Partner Relations Manager

Type of Staff Position: Staff Time-Limited (STL)

Basis: 12 months

Job Search Category: Other Professional

About University of South Carolina:

From the Upstate to the Lowcountry, the University of South Carolina system is transforming the lives of South Carolinians through the impact of our eight institutions and 20 locations throughout the state. More than 50,000 students are enrolled at one of eight institutions, including the research campus in Columbia and comprehensive four-year universities in Aiken, Upstate and Beaufort. In addition, our Palmetto College campuses in Salkehatchie, Union, Lancaster and Sumter enable students to earn associate or bachelor’s degrees through a combination of in-person, online or blended learning. All of our system institutions place strong emphasis on service — helping to build healthier, more educated communities in South Carolina and beyond.

South Carolina Retirement: Yes

State Insurance Programs: Yes

Annual Leave: Yes

Sick Leave: Yes

Advertised Job Summary:

Under general supervision, supports the School of Medicine-Columbia, South Carolina Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare Director and staff to effectively engage with the center’s various external partners and stakeholders. Collaborates closely with the Center’s directors, operations manager and program team to support Center public and stakeholder relations, communicating program activities and impact, and other development projects. Demonstrates commitment to conducting business lawfully and ethically by consistently adhering to compliance policies, procedures, and regulations. This position is established in support of expanded research activities.

Job Related Minimum Required Education and Experience:

• Requires a bachelor’s degree in a job-related field and 4 or more years of job-related experience, which may be substituted by an equivalent combination of job-related certification, training, education, and/or experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree and 4 years related experience in healthcare policy, governmental operations, policy analysis.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Knowledge of office management policies, practices and procedures. Ability to communicate effectively. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
• Excellent organizational, written/oral communication, problem-solving and interpersonal skills. Required to conduct business lawfully and ethically by consistently adhering to compliance policies, procedures and regulations.

Job Duty:

Develops and implements the Center’s external stakeholder engagement plan to strengthen its visibility and partnerships. Manages and builds relationships with key external partners and stakeholders, including, not exclusive to, state entities, administrative, educational institutions, internal USC partners, and any other external stakeholders. Informs center staff on this strategy, activities, and outcomes.

Essential Function: Yes

Percentage of Time: 30

Job Duty:

After alignment of the university’s strategic objectives through communication, consultation and inclusion of the USC Office of Governmental and Community Relations, coordinates communications and meetings between the SC State Legislature and Center leadership and staff. Schedules and facilitates meetings, briefings and site visits, ensuring that materials, talking points, and participants are prepared. Coordinates with USC Government Affairs team on activities and communications. Prepares for the Center’s annual presentation to the SC State Legislature.

Essential Function: Yes

Percentage of Time: 25

Job Duty:

Coordinates the USC Floyd School of Medicine’s rural activities in alignment with priorities set by the Center and USC Floyd School of Medicine Leadership. Coordinates and facilitates FSOM rurally focused meetings, joint activities, and initiatives. Manages cross-departmental and external partnerships to support the initiative and oversees joint activities by tracking progress, evaluating outcomes, and ensuring alignment with institutional objectives.

Essential Function: Yes

Percentage of Time: 20

Job Duty:

Provides comprehensive policy-relevant materials to the Center director and staff to support strategic decision-making and program development. Monitors, analyzes, and interprets federal and state healthcare-related policies, changes, and impacts. Informs center staff on policy development and its potential impact on the Center. Develops written and visual policy materials (briefs, analyses, white papers) for internal and external stakeholders.

Essential Function: Yes

Percentage of Time: 20

Job Duty:

Other duties as assigned

Essential Function: Yes

Percentage of Time: 5

Hazardous weather category: Non-Essential

Employees in Safety-Sensitive or Security-Sensitive positions will be subject to pre-employment and post-employment drug testing in accordance with University policy HR 1.95 Drug and Alcohol Testing.: No

Number of Vacancies: 1

Job Open Date: 09/28/2026

Job Close Date: 11/12/2026

Open Until Filled: No

Special Instructions to Applicant:

Positions are advertised for a minimum of five (5) business days on our job website. After five (5) business days, positions can be closed at the discretion of the department at any time. This employment site is updated on a regular basis. The length of the recruitment and screening process may vary from position to position, depending upon a variety of factors. Should review of your qualifications result in a decision to pursue your candidacy, you will be contacted by phone or email.

We are only accepting applications submitted by November 12, 2026.

Quicklink for Posting: https://uscjobs.sc.edu/postings/213803

EEO Statement:

The University of South Carolina does not discriminate in employment opportunities or decisions for qualified persons on the basis of age, ancestry, citizenship status, color, disability, ethnicity, familial status, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, military status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other protected category under applicable law.

