Partnership Strategy Manager

Partnership Strategy Manager

Department: Commercial
Location: St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park
Reports to: Head of Partnerships
Hours: 37.5 hours per week
Contract: Permanent

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Birmingham City Football Club is on the rise. 

With an incredible history dating back to 1875, Birmingham City Football Club is part of an exciting period of accelerated growth and modernisation, and​​is​playing​it’s​part in​once-in-a-generation​opportunity​to support the transformation of England’s second city​as part of the ​Sports Quarter project.

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With significant investment across our football, commercial, and community operations, we are rebuilding the Club for long-term success — on and off the pitch.

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The journey we’re on involves strengthening our structures, elevating our performance environments, growing our teams, and investing heavily in the people, processes and culture that will define the next chapter of Birmingham City F

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About the Role

The Partnership Strategy Manager is responsible for driving revenue growth through the acquisition, development, and retention of strategic commercial partnerships across multiple sectors.

This role plays a pivotal part in proactively guiding brands through the full sales cycle, from lead generation and prospecting through to pitching, negotiation, and deal closure. The focus is on securing high-value partnerships that directly support the Club’s commercial objectives and long-term revenue growth.

Working closely with the Head of Partnerships, the role will also support the evolution of the partnership development function by improving sales tools, processes, reporting, and data-driven insights to accelerate commercial performance.

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Role Responsibilities

Strategic Partnership Development

• Identify and evaluate new partnership opportunities across priority sectors aligned with the Club’s long-term commercial strategy
• Develop and implement strategic plans to grow the partnership portfolio with a balanced mix of categories and revenue streams
• Conduct market and competitor analysis to identify trends, brand alignment opportunities, and areas for commercial expansion
• Shape compelling partnership propositions and asset packages aligned to both Club objectives and partner brand goals

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Sales Pipeline Ownership & Revenue Delivery

• Own and execute the full sales cycle including prospecting, lead qualification, outreach, pitching, rights negotiation, and contract closing
• Maintain a strong and active sales pipeline aligned to revenue targets
• Produce tailored partnership proposals and presentations that clearly articulate value
• Collaborate with legal and finance teams to ensure accurate pricing, deal structuring, and contract execution

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Partnership Strategy & Operational Improvement

• Work closely with the Head of Partnerships to refine partnership development strategy and commercial planning
• Drive continuous improvement of sales tools, systems, and processes to improve efficiency and effectiveness
• Develop and maintain dashboards, reporting frameworks, and insight tools to support forecasting and performance analysis
• Champion a data-led approach to pipeline management, partner targeting, and asset valuation

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Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with Partnership Management, Commercial, Marketing, Community, and Football departments to align partnership opportunities with club-wide initiatives
• Support the handover of newly secured partners into the Partnership Activation team for seamless onboarding

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Relationship Building & Brand Representation

• Represent the Club professionally at industry events, conferences, and networking forums to generate leads and build relationships
• Build and maintain strong relationships with senior stakeholders across prospective partner organisations

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General Responsibilities

• Ensure compliance with all Club policies and procedures, with particular regard to Equality & Diversity, Safeguarding, and Health & Safety
• Undertake any other duties required by the Line Manager or Head of Department within the scope of the role

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About You

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, sports management, or a related field
• ​Master’s degree

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Skills & Experience
Essential

• Experience in commercial strategy, partnerships, sales, or sponsorship roles, ideally within sport or entertainment
• Proven ability to develop and deliver commercial strategies that drive sustainable revenue growth
• Experience managing the full sales cycle including prospecting, pitching, negotiation, and closing
• Strong ability to identify market trends and translate insights into actionable partnership strategies
• Excellent presentation, storytelling, and stakeholder engagement skills
• Strong data literacy with experience using insights to inform targeting and improve sales performance
• Experience producing reports, dashboards, and forecasts to support pipeline management

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Personal Attributes

• Commercially driven with a strong motivation to achieve revenue targets
• Strategic thinker with the ability to manage both long-term vision and execution detail
• Proactive, self-motivated, and comfortable generating leads independently
• Resilient and confident in competitive sales environments
• Professional and credible when engaging senior executives
• Collaborative team player who values cross-departmental alignment
• Creative problem solver with the ability to adapt to changing commercial landscapes
• Highly organised and detail-oriented with the ability to manage multiple priorities
• High integrity with a commitment to confidentiality and ethical conduct

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What We Offer

• 37.5 hours per week
• 23 days’ holiday rising to 25 days plus 8 bank holidays
• 6-month probation period
• Opportunity to play a key role in the commercial growth of Birmingham City Football Club

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Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Birmingham City FC is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from all individuals regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marital status, or disability. We particularly encourage applications from underrepresented groups within football.

If you require reasonable adjustments during the recruitment or interview process, please let us know and we will support you wherever possible.