Manager/Director of Sponsorship and Business Development

Role Overview

Manager/Director of Sponsorship and Business Development at NANOG to expand the reach and impact of its Internet engineering education programs. The role focuses on sponsorship sales growth while maintaining NANOG’s vendor-neutral, technically focused culture.

Responsibilities

• Drive sponsorship growth: Design and execute NANOG’s annual sponsorship strategy across conferences and special programs.
• Build lasting partnerships: Cultivate relationships with organizations aligned to NANOG’s mission (network operators, cloud providers, hardware vendors, infrastructure innovators).
• Shape sponsor experiences: Create sponsor packages and activations that deliver value while preserving vendor-neutral integrity.
• Collaborate cross-functionally: Partner with event operations, marketing, and program committees for effective sponsor engagement and delivery.
• Measure and improve: Track performance, analyze feedback, and refine offerings to improve satisfaction and sponsor retention.
• Own the sponsorship lifecycle: Manage the full sponsorship process from lead generation to prospect communications, contract signing, and fulfillment.
• Optimize prospecting process: Use online tools, CRM, and AI engines to improve lead generation, communications, and contract management.

Requirements

• Background in sponsorship sales, corporate partnerships, or technology/nonprofit events.
• Understanding of sponsorship contracting processes and fulfillment logistics.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills with a consultative, relationship-first approach.
• Ability to engage technical audiences (or willingness to learn quickly).
• Willingness to travel to 3–4 conferences per year.
• Comfort building new relationships via online prospecting and research.
• Experience using CRM and sales automation, Google applications, and AI/online research tools.
• Ability to be hands-on (“roll up your sleeves”).

Nice to Haves

• Existing relationships in the Internet infrastructure and network operations ecosystem.