Organization

Working at University of South Carolina

With more than 200 years of history and tradition, the University of South Carolina is redefining itself for decades to come. There's never been a better time to be at South Carolina, the state's flagship university and one of only 62 public universities to receive the Carnegie Foundation's highest designation for research.

The University is located in the heart of South Carolina in the capital city of Columbia, which is the nexus of government, a thriving arts and culture center, a venue for big-time Southeastern Conference intercollegiate athletics, and a community that is reinventing itself with redevelopment projects citywide. Much of the development is tied to land along the scenic, slow-moving Congaree River. Working with government, business, and community leaders, Carolina has developed a unified plan that will allow the University to expand from its origins on the historic Horseshoe to its future-Innovista, a research and innovation district that will stretch to the banks of the Congaree.

Innovista represents a new vision for research by creating a vibrant, urban community where students and researchers, including those from private firms, will live, work, learn, and play. Innovista will represent the University's four core research areas-hydrogen fuel cells, nanoscience and technology, biomedical and public health, and the environment-but will include other initiatives and business partners that serve the knowledge economy. Innovista's first private tenant, for example, is a leader in software applications for the insurance industry and will create several hundred high-paying jobs.

By attracting similar companies and jobs-and by capitalizing on an attractive location for restaurants and residential and retail space-Innovista will help drive the economy and increase per-capita income in the city and state. Recreational space will include a world-class waterfront park along the Congaree River and a new stadium for the Gamecocks' nationally ranked baseball program. Greenway paths for biking, walking, and running already line much of the river area. Innovista's 8 million square feet will blend seamlessly with the Vista, the city's nearby entertainment district of restaurants, bars, shops, and art galleries.

Chartered in 1801, Carolina began classes in 1805 with nine students and a single building, Rutledge College. As the campus grew and buildings were added during the next 50 years, a horseshoe layout was adopted. Today, the Horseshoe is on the National Register of Historic Places, with 10 of its 11 buildings dating to the 19th century. Those renovated buildings house, among other areas, the South Carolina Honors College and Undergraduate Admissions, representing much of the University's current and future lifeblood.

In fact, incoming freshman classes have never been larger or more competitive. The freshmen from fall 2006 set records for their size (more than 3,700) and SAT scores (1171 average). Freshmen enrolling in the Honors College had average SAT scores of 1398. Members of the University's prestigious scholarship programs, Carolina Scholars for in-state students and McNair Scholars for out-of-state students, had average scores of 1449 and 1477, respectively. Total enrollment at Carolina for undergraduates and graduates is more than 27,300, with some 350 degree programs to choose from. Since 1994, Carolina students have earned more than $9.9 million in prestigious national scholarships such as the Goldwater, Truman, Rhodes, and NSF scholarships and the Fulbright Fellowships.

South Carolina's student body is diverse. In fact, Carolina was recently recognized as the state flagship university with the highest percentage of African-American student enrollment in the nation. Research by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education shows African-American students made up 14.7 percent of enrollment in 2004, the latest year available. The JBHE also ranks Carolina eighth in the nation in percentage of African-American faculty at a state flagship university with 4.3 percent.

The University's faculty garnered a record $173.3 million in federal, state, and private funding for research, outreach, and training programs in 2005-06, and several key hiring plans will introduce more talent and expertise to the faculty ranks. An aggressive campus building master plan and the faculty recruiting initiatives will change the collective face of the University and the faces of many of its key teachers and researchers.

South Carolina is recruiting world-class faculty to be endowed chairs-and change agents-for a series of "research centers of economic excellence" in areas such as nanoelectronics, polymer nanocomposites, brain imaging, regenerative medicine, cancer therapeutics, drug discovery, vision research, hydrogen fuel cells, and travel and tourism technology. These centers, some in collaboration with other state research universities and health and hospital systems, are funded with $30 million annually in state lottery money, as well as private matching money. Carolina is in the midst of a faculty recruitment plan to hire 600 new members. The Faculty Excellence Initiative is recruiting 150 faculty, many in interdisciplinary clusters of emphasis, while the Centenary Plan will recruit 100 elite research faculty to lead the University's core initiatives. Additionally, 350 faculty will be hired across disciplines to replace retirees over the next few years.

The University has forged a number of international collaborations in research, and the University's global connections are also strong in academics, particularly in international business. U.S. News & World Report has consistently ranked the Moore School of Business best in the nation for its undergraduate and graduate programs in international business; the undergraduate program is No. 1 for the 10th consecutive time, while the graduate program is No. 1 among public universities for the 18th consecutive year and No. 2 overall, continuing a streak of 18 years with a top-two overall ranking.