Senior Director, Corporate Relations in Washington, District of Columbia at OCEANA INC

Senior Director, Corporate Relations

Location: Washington, DC (Hybrid)

FLSA: Exempt

Reports to: Vice President, Global Development

Position Overview

Oceana is the largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Through science-based, campaign-driven policy work, Oceana protects and restores the world’s oceans, with offices across the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia, and headquarters in Washington, DC.

The Senior Director, Corporate Relations is a new position that leads Oceana's global corporate fundraising strategy and grows corporate support for Oceana's campaigns around the world. Reporting to the Vice President, Global Development, the Senior Director sets the multi-year vision for corporate partnerships, personally manages a portfolio of top corporate relationships, and leads the corporate partnerships team in setting strategy for corporate engagement, building out activation opportunities, and creating a pipeline of new donors.

The Senior Director oversees a $4-$7M portfolio of current and prospective corporate partners. Working closely with development and marketing communications teams in the U.S. and abroad, the Senior Director optimizes the targeting, cultivation, execution, stewardship, and renewal of corporate partnerships to maximize their financial, marketing, and mission value. The Senior Director sets global standards for corporate fundraising and supports Oceana’s country offices in cultivating and stewarding corporate partners in their markets.

Corporate partners must meet the standards set by Oceana's Policy on Corporate Contributions. The Senior Director serves as Oceana's lead advisor on corporate and celebrity partnership risk, ensuring partners and associated activities take necessary stakeholders into consideration and avoid excessive or unnecessary risk to Oceana's policy work and brand.

The Senior Director directly supervises the Director, Global Corporate Partnerships, and oversees that Director's team of 1-3 staff. This leader sets clear goals, coaches for performance, and builds trusting relationships that help the team grow and take on increasingly complex work.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy and Revenue Growth

• Develop, update, and execute a comprehensive, multi-year global corporate relations strategy and annual plan that grows corporate revenue including setting standards for supporting corporate fundraising in Oceana’s country offices.
• Set annual revenue goals and pipeline targets with the VP, Global Development, and manage the corporate relations budget, forecasting, and fundraising expenses.
• Identify and pursue new corporate prospects, including multinational companies and corporate foundations, using a partner-focused strategy that matches Oceana's campaigns with funder interests.
• Build a diversified corporate revenue mix, including cause marketing and licensing, event sponsorship, employee engagement and workplace giving, matching gifts, in-kind and pro-bono support, and corporate foundation grants.
• Build and maintain an internal pipeline of fundable opportunities by working with campaign, science, and country office staff to understand plans as they develop, evaluate campaigns for funding potential, and match them with prospective partners.
• Oversee the process for responding to and evaluating inbound corporate partnership inquiries.
• Evaluate fundraising results against goals, identify efficiencies and improvements, and adjust strategy as needed.
• Stay informed on the competitive landscape, including industry news and research related to nonprofits, corporate sustainability, and cause marketing, and keep the team current on best practices in the field.

Portfolio and Relationship Management

• Personally manage a portfolio of Oceana's highest-value corporate partners and prospects, leading cultivation, solicitation, negotiation, and renewal.
• Oversee proposal strategy, including program budgets, and the preparation of creative, individually tailored proposals, presentations, and reports.
• Engage Oceana's CEO, senior leadership, Board members, and other key supporters in corporate cultivation and solicitation as appropriate.
• Build and leverage relationships with corporate leaders, industry associations, trade bodies, and diplomatic representatives across the countries where Oceana works to expand corporate giving and engagement.
• Represent Oceana at corporate sustainability and industry conferences and convenings to raise visibility and identify new partners.
• Identify corporate executives with potential for individual major giving, Oceana Leadership Council membership, or Advisory Board service, and partner with major gifts on their cultivation.
• Oversee stewardship and activation for current partners, including impact reporting that meets partners’ sustainability and ESG reporting needs, positioning each relationship for renewed and increased support.
• Identify, cultivate, and manage celebrity and talent partnerships, including ambassador relationships and celebrity involvement in corporate partnerships, in coordination with Marketing and Communications.

