We are a football club with a desire to be the best and are always looking for talented people to join our Everton Family.

Everton is a workplace people crave to join, where extraordinary talented people belong, thrive and deliver the remarkable.

Head of Partnership Sales

Who are we: We are Everton Football Club and we are icons of world football. As one of the bastions of the global game, with a rich and successful history, we are now setting our sights on a new, exciting future. 

With a proud and illustrious past, the Club is current embarking on a new and exciting journey with the construction of our new stadium on the banks of the River Mersey. With that exciting development comes an ambition to have a Men’s and Women’s First Team squad that is competing regularly at the top of domestic and European football.

Our values underpin how we behave, how we represent our club in our city, and across the world of football, and how we look after one another daily. They provide a framework for how we work with partners, suppliers, and most importantly our fans.  

About the opportunity: We are extremely excited to be searching for a Head of Partnership Sales to come and join us in a senior leadership role as we embark on a significant chapter within the history of Everton Football Club.

As Head of Partnership Sales you will be responsible for leading a team in driving the acquisition of new commercial partners into the Everton family. You will be a target driven self-starter, with an ability to influence senior decision making.

The role will require strategic thinking – as you work with other relevant key stakeholders to develop, evolve and refine the partnership programme the Club offers to create compelling opportunities that capture the imagination of global brands and capitalises on the growing list of partnership opportunities the Club possesses.

As an exceptional salesperson, you will be responsible for leading the sales outreach to take the Club’s partnership programme to market, securing long term commercial agreements that support achieving our revenue journey.

A key focus for the role will be harnessing the commercial value and reach of the Everton brand, an engaged and expanding fanbase and our position within the most watched sports league in the world to deliver sustained growth.

Not only will you get to be a part of something special, but you will be responsible for driving forward this key strategic pillar, whilst sourcing, selecting, strategizing upon and executing all avenues of potential revenue relating to the Club’s partnership programme.

There really has never been a better and more exciting time to join Everton Football Club.

Who we’re looking for: We are looking for a proven sales professional, who is hardworking and strategy / target driven. You will have exceptional leadership skills with an ability to influence positive action and results across a talented team of people.

What‘s essential is experience of securing high value commercial partnerships with demonstrable success in surpassing revenue goals within a growth focused organisation.

You’ll have proven experience of successfully leading a team to deliver revenue targets and be a confident individual with strong strategic and problem-solving skills.

If you are passionate about being a part of something new and a self-starter with ambitious spirit who is prepared to work in a fast-paced environment, execute against ambitious targets and consistently embrace our Everton values in what you do, then we would love to hear from you!

This position is a permanent opportunity, working 35 hours per week with the closing date for this role being Friday 24th June 2022.

The location for this role is open for discussion, but there will be a requirement for strong physical presence at the Club’s iconic headquarters in the Royal Liver Building in Liverpool, with the opportunity to work flexibly with our Hybrid working approach.

The Everton Family is committed to equal opportunities and is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We provide a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process; we accept all job applications in a variety of formats and should you need any documents in a different format or require any further support or assistance please contact our Recruitment Team via email – careers@evertonfc.com.    

The Everton Family is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.   

About the job

RELATIONSHIP DIRECTOR

At Manchester United we aim to be the best on and off the pitch – and the quality of our behind-the-scenes team sets us apart from the competition.

Our people are as committed to the success of the company as the players are to winning trophies. We offer a unique and exciting working environment, excellent training, with recognition and rewards for the part each individual plays.

The Purpose

Our high-performing Partnerships team design, develop and implement partnership strategies and campaigns to help grow our Partners’ businesses, whilst driving the Club’s commercial strategy. We sustain strong relationships with some of the world’s leading and most exciting brands, and consistently deliver measurable business value for our Partners.

This role will lead one of the Club’s Principal Partner relationships with a focus on strategic, well-defined goals to ensure measurable success and a long-term, mutually valuable relationship.

