JOB TITLE: Partnership Sales Associate, Kalamazoo Growlers & Outlier Events
LEVEL: Seasonal Internship
REPORTS TO: VP of Corporate Partnerships
COMPANY: Kalamazoo Growlers, Outlier Events
START DATE: January 5, 2026 (flexible)
INTERNSHIP TIMELINE: January-April 2026 (Part time, remote/hybrid), May-August 2026 (full time, in-person)
WEEKLY HOURS: 15-20 hours/week (minimum) during the school year, 40 hours/week (minimum) during the season
About The Organization
The Kalamazoo Growlers are a summer collegiate baseball team in the Northwoods League. The Growlers are two-time Northwoods League Champions (2022, 2024) and four-time Northwoods League Organization of the Year recipients (2016, 2020, 2022, 2024). The baseball team consistently finishes in the top 5 in attendance in the league each year and has been ranked the #2 ballpark in the country. Over the years the team is known for its outrageous promotions including our 6-year old Manager "Coach Drake", 2014's Ballpark Digest's Promotion of the year "Salute to Selfie Night" and more. The Growlers play their games at Homer Stryker Field, a 3,500 seat ballpark located just outside of downtown Kalamazoo.
In 2021, Growlers ownership created Outlier Events which acts as the events arm of the business. Outlier Events puts on numerous events throughout Michigan and the Midwest each year. Outlier Events hosts mostly food festivals such as Donut and Beer Fest, Mac and Cheese Festival, Taco and Tequila Fest, Tots & Taps Festival and many more. Outlier Events is also responsible for facilitating and overseeing 3rd party ballpark rentals including concerts, fairs, corporate picnics, and other community events.
Who We're Looking For
Are you the kind of person who loves building relationships and thinks a baseball stadium is the best office in the world? Do you enjoy the grind of hunting down a new prospect? Do you hate losing more than you love winning? Do you want to be a part of the team that helps local businesses by creating and executing unique promotions to help them grow their business? If so, we want to talk to you.
The Kalamazoo Growlers are looking for a Partnership Sales Associate to join our front office team. We're not about the traditional office environment; we're about fun, community, and summer nights filled with baseball. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to support our Corporate Partnerships Sales team by securing partnerships for both the Kalamazoo Growlers Baseball team and its events company, Outlier Events.
This role will begin in January as a part-time, hybrid or remote internship with the role transitioning to a full-time internship for the baseball season beginning in May through August.
What You'll Be Doing
- Putting in the Work. No one said sales was easy. You'll be expected to schedule a set number of meetings per week for Growlers and Outlier Events partnerships via activities like cold calls, emails, LinkedIn, and more. We'll expect you to maintain activity logs on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
- Business Development. You'll be tasked with developing new partnership leads by actively prospecting daily.
- Proposal Creation. Assist with research and development of proposals for prospect partner accounts prior to pitch meetings.
- Vendor Recruitment. You'll be reaching out to restaurants and food trucks all over the Midwest to secure vendor commitments for our food & drink festivals.
- Partnership Tracking. Assist in capturing, recapping and tracking the success of partnership promotions, signage, ticket usage, and all other related partnership elements.
- Department Support. Support partnership sales and activation team in all other execution and event elements as assigned.
- Crush Your Goals: We're a team that loves to win, and that includes hitting our sales targets. You'll be a key player in driving the revenue that makes all the fun possible.
What We're Looking For
- You're a hunter! Cold calling and outbound activities do not scare you.
- You're a "people person" in the truest sense. You're not afraid to strike up a conversation and can build rapport with anyone.
- You're creative, motivated, and detail-oriented professional with strong organization and communication skills.
- You have a competitive spirit and a drive to succeed, but you're a team player first.
- You're self-motivated and know how to manage your time to get the best results.
- You're a customer-focused individual who takes pride in delivering excellent client service and unforgettable fan experiences.
- You love the satisfaction of hitting goals.
- You're coachable and are willing to learn our sales process.
- You have aspirations to works in sponsorship or ticket sales.
- You're ready to come in with a great attitude and a strong work ethic from day 1.
- You understand that working in sports isn't a typical 9-to-5, and you're excited about the energy of game days.
Why You'll Love It Here
Your office is a baseball stadium. Need we say more? You'll be part of a passionate, fun-loving team that works hard and celebrates its successes. You'll have a direct impact on our organization's growth and get to see the results of your work every night when your partners' promotions come to life at the ballpark or in the community.
If you're ready to call the ballpark your office and make a real impact in the Kalamazoo community, we want to hear from you!
Qualifications
- College junior, senior or recent graduate
- Prior sports internship or sales internship experience preferred but not required
- Strong leadership, organization and interpersonal skills
- Willingness and ability to work long hours, including holidays and weekends as required throughout the summer with some travel required to out of state events.
Compensation
- Monthly stipend
- Team benefits like merchandise, tickets, free gym memberships, movie passes, golf passes, etc.
We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.
