Vice President, Business Development & Partnerships

Vice President, Business Development & Partnerships
Reports To: President, General Manager, and Chief Executive Officer
Position Type: Full Time, Exempt
Salary Range: $80,000 - $100,000+ Estimated Annually (Base + Commission)
About Your Role
As Vice President of Business Development & Partnerships, you are the chief connector between Cincinnati Public Radio and the Greater Cincinnati business community. You will lead the strategy and growth of our sponsorship revenue across broadcast and digital platforms by acting as a highly visible community ambassador—cultivating relationships, opening doors, and shepherding key partnerships.  

Equally important is your role as a sales leader. You will manage, coach, and develop a dedicated team of account executives, successfully handing off community partnerships, developing compelling sponsorship packages, and equipping your team to close and manage accounts. The ideal candidate thrives on building external relationships, mentoring internal talent, and driving measurable revenue impact. 

What You'll Do

• Community Connector & Partnership Cultivation: Serve as CPR’s ambassador in the business community, actively networking to identify opportunities, introducing new business leads for your account executives, and shepherding high-level partnerships.
• Team Leadership & Development: Manage, coach, and develop a team of account executives and traffic staff, establishing clear expectations and equipping them to succeed in a fast-paced media environment.
• Revenue Strategy: Plan and direct sponsorship strategies to meet or exceed monthly revenue goals across broadcast, owned digital, and third-party platforms.
• Sponsorship Oversight: Oversee the full sponsorship lifecycle performed by your team, from forecasting and outreach to proposals, negotiations, and collections.
• National & Regional Liaison: Serve as the lead account executive for national sponsorship packages with NPR and coordinate statewide initiatives with other public media outlets.
• Inventory & Cross-Functional Management: Oversee broadcast and digital inventories in collaboration with traffic management, strategize and develop broadcast and digital packages, ensure compliance with FCC guidelines, and operate as a peer to other Vice Presidents to align broad organizational initiatives.

• Proven experience managing and coaching a team.
• Strong networking abilities with a desire to act as a bridge between CPR and the local business community.
• Experience with B2B sales, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and balancing multiple priorities.
• Effective communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively across diverse departments.
• An understanding of Cincinnati Public Radio’s programming and a genuine belief in our mission and vision.

• Proven experience managing and coaching a team of account executives in a B2B environment.
• Experience in broadcast or public media.
• Experience in digital media, digital advertising, and/or digital measurement.  
• Experience with traffic systems (specifically Marketron) and CRM/production systems (specifically WavStar).  
• Knowledge of industry research tools such as Nielsen, Scarborough, audience profiling tools, etc.

• Retirement: 403(b) plan with employer matching after one year of employment
• Healthcare: Medical, dental, and vision coverage with approximately 75% of the premiums paid by us
• Life & Long-Term Disability Insurance: Group policies 100% paid by us
• Paid Time Off: 15 days per year, plus 8 sick days and 11 paid holidays
• Parental Leave: Paid leave for all new parents
• Work Environment: Work in our newly constructed headquarters with a hybrid option (up to two remote days per week)