Academic Partnerships Manager

The Academic Partnerships Manager is a relationship role dedicated to expanding ACS's presence and membership within the academic and research community. By forging deep institutional relationships, designing compelling academic membership propositions, and working closely with faculty, department heads, and research administrators, the Academic Partnerships Manager will drive a sustained increase in institutional and individual academic memberships. The Academic Partnerships Manager is responsible for identifying, cultivating, and converting academic institution partnerships into ACS membership agreements - spanning departmental group memberships, institutional subscriptions, and the recruitment of individual faculty, researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students as ACS members. The Manager will map the academic landscape, build a structured outreach pipeline, negotiate institutional arrangements, and create an ongoing engagement framework that maximizes long-term academic member retention and advocacy. This role works closely with ACS Education, Publications, and the broader membership team.

Academic Institution Mapping & Prospecting

• Develop and maintain a comprehensive database of universities, research institutes, polytechnics, and academic bodies that are priority targets for ACS academic membership.
• Segment and prioritize target institutions by chemistry department strength, research output, current ACS engagement, and geographic strategic importance.
• Identify key decision-makers and influencers at target institutions, including Heads of Chemistry, Deans of Science, Research Directors, and Library Directors.
• Track academic calendar cycles, grant periods, and institutional procurement windows to time outreach and proposal submissions optimally.
• Monitor competitor association activity and benchmarks within the academic segment to keep ACS's value proposition sharp and differentiated.

Institutional Partnership Development

• Initiate and lead outreach to academic institutions, conducting discovery meetings to understand research priorities, student needs, faculty development goals, and existing association memberships.
• Design and present tailored institutional membership proposals that align ACS's resources - publications access, career tools, networking, grants, and awards - with the specific needs of each institution.
• Negotiate institutional group membership agreements, departmental packages, and multi-year partnership arrangements that provide scalable, cost-effective access for faculty and students.
• Develop MOUs and partnership frameworks with strategic academic institutions that embed ACS as a long-term partner in their research and professional development ecosystem.
• Represent ACS at academic conferences, chemistry congresses, research symposia, and university events to build institutional brand awareness.

Faculty & Researcher Membership Recruitment

• Design and execute targeted campaigns to recruit individual faculty members, postdoctoral researchers, and principal investigators as ACS members from within partner and prospect institutions.
• Engage directly with chemistry departments to present ACS membership benefits - publications, professional recognition, grant opportunities, and global networking - as essential tools for academic career advancement.
• Partner with institutional HR and faculty development offices to embed ACS membership into onboarding programs for new academic staff.
• Create and deliver on-campus ACS membership drives, information sessions, and benefit showcases at target universities.
• Develop and maintain a referral network of ACS member faculty advocates who actively promote membership within their departments and institutions.

Academic Engagement & Value Delivery

• Create an ongoing academic engagement programme - including webinars, research showcases, grant writing workshops, publishing masterclasses, and virtual networking events - designed specifically for the academic community.
• Collaborate with ACS Education and Publications divisions to deliver relevant programming and resources that reinforce the value of membership for academic audiences.
• Facilitate connections between ACS academic members and industry member networks to support research, collaboration, and career development.
• Develop academic impact reports and membership value statements for use in institutional renewal conversations and budget justification.
• Gather and publish academic member success stories - research impact, career milestones, grant wins - to demonstrate ACS membership value to prospective academic audiences.

Data, Reporting & Pipeline Management

• Maintain a structured, up-to-date institutional partnership pipeline, tracking all prospect interactions, proposal stages, and conversion outcomes.
• Report regularly on academic membership acquisition metrics, institutional pipeline health, and partnership development progress to the VP, Membership.
• Analyze academic membership data to identify retention risks, underperforming markets, and growth opportunities within the academic segment.
• Track and report on the ROI of academic partnership activities - measuring new memberships generated, institutional agreements signed, and revenue contribution.

• Bachelor's degree in chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Life Sciences, or a related discipline.
• 5-7 years of experience in academic partnerships, institutional business development, membership sales, or a senior relationship management role - ideally within a scientific society, academic publisher, or research organization.
• Demonstrated track record of building and closing institutional partnership agreements with universities, research institutes, or academic bodies.
• Deep understanding of the academic research environment - including faculty motivations, department decision-making structures, library procurement, and research funding cycles.
• Exceptional relationship-building, negotiation, and presentation skills - comfortable engaging with Vice Chancellors, Deans, Department Heads, and Research Directors.
• Proficiency in CRM systems (Salesforce preferred) and pipeline management disciplines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 35%

• Strategic Partnership Development
• Academic & Research Community Fluency
• Consultative Selling & Negotiation
• Stakeholder Mapping & Influence
• Pipeline Management & CRM Discipline
• Value Proposition Design
• Data-Driven Performance Management

Metrics: this position will be evaluated on the basis of academic partnerships secured, engagement and onboarding of new partners and partnerships retained.

This position is based in our Washington, D.C. office and a reasonable rate of compensation for this position is between $115,000-$125,000 per year.

ACS currently provides the following benefits for this position: paid vacation leave, paid sick leave, paid holidays, health insurance, flexible spending account or health care savings account, dental insurance, life insurance, vision insurance, retirement benefits, short- and long-term disability, and 4-week work from anywhere; each benefit is subject to the terms of the applicable program. Additional benefits may apply based on skills, experience, and location.

Any actual offer of employment, reflecting the total compensation package and benefits, will be made in the sole discretion of ACS. ACS reserves the right to amend or modify its employment benefits and compensation structure at any time.