equivalent professional experience.