Washington , D.C., POSITION TITLE: Vice President, Strategic Partnerships

DEPARTMENT: Membership

LOCATION: Washington, DC

REPORTS TO: Chief Operating Officer & Corporate Secretary

ABOUT US

Equipment Leasing & Finance Association (ELFA) is the trade association representing financial services companies and manufacturers in the $1.3 trillion U.S. equipment finance sector. Our members provide the financing that businesses need to operate and grow. ELFA serves its member companies by:

Promoting and advocating for the industry.

Providing industry insights and research.

Offering professional development and training.

Attracting and developing new, diverse talent.

POSITION SUMMARY The Vice President, Strategic Partnerships is a senior revenue-generating role responsible for driving ELFA's financial growth through corporate sponsorships, membership expansion, and events monetization. This individual will serve as a primary relationship manager for existing and prospective corporate partners, while developing and executing a comprehensive revenue strategy aligned with ELFA's mission to advance the equipment leasing and finance industry.

This is a highly visible, externally facing role requiring a confident relationship-builder with a proven track record in B2B sales, association partnership development, or revenue strategy within a trade association, financial services, or related industry environment.

In addition to the qualifications for this position, candidates will identify with the following core values:

Mission Driven: motivated by the greater purpose of serving our members and achieving the ELFA’s objectives.   

Entrepreneurial Spirit: belief that goals can be achieved, and obstacles overcome through ownership of responsibilities in our individual portfolios.

Intellectually Curious: seeks new experiences, searches for knowledge, and solicits candid feedback with an openness to learning and growing.

Professionally Rigorous: pursues opportunities that strengthen current skill set and close skill set gaps that are necessary to advance career path. 

Growth Mindset: Understands ELFA’s vision in order to bring clarity to ambiguity, solutions to challenges and willing to iterate until best practices are adopted.  

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Associate Membership Growth & Revenue

Design and execute strategies to grow ELFA's Associate Membership base, with a focus on managing the entire member lifecycle from prospect to renewal for the service provider segment including law firms, consultants, and tech providers.

Develop targeted outreach campaigns and prospecting plans to engage non-member companies; build a qualified pipeline and drive conversion.

Manage the onboarding process for new members understanding their strategic goals, target audiences and channels that matter for participation.

Identify value added opportunities among current members for upgraded membership tiers, additional services, and event participation.

Analyze membership data and industry trends to identify underserved market segments and white-space opportunities for growth.

Serve as a thought partner to leadership on service provider value proposition, service provider membership dues structure, and competitive positioning.

Sponsorships

Develop and manage a tiered corporate sponsorship program aligned with ELFA's strategic objectives and member value proposition.

Identify, cultivate, and close sponsorship agreements with new and existing corporate partners across annual, event-specific, and multi-year deal structures.

Build and maintain a robust pipeline of prospective sponsors; manage the full sales cycle from outreach through contract execution and fulfillment.

Collaborate with marketing to create compelling sponsorship packages, proposals, and collateral that articulate ROI for corporate partners.

Ensure sponsor recognition, deliverables, and benefits are executed accurately and on schedule; serve as primary point of contact throughout the engagement.

Track and report on sponsorship revenue against annual targets; provide regular pipeline and performance updates to senior leadership.

Events Revenue

Lead commercial revenue strategy for ELFA's events portfolio, including the dozen+ live events including the Annual Convention, Exhibitions and Educational programming.

Develop and sell event sponsorship, exhibitor, and advertising opportunities; maximize per-event revenue through strategic packaging and proactive sales.

Collaborate with the events team to align revenue opportunities with programming, audience, and logistical planning.

Cultivate relationships with returning event sponsors and exhibitors to secure early renewals and year-over-year revenue growth.

Identify opportunities to introduce new revenue-generating elements to ELFA's events, including hosted networking experiences, branded activations, and digital/hybrid sponsorship packages.

Track event revenue performance against budget; provide post-event analysis and recommendations for future improvement.

Exhibit Sales

Develop and manage exhibit sales program for all ELFA events with booth and table top exhibits, including floor plan design, booth pricing strategy, and prospecting of new exhibitors.

Build and maintain a pipeline of exhibitor prospects; manage outreach, proposals, contract execution, and renewal across the annual event calendar.

Serve as the primary point of contact for exhibitors from commitment through on-site execution, ensuring a high-quality experience that drives year-over-year retention.

Collaborate with the events team to maximize exhibit hall layout, traffic flow, and programming integration to increase exhibitor ROI and satisfaction.

Develop bundled offerings that combine exhibit space with sponsorship recognition, speaking opportunities, and digital visibility to increase average deal size.

Track exhibit sales revenue against targets and provide regular pipeline updates and post-show performance analysis to leadership.

DIRECT REPORTS

Oversees a contractor who previously managed all sponsorship sales and maintains extensive sponsor relationships and institutional knowledge.

QUALIFICATIONS

Basic Qualifications:

Minimum of 8 years of progressive experience in strategic partnerships, business development, sponsorship sales, or membership growth, preferably within a trade association, nonprofit, or financial services environment.

Demonstrated success meeting and exceeding revenue targets in a B2B sales or partnership development capacity.

Strong consultative selling skills with the ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder sales cycles.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills; polished presenter comfortable engaging C-suite executives and senior industry leaders.

Proficiency with Salesforce and pipeline management best practices.

Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Finance, Communications, or a related field.

Preferred Qualifications:

Expertise in financial services, with an understanding of industry trends and challenges.

Exceptional strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, with a focus on driving results.

WORK ENVIRONMENT & BENEFITS

Hybrid work environment: in-office 2 days per week (Tuesdays and one additional day at discretion of manager ).

Comprehensive benefits: 90% employer-covered healthcare premium for employees, parental leave, professional development stipend, 401(k) matching, cell phone stipend, paid time off, and more.

Salary range: 160-190K plus bonus potential. 

Position will involve occasional travel to member institutions and meetings.

All ELFA staff must be legally eligible to work in the U.S.

APPLICATIONS

Please submit your resume to Human Resources at hr@elfaonline.org.