The Role

• Overall accountability for maintaining the relationship with a key Principal Partner, focusing on strategy, rights optimisation, innovation, and operational excellence.
• Provide strategic insight into your Partner’s business goals, results and markets, sharing this information with your team and at an executive level.
• Optimise and leverage the Partnership, setting and implementing the mutually agreed local and global strategy, driving return on investment in order to support business growth.
• Drive, steer and implement seasonal global and local marketing plans which deliver towards the overall strategic plan.
• Provide expertise across the brand marketing and digital marketing landscape.
• Monitor and review industry dynamics, utilising key insights to shape strategies.
• Work with teams across the club to develop and deliver innovative ideas and concepts.
• Becoming a Manchester United ‘expert’, you will build and share your knowledge of our brand, marketing channels and fan base, becoming the first port of call for both internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to manage, develop and motivate internal and external teams.
• Effectively manage and implement budgets.

The Person

• Proven experience (10+ years) of being responsible for client/partner relationships within the sports industry.
• Strategic account management capability.
• Strong project management skills.
• Strong conceptual understanding of brand building.
• Experience of digital marketing and media industries.
• Strong market and industry awareness.
• Commercial based skill and mindset in order to maximise potential and achieve success for the Partnership.
• Comprehensive stakeholder management skills and demonstrative experience of influencing at varying levels.
• Extensive reporting capability with the ability to use data to influence and drive judgment making.
• Self-motivated and positive with a genuine passion for making things happen.
• Agile with a desire to learn continuously, adapt and evolve in a constantly shifting environment.
• Resolute and a good problem solver.
• Ability to lead and inspire a team creating a future-forward culture of inclusion, collaboration, and excellence.
• Driven to succeed and deliver against expectations.
• Excellent presentation and communication skills.
• Aware of and able to manage risk.

*Please note this advert will close on Monday 6th June 2022

MUFC Limited is an Equal Opportunities Employer and recognises the importance of safeguarding children and adults at risk in our workplace.

It is unlawful to employ a person in a UK-based job who does not have permission to live and work in the UK. You should make yourself aware of how immigration laws apply to you before applying for any of our roles.

MUFC positively welcomes and seeks to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment. We encourage applications from all candidates regardless of age, race, gender, gender identity, gender expression, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or nationality.

If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application and perform at your best, please do not hesitate to contact to make a request; we are here to help.

Job Title: Partnership Account Manager

Department: Partnerships

Hours of Work: 35 hours per week, (including some Matchday Working Evenings and Weekends)

Location: Villa Park

The Department

The partnerships department is responsible for acquiring and managing the commercial partners of Aston Villa Football Club. The partnership management team are the gatekeepers for delivering partnership rights and therefore work closely with all areas of the Football Club. The team works at a fast pace and due to the nature of delivering partnerships activations across a broad spectrum of brands, working days and projects will be extremely varied.

The Role

We have an exciting opportunity for a Partnership Account Manager to join an ambitious partnerships team based at Villa Park. The role will be responsible for managing accounts for some of the Clubs most important strategic partners.

You will have the ability to drive partners forward and create best in class activations and case studies. The ideal candidate will be proactive and take responsibility to ensure their partners are managed to the highest possible standard and must be comfortable demonstrating and leading on areas of partnership management such as onboarding, rights delivery, reporting, budget management, relationship building and renewal practices.

For further information please click here to view the Role Profile.

The Person

The ideal candidate will have a passion for working with big brands in a fast-paced environment and will be an excellent relationship manager with an acute attention to detail. You will have experience successfully managing partnerships and building best in class servicing processes.

You will lead by example, champion the Partnerships team both internally and externally and act as ambassador for Aston Villa Football Club.

As part of your application, please ensure you upload your CV and Cover Letter.

Right to Close Vacancy Posting Early

The Club reserves the right to close any advertised vacancies earlier than the advertised closing date if sufficient applications have been received.

Equality Statement

Aston Villa Football Club celebrates the diversity of its Club and embrace equal opportunities for all. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and fully support The FAs Football Leadership Diversity Code.

We welcome applications from all candidates regardless of age, race, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, sex and religion or belief.

Safeguarding Statement

Aston Villa Football Club is fully committed to safeguarding children and adults at risk across our Club. As such, we adhere to Safer Recruitment processes and for some roles a satisfactory enhanced disclosure via the Disclosure & Barring Service may be required prior to starting in a role at the Club. For more information, please see AVFC – Safeguarding.

