Partnership Manager

Organisation

The Boat Race Company Ltd

Salary

£32,000 + Commission

Location

Home based/London/SE

Contract type

Permanent (Part time)

Closing date

31 July 2026

Job Description

About the Boat Race Company Ltd (BRCL) The Boat Race is an annual rowing competition between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. First held in 1829, it is one of the oldest and most prestigious sporting events in the world, drawing a large audience both in person and via broadcast. Role Overview We are seeking an organised and proactive part-time Partnership Manager. This is a unique opportunity to shape, deliver and grow premium partnerships, luxury experiences and high-profile activations across an internationally recognised sporting property with a growing global audience and support in delivering a year-round partnership program for The Boat Race and its associated events. This role would be part-time most of the year (2.5 days a week for 42 weeks), rising to full-time for the period 15 February 2027 – 23 April 2027 (10 weeks), to cover the eight weeks leading up to the Boat Race (11th April) plus two weeks afterwards.


Working at the heart of a small Boat Race