Working Title: Assistant Director, Corporate and Foundation Relations
State Role Title: Administrative and Professional Faculty
Position Type: Administrative & Professional (Non-teaching Faculty)
Position Status: Full-Time
FLSA Status: Exempt: Not Eligible for Overtime
College/Division: Development
Department: 100495 - Corp and Foundation Relations
Pay Band: N/A
Pay Rate: Commensurate with Experience
Specify Range or Amount:
Is this a JMU only position? No
Is this a grant-funded position? No
Is this a Conflict of Interest designated position? No
Beginning Review Date: 07/19/2026
About JMU:
Mission
We are a community committed to preparing students to be educated and enlightened citizens who lead productive and meaningful lives.
Vision
To be the national model for the engaged university: engaged with ideas and the world.
Who We Are
Situated in the heart of Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley, the city of Harrisonburg is a vibrant community with a population of approximately 52,000. Harrisonburg is conveniently located approximately 120 miles from Washington, D.C. and Richmond, VA.
JMU is a selective, public institution with a growing national reputation for offering experiences that lead to an outstanding education and supportive environment for students, faculty and staff. The student body includes approximately 21,000 undergraduate and 1,800 graduate students, with over 1,000 full-time instructional faculty.
JMU offers thriving programs in the liberal arts, science and technology, and professional disciplines at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels. JMU has achieved national recognition for the high quality of its academic programs, focus on maintaining strong student/faculty interaction, and innovative faculty research.
General Information:
The Assistant Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations is a member of the Philanthropy and Engagement division. The Assistant Director reports to the Senior Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations. All duties are carried out in accordance with the policies and procedures of Philanthropy and Engagement, the Development Office, and the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations.
The Assistant Director advances philanthropic support from private foundations and corporate giving programs by developing and managing a strategic pipeline of funding opportunities aligned with JMU’s strategic priorities. This role leads proposal development, manages charitable sponsorship opportunities, and supports faculty and campus partners in pursuing external funding. The Assistant Director serves as a key connector between campus priorities and funder interests, translating university strengths into compelling philanthropic opportunities and ensuring charitable sponsorships are properly qualified, documented, and stewarded. This position participates actively in the Corporate Partnership Hub engagement team model, ensuring philanthropic sponsorship opportunities are integrated into broader institutional partnership strategies. The position plays a central role in expanding JMU’s philanthropic sponsorship portfolio and driving revenue growth through private philanthropic sources.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Proposal Development & Faculty Engagement
- Lead primary drafting of high-quality proposals to foundation and corporate funders; coordinate with faculty and unit staff to gather program data, budgets, and outcomes; submit to the Associate Director for editorial review and approval.
- Translate academic and programmatic priorities into compelling, funder-aligned proposals and sponsorship opportunities.
- Advise faculty on expectations, timelines, and distinctions between philanthropic and sponsored funding.
- Maintain contact with funders during the review process; respond to requests for additional information.
- Submit templates, institutional boilerplate, and impact data to the Operations & Systems Manager for inclusion in the shared proposal content library.
- Co-facilitate faculty workshops and office hours with the Associate Director; draft written guides and proposal resources for campus partner use.
Philanthropic Sponsorship Strategy & Growth
- Serve as a key and recurring contributor within the Corporate Partnership Hub engagement team model, representing philanthropic sponsorship opportunities and ensuring alignment between campus initiatives and external funding strategies.
- Develop repeatable philanthropic sponsorship frameworks and models (e.g., programmatic funding, initiative-based support, multi-year partnerships) for scaling across campus.
- Maintain and apply the team’s charitable sponsorship qualification framework to distinguish philanthropic gifts from sponsorship/exchange transactions; serve as team resource for campus partners on this distinction.
- Manage all charitable sponsorship agreements, ensuring appropriate review and approval by the Senior Director and JMU Foundation.
- Prepare charitable sponsorship agreements, pledge invoices, and all partner-facing communication for corporate contacts on behalf of faculty.
