Institutional Partnership Coordinator

Job Highlights 

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) seeks a highly organized, detail-driven Institutional Partnership Coordinator to support Foundation, Corporate, and Government fundraising. This position plays a vital administrative role in ensuring the accuracy, organization, and timely execution of HGO’s foundation, government, and corporate grant activity. This role is essential to maintaining strong funder relationships through meticulous tracking, documentation, and compliance coordination. The position also supports logistics related to corporate sponsorship benefits and hospitality.

Join Us!

We are looking for talented, passionate, and dedicated people who are eager to make contributions to our community and our mission. If you are excited about this position but your experience does not align perfectly, we encourage you to apply! You may be just the right candidate for this position or another role at HGO.

About the Houston Grand Opera

The mission of HGO is to enrich our diverse community through the art of opera. We do so by creating, curating, exploring, and producing outstanding experiences centered around the human voice. HGO has received a Tony Award, three Grammy Awards, and three Emmy Awards – we are the only opera company in the world to win all three honors.

Our strategic focus is two-fold: creating profoundly enriching experiences for our diverse audiences and clearly defining and positively promoting the HGO brand. We believe every team member enriches our organization by exposing a broad range of ways to understand and engage our community and discover, design, and deliver enriching experiences.

Compensation and Benefits

We offer robust benefits to full-time employees, including:

• Comprehensive and affordable health benefits.
• Generous paid time off.
• 403b retirement plan with employer match.
• Flexible work schedule.
• Professional development fund and opportunities.
• Discounted parking in the Theater District garage and nearby lots, plus easy access to Metro transportation.
• Free tickets to our mainstage and community productions and events.

Key Responsibilities

Grants Administration & Compliance 

• Maintain HGO’s institutional grants calendar, including submission deadlines, reporting schedules, payment timelines, sponsor benefits, and stewardship requirements. 

• Track proposal submissions, award status, funding allocations, and reporting deliverables in Tessitura.

• Prepare and assemble required documentation for proposals and reports, including financial statements, budgets, board lists, attachments, and other supporting materials. 

• Coordinate across HGO departments to gather information for grant reports and compliance requirements, and to facilitate timely distribution of grant funds.

• Maintain organized digital grant files and ensure records are audit-ready. 

• Monitor grant agreements to ensure deliverables, recognition requirements, and reporting obligations are met. 

Corporate Sponsorship Benefit Fulfillment 

• Coordinate logistics for sponsor benefits with Audiences and Events teams, including ticketing, recognition, signage, hospitality details, and on-site experiences. 

• Maintain documentation confirming fulfillment of sponsor commitments. 

• Represent Houston Grand Opera at performances and special events as needed, serving as a professional point of contact for corporate sponsors and institutional funders and ensuring exceptional hospitality and service. 

Administrative & Team Support 

• Support meeting coordination and prepare materials for institutional funders and corporate partners. 

• Collaborate with Philanthropy Operations regularly to ensure all Institutional constituents are properly connected to current trustees, staff, and primary contacts. 

• Maintain Institutional Partnerships project management systems with accurate and timely information.

• Contribute to cross-team fundraising projects and events, and support special initiatives as requested. 

• Partner with Finance to obtain data for budget development and grant reporting. 

• Partner with Signature Events to ensure an exceptional experience for institutional donors and corporate sponsors.

• Support data management needs for the Institutional Partnerships team in Tessitura, ensuring data integrity and supporting accurate reporting and financial forecasting. 

Qualifications

Candidates should possess a bachelor's degree (or relevant experience) and two years of demonstrated office experience, with strong project management and administrative skills. Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications is required. CRM database experience, especially Tessitura, is strongly preferred. Outstanding interpersonal and telephone skills are required, and enthusiasm for superior customer/donor service is a priority. Must be available to work nights and weekends as required. 

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those we consider important for an employee to successfully perform essential functions of this job: extended periods of sitting and performing tasks such as typing and using a computer mouse, with strong visual and auditory focus, occasional lifting (not exceeding 20 pounds), reaching for items, effective communication skills, and fine motor abilities, being mobile within the office for activities like attending performances, events, and meetings. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Equal Opportunity

Houston Grand Opera is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at HGO are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, national, social or ethnic origin, sex (including pregnancy), age, physical, mental or sensory disability, HIV Status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital, civil union or domestic partnership status, past or present military service, family medical history or genetic information, family or parental status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local laws or regulations. HGO will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. HGO encourages applicants of all ages.