The Food Craft Institute (FCI) is seeking a Corporate Development Manager to join the Eat Real Festival Management team. The Eat Real Festival (ERF) is part urban county fair, part street-food festival, part block party and above all a celebration of delicious food. At the Eat Real Festival, participants learn where food comes from, who grows it and how to make it.

The Eat Real Festival is an educational program of the non-profit Food Craft Institute, teaching traditional food making techniques and focusing on the creation of viable artisan food businesses in the United States. Eat Real and FCI strive to revitalize regional food systems, build public awareness of the craft of making healthy, delicious food and encourage the growth of American food entrepreneurs.

The Corporate Development Manager is responsible for securing sponsorships for the Eat Real Festival in Oakland, CA on September 18-20, 2015 as well as seeking longer- term year-round partnerships for the Food Craft Institute. Reporting to the Executive Director, the selected individual will also lead a team responsible for delivering sponsorship fulfillment and customer service to all Eat Real Festival sponsors. This contract position offers opportunity to grow into a full-time role as Development Director.

Position Responsibilities:

Proactively identify and pursue local and national (cash and in-kind) Festival sponsorship opportunities and maintain current/returning ones.
Develop new Festival sponsor prospect list and proficiently build long-term FCI sponsorship & partnership relationships.
Prepare exciting and creative proposals to attract new sponsors at all levels for the Festival.
Develop specific sponsorship/partnership packages for key marketing and sponsorship decision makers and negotiate those packages for mutually beneficial outcomes.
Work with the ERF Marketing Team to manage and deliver all sponsorship inventories including, but not limited to: signage, promotions, social media, print ads, print media, festival activations, etc.
Deliver high-level sponsorship programs and on-site Festival activations. Work in close collaboration with management team to drive seamless sponsor/partner integrations.
Prepare contractual agreements for sponsors in accordance with Eat Real Festival policies.
Monitor revenue levels to ensure that sponsor goals are met.
Provide billing schedule to Executive Director for collections according to the established timeline.
Attend weekly management team meetings June – September 2014.
Attend the Eat Real Festival as key sponsor/partner support.
Work with Event Manager to develop systems for collecting and analyzing festival metrics (demographics, media impressions, revenue sources, etc)
Follow up with ERF sponsors/partners after the Festival with a review of demographics and successes.
Establish groundwork toward building a long-term Development Program for Food Craft Institute.

Desired Skills and Experience:

Creative salesperson with the ability to think outside of the box and discover new and untapped opportunities.
Well-connected individual with high-level contacts at local businesses who would be interested in sponsoring Eat Real Festival.
Good sense of humor, outgoing personality and positive manner.
Strong drive and ambition.
Good organizational and time management skills.
Team player.
Idea generator, initiative-taker.
Strong interpersonal, listening and communication skills.
Excellent negotiation and rapport building skills.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Competencies:

5 – 10 years of strong management experience in the food and beverage and/or non-profit industries.
Background in recruitment of sponsorship sales and experience in building and managing sponsorship programs with top national brands.
Experience with various software programs including Salesforce, Microsoft Office and Adobe products (Powerpoint, Excel, Word, InDesign, Photoshop).
Excellent negotiation and sales skills; demonstrated financial and business acumen.
Solid customer service and interpersonal skills with the ability to build and foster internal and external relationships.
Results-oriented with the ability to balance all key business considerations.
Proven ability to identify new revenue streams and execute a sponsorship strategy that meets and exceeds goals and objectives.

Compensation:

FCI is an equal opportunity employer. Compensation is commensurate with experience and may include contract payment, commissions based on sales or combination of both.

To Apply:

Position is open until filled. Please send cover letter and resumé to oakland@eatrealfest.com.