Partnership Sales Manager

Overview

In this role you drive new sponsorship revenue for the club by tailoring partnership proposals across rights and assets. You will source prospects, engage senior stakeholders, and lead partnerships from initial conversation to contract signature, collaborating with multiple club teams. You’ll adapt to the evolving commercial landscape while maintaining strong relations with brands and agencies. This is an opportunity to shape the club’s sponsorship portfolio and maximise asset value.

Responsibilities

• Source and evaluate new partnership prospects via personal and agency networks
• Craft tailored sales presentations and proposals for brands
• Determine rights levels and asset utilization to maximise value, coordinating with PMO, Insights, Digital Marketing, and Activation teams
• Perform due diligence from reputational, legal, and financial perspectives
• Engage stakeholders across the club to assess viability of integrations and cross-sponsorship opportunities
• Negotiate rights with board and Commercial Director approvals; liaise with Finance on payment schedules
• Obtain board approval to progress to contracting and manage contracting with Legal
• Maintain dialogue with prospects that don’t progress to contract and nurture potential future opportunities
• Collaborate with Partnerships Activation on onboarding and ensure post-signature relationship delivery
• Support and mentor direct reports and work with Sponsorship Sales and other departments as required
• Assist external partners and agencies in prospect development
• Develop and maintain relationships with brands and agencies for longer-term discussions
• Build a broader prospect pipeline to reduce reliance on third-party agencies
• Aim to increase sponsorship revenues while monetising new assets
• Drive cost savings by sourcing VIK supply agreements when suitable
• Develop leadership skills for greater responsibility and progression
• Lead efforts to increase revenues while preserving the club’s sponsorship USP

Key requirements

• Strong knowledge of the sports marketing industry and football sponsorship landscape
• Ability to engage senior executives and present tailored opportunities
• Strong negotiation skills to secure optimal partnerships
• Good communicator and team/player capable of working independently
• Practical problem-solving and outcomes-focused mindset
• Ability to operate effectively in a pressured environment
• Flexibility to adapt to changing sponsorship and commercial landscapes

• Negotiation
• Communication
• Teamwork
• Understanding of digital marketing landscape and social media assets (Desirable)
• Knowledge of contracting processes and IP (Desirable)
• Experience in sponsorship sales (Desirable)

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