Hartford Athletic is home to a USL Championship men's team and a USL W League women's team.
THE OPPORTUNITY:
Hartford Athletic is seeking a proven, entrepreneurial Vice President of Corporate Partnerships to lead and grow the club's partnership business. This is an intentionally hands-on player-coach role for a senior sports business executive who can personally originate and close meaningful new business while developing a small commercial team and building a more sophisticated, repeatable partnership operation. The Vice President will own partnership sales strategy, pipeline and forecasting while guiding activation and renewal strategy. The role will work closely with senior leadership on major opportunities and help expand Hartford Athletic's relationships with leading companies throughout Connecticut and the broader region. The successful candidate will be more than a manager or activation leader. Hartford is looking for a proven seller who has grown into leadership - someone comfortable carrying a personal number, coaching other sellers, creating new commercial platforms and representing the club credibly with senior decision-makers.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Own the club's corporate partnership sales strategy, pipeline, forecast and revenue performance. Personally prospect, develop, negotiate and close significant new partnerships while maintaining meaningful individual production. Lead, coach and develop the partnership sales team; establish clear goals, activity expectations, account strategies and accountability. Lead renewal and upsell strategy, beginning conversations early and connecting proposals to demonstrated partner value. Guide activation and service standards to ensure commitments are fulfilled professionally and strategically, supporting long-term retention. Develop new categories, assets, content, events, community platforms and integrated sponsorship concepts rather than relying only on existing inventory. Build relationships with CEOs, CMOs, agencies and senior decision-makers at regional and national companies. Create pricing and packaging discipline while protecting the long-term value of Hartford Athletic's commercial inventory. Work directly with senior leadership and ownership on major strategic prospects, including larger platform, naming-rights and jersey/front-of-kit opportunities. Maintain accurate CRM records, pipeline stages, probability-weighted forecasting and next-action discipline. Collaborate across ticketing, marketing, community, academy, soccer operations and events to create compelling partner solutions. Help identify and monetize opportunities connected to Hartford Athletic's men's team, women's team, academy, community initiatives, foundation and ancillary stadium events.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR:
Approximately 7+ years of sponsorship, corporate partnerships, business development, media or related B2B sales experience; exceptional candidates with different tenure will be considered. Professional sports experience is required; soccer experience is preferred but not required. A documented record of personally originating and closing meaningful partnership revenue. Experience leading, coaching or mentoring sellers in a performance-driven environment. Strong executive presence and confidence selling to senior business decision-makers.
Excellent prospecting, discovery, proposal development, negotiation and closing skills. Strong understanding of sponsorship activation, renewals, upsells and measurement. Ability to create new commercial concepts and sponsorable platforms rather than relying only on existing assets. Strong CRM, pipeline-management and forecasting discipline. A willingness to operate as a player-coach who sells personally while building the team around them. Strong communication and collaboration skills across internal departments and with senior leadership.
Willingness to work evenings, weekends, matchdays and partner events as required, and ability to relocate to Connecticut and work on-site. HOW SUCCESS WILL BE MEASURED AREA SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE New Business: Consistent net-new partnership revenue, larger average deals and a multi-year orientation.
Personal Production: The VP remains one of the department's meaningful revenue producers. Renewals / Upsells: Strong retention, earlier renewal conversations and systematic account expansion.
Team Performance: Clear quotas, active coaching, stronger seller productivity and a credible weekly forecast.
Inventory Innovation: New sponsorable platforms, categories and integrated programs tied to partner objectives.
Activation Quality: Organized, measurable fulfillment designed to improve partner value and renewal probability.
Pipeline Discipline: Accurate CRM stages, next actions, conversion tracking and forecast accuracy.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:
Base salary: approximately $120,000. Placement within this range will be based on job-related qualifications and experience.
At-goal total compensation: approximately $160,000. Additional upside through personal sales production and performance-based incentives. Competitive benefits package and relocation assistance available. WHY HARTFORD ATHLETIC This role offers the chance to own a meaningful commercial function, work directly with senior leadership and shape the future of Hartford Athletic's partnership business.
The club has valuable commercial platforms across its teams, academy, community work, foundation, stadium and ancillary events, creating room for a creative seller to expand both inventory and relationships. The right leader will have meaningful influence on strategy while remaining close to the selling process and the revenue they create.