- Meet with campus partners interested in pursuing corporate sponsorship; qualify opportunities and direct campus partners to the appropriate CFR team member.
- Leverage technology, including digital research and drafting tools, to increase the quality and efficiency of sponsorship development, corporate outreach, and proposal production.
Philanthropic Pipeline Management
- Develop and maintain a structured pipeline of private foundation and corporate philanthropic sponsorship opportunities, tracking prospects through identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship stages.
- Partner with colleges, units, and institutional leadership to surface high-impact initiatives that can be positioned for philanthropic sponsorship investment.
- Partner with the Office of Prospect Development to identify and qualify new corporate sponsorship prospects aligned with institutional priorities, incorporating findings into pipeline strategy and outreach.
- Ensure all assigned opportunities are accurately recorded and up to date in Affinaquest (Salesforce) and the Corporate Partnership Hub, in coordination with the Operations & Systems Manager.
- Regularly evaluate the health and movement of the philanthropic sponsorship pipeline; flag stalled prospects and gaps to the Senior Director.
- Use pipeline data to inform outreach priorities, proposal sequencing, and sponsorship framework development.
- Partner with the Operations & Systems Manager to ensure pipeline reporting reflects accurate sponsorship activity and contributes to team reporting.
Stewardship & Reporting
- Lead stewardship and reporting for foundation and corporate gifts, ensuring all gifts are properly acknowledged, accounted for, and stewarded per donor intent and institutional policy, in coordination with the JMU Foundation as appropriate.
- Manage the funder reporting process, including compiling outcome data, drafting narrative reports, and meeting deadlines.
- Build and maintain a renewal strategy for private foundation and corporate partners; proactively identify upgrade and multi-year partnership opportunities in coordination with the CFR team.
- Coordinate stewardship and impact reporting for Madison Trust donors in partnership with the Associate Director.
Team & Operational Support
- Track activity in Affinaquest (Salesforce), ensuring accurate and up-to-date records for assigned proposals, sponsorships, and stewardship activities.
- Attend and contribute to CFR team meetings, pipeline reviews, and planning processes.
- Support the Associate Director and Senior Director on special projects and institutional priorities as directed.
Qualifications:
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree
- 2–4+ years of experience in advancement, fundraising, grant writing, or a related field.
- Demonstrated experience in proposal development and/or philanthropic funding.
- Strong writing, communication, and project management skills.
- Ability to translate complex academic or programmatic concepts into compelling narratives.
- Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion and in compliance with institutional data privacy standards.
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively, with demonstrated flexibility in a fast-paced environment.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in higher education advancement.
- Familiarity with private foundation and corporate giving landscapes.
- Experience working with faculty or academic stakeholders.
- Knowledge of distinctions between philanthropic funding and sponsored research.
- Familiarity with Affinaquest (Salesforce) or similar CRM systems.
- Experience with charitable sponsorship agreements or gift documentation.
Additional Posting Information:
JMU’s Dual Career and Community Resources Program is available for candidates that will be relocating to the area. For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/2OTF1NG.
Conditions of Employment:
Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a criminal background check.
E-Verify Notice: After accepting employment, new hires are required to complete an I-9 form and present documentation of their identity and eligibility to work in the United States. James Madison University uses the E-Verify system to confirm identity and work authorization.
EEO Statement:
James Madison University is committed to creating and supporting a diverse and inclusive work and educational community that is free of all forms of discrimination. This institution does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, parental status, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status.
We promote access, inclusion and diversity for all students, faculty, staff, constituents and programs, believing that these qualities are foundational components of an outstanding education in keeping with our mission. The university is interested in candidates whose experience and qualifications support an ongoing commitment to this core quality.
Anyone having questions concerning discrimination should contact the Office for Equal Opportunity: (540) 568-6991.
Reasonable Accommodation:
If you are an individual with a disability and need assistance searching or applying for jobs please contact us at (540) 568-3597 or [email protected]. You may also visit the JMU Human Resource Office, located at 752 Ott Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22807 and we will be happy to assist you.