About the job

At City Football Group, making moments matter is a part of our DNA. Recognising and developing the best talent allows us to achieve success in the right way.

Driven by a passion for our winning culture, you will help deliver on our shared goals of sustainability through a uniquely global yet local community environment.

The Partnership Strategy and Creative team plays a crucial role in supporting the Partnership Departments primary objective of securing new, and renewing existing, commercial partners to support the continued growth of Manchester City Football Club and all City Football Group (CFG) properties. Helping to create a competitive advantage in the marketplace by developing a differentiating partnership proposition, informed and powerful proposals. The team also provides a level of planning and creative support to existing Group/Club Partners.

The person in this role will be expected to lead the development of new platforms, ideas, approaches and proposals that add tangible value to our partnership proposition and contribute to the delivery of the annual revenues budget as well as the continued development or our approach and proposition.

Role specific accountabilities:

1 Lead planning and creative development of key proposals (prospects & partners) from inception to proposal creation, development & pitch

• Identify and uncover all relevant insights and intelligence required to develop a truly informed proposal (including exploratory sessions with prospect/partner)
• Creative planning to capture inspiration, develop thinking and ideas
• Develop partnership territory, narrative and big concepts
• Work with design and other departments to bring proposal to life in most powerfully way
• Ability to positively contribute to and influence pitches

2 Contribute to delivery of annual revenues budget through increased creativity, sophistication and impact of involvement in sales pipeline & partner renewal / upsell opportunities

• The ability to comfortably lead, prioritise and deliver a high volume of varied creative and strategically important projects whilst having a key focus on where improvements and developments can be made that add value to qualified conversations and increase the appeal, value and success of our proposals.

3 Lead creation and development of key team and departmental strategic projects

• Lead and positively contribute to the development and roll-out of major departmental projects and initiatives assigned by Chief Commercial Officer / VP Partnership Strategy & Creative
• Responsible for overseeing the development and delivery of core project phases and outputs to achieve agreed objectives
• Ability to comfortably prioritise, progress and deliver project in line with dynamic project phasing and challenging deadlines
• Individual to establish themselves as the key point person providing clear project briefings and direction to internal departments as well as external agencies and stakeholders

4 Lead identification and development of key processes, tools & practices to increase effectiveness & efficiencies of team’s contribution to department’s commercial effort

• Focused on increasing the volume and agility of the team’s contribution and quality of its outputs. Working with sales, design and wider teams to understand challenges in order to identify and deliver solutions to improve team’s involvement and quantity and quality of its outputs.

5 Ensure wider department is aware of, understands and is inspired by the latest marketing trends and insight from across the sports and wider industry and help identify how these can positively impact our proposals

• Develop and lead initiatives to inform and inspire department with key marketing trends & ideas as they happen – helping colleagues understand their relevance, considerations and impact for their respective prospects/partners and how it can be powerfully and authentically integrated into their respective proposals or projects
• Provide regular inspiration to team to continue to innovate ideas and approach to aid competitive advantage
• Ensure team aware of individuals personal areas of expertise and insight to positively impacting initiatives in these areas

Role specific knowledge, skills and experience:

Essential:

• Degree or equivalent deep technical expertise
• Significant knowledge and understanding of commercial football, sports and entertainment landscape as well as prospect and partner challenges – a strong understanding of their consumer, customer and audience landscape, habits and behaviours
• Experience in an agency, brand or rights holder working in sports marketing and/or commercial partnership development
• Proven ability to develop creative, professionally structured and presented proposals & supporting sales materials
• Creative thinker with an innovative outlook and ability to inspire creativity in others
• Results-driven with strong analytical skills
• Proven ability to lead and prioritise a varied project workload in a dynamic environment and manage senior stakeholders
• Strong communication & interpersonal skills with internal and external stakeholders
• Proactive and entrepreneurial approach
• Proven problem-solving skills
• Ability to work in a cross-team / inter department environment and positively influence peers and senior team leads

Desirable:

• Knowledge and understanding of core marketing competencies and principles
• Proven track record in business development and/or driving value from partnerships for the benefit of the benefit of Partner and respective business
• End-to-end involvement in pitch process from development of ideas and approach to pitching the proposal to Partners and/or Prospects