Manager/Director of Sponsorship and Business Development

NANOG is a nonprofit educational organization seeking a Manager/Director of Sponsorship and Business Development to expand its Internet engineering education programs. The role involves driving sponsorship growth, building lasting partnerships, and ensuring seamless sponsor engagement across NANOG’s initiatives.

Responsibilities:

• Drive Sponsorship Growth: Design and execute NANOG’s annual sponsorship strategy across conferences and special programs from within NANOG’s traditional base of sponsors and new markets
• Build Lasting Partnerships: Cultivate relationships with organizations that share NANOG’s mission—network operators, cloud providers, hardware vendors, and infrastructure innovators
• Shape Sponsor Experiences: Create packages and activations that deliver value while respecting the integrity of NANOG’s technical vendor-neutral environment
• Collaborate Across Functions: Work closely with event operations, marketing, and program committees to ensure seamless sponsor engagement and delivery
• Measure and Improve: Track performance, analyze feedback, and refine offerings to strengthen sponsor satisfaction and long‑term retention
• Pay attention to Detail: Execute the sponsorship process from lead generation through prospect communications to contract signing and sponsorship delivery
• Manage and Improve Prospecting Process: Leverage online tools, CRM and AI engines to optimize lead generation, prospect communications and contract management

Requirements:

• Background in sponsorship sales, corporate partnerships, or technology/nonprofit events, along with an understanding of sponsorship contracting processes and fulfillment logistics
• Strong communication and negotiation skills with a consultative, relationship‑first approach
• Understanding of technical audiences - or curiosity and willingness to learn deeply
• Comfort with travel to 3–4 conferences per year
• Desire to build new relationships through online prospecting and research
• Experience with online tools such as CRM and sales automation systems, Google applications and AI/online research tools
• Ability to roll up your sleeves and pay attention to detail - we're a small team
• Existing relationships within the Internet infrastructure and network operations ecosystem is a plus