Collaboration, Compliance, and Communications

• Maximize the financial, marketing, and mission value of corporate partnerships through effective collaboration with campaign, policy, and communications staff across departments and country offices.
• Ensure every partnership meets Oceana's Policy on Corporate Contributions and that standards set by Oceana's Legal and Accounting departments are considered before undertaking marketing activities with partners.
• Work with the Marketing and Communications team to build a communications calendar that supports cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, along with brand-aligned templates for proposals, presentations, and info sheets.
• Serve as the primary point of contact with the Marketing and Communications team for corporate-facing materials, including individually tailored presentations for complex proposals.
• Analyze and improve workflows between Oceana staff, partners' staff, and outside agencies when executing marketing deliverables for partners.
• Set global best practices and workflows for corporate partnerships, and provide the guidance, training, and support needed to departments and country offices.
• Provide the Executive Committee and Board with regular updates on the state of Oceana's corporate partnerships.

Team Leadership and Operations

• Supervise the Director, Global Corporate Partnerships, and oversee the team's day-to-day oversight of corporate partners.
• Exercise independent judgment on team priorities, partnership strategy, and the corporate relations budget, conferring with the VP, Global Development on any changes to revenue or expense budgets, exceptions to policy, and personnel actions.
• Set clear goals and expectations, provide coaching and training, and support professional growth so team members can take on increasingly complex projects.
• Recruit, hire, and onboard new staff as the team grows.
• Ensure appropriate recording in Salesforce and timely acknowledgement of all revenue attributed to corporate partners.
• Manage outside vendors and consultants that support the recruitment and management of corporate partners.
• Participate in Development department planning and contribute to department-wide strategy as part of the development leadership team.
• Foster a collaborative work environment that encourages teamwork, innovation, and professional growth.
• Perform additional duties as needed and/or assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; an advanced degree or training in a related field is preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in corporate fundraising, corporate partnerships, cause marketing, business development, or related roles, including at least 5 years managing teams.
• Proven record of cultivating, securing, and renewing multi-year, multi-million dollar corporate partnerships, sponsorships, and gifts. Track record of personally managing a corporate portfolio of $5M+ annually, with demonstrated year-over-year growth.
• Strong existing corporate network and demonstrated success in frontline relationship management, including regular face-to-face cultivation and solicitation of senior corporate executives.
• Experience managing a multi-million dollar corporate portfolio, including setting revenue goals, managing budgets, and preparing program and project budgets for proposals.
• Ability to lead a team and communicate effectively in a matrixed work environment.
• Experience at an international organization strongly preferred.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to develop and execute comprehensive, multi-year fundraising strategies.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills, including a talent for translating complex information for a broad range of audiences.
• Ability to relate well, in a professional and easy manner, to Board members, corporate executives, donors at all levels, and staff.
• Strong leadership and team management skills, with a collaborative and inclusive approach and effective coaching techniques.
• Ability to perform effectively under pressure and manage multiple time-sensitive priorities.
• Ability to analyze and improve processes and workflows.
• Entrepreneurial spirit, adaptability, and a desire for continued learning.
• Knowledge of and interest in environmental and ocean issues.
• Willingness to travel, attend fundraising events, and work outside normal business hours when necessary.

Required Competencies

• Strategic Mindset: Sees ahead to future possibilities and translates them into breakthrough strategies.
• Drives Results: Has a strong bottom-line orientation and persists in accomplishing objectives despite obstacles and setbacks.
• Builds Effective Teams: Builds strong-identity teams that apply their diverse skills and perspectives to achieve common goals.
• Customer Focus: Builds strong internal and external relationships and delivers partner-centric solutions.
• Collaborates: Builds partnerships and works collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
• Plans and Aligns: Creates plans that are aligned with Oceana's priorities and that enable individuals and teams to get organized, remain focused, and proceed with confidence.
• Manages Complexity: Makes sense of complex, high-quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems.
• Cultivates Innovation: Comes up with useful and creative ideas to put into practice.
• Situational Adaptability: Adapts approach and demeanor in real time to match the shifting demands of different situations.
• Communicates Effectively: Develops and delivers multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences.
• Ensures Accountability: Follows through on commitments and makes sure others do the same; takes ownership and responsibility for decisions, actions, and failures.
• Organizational Savvy: Maneuvers comfortably through complex policy, process, and people-related organizational dynamics.
• Being Resilient: Rebounds from setbacks and adversity when facing difficult situations.

Please apply by November 11, 2026.

The salary range for this position is $175,000 – $185,000 annually.

Oceana’s U.S. offices are operating on a hybrid schedule. Staff are required to work from their assigned office on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. With agreement between the employee and their supervisor, the employee may work from home on Monday and Friday.

Oceana values a diverse workforce and welcomes people different from each other in many ways, including characteristics such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, and national origin. Oceana considers all qualified candidates and seeks to recruit from a diverse candidate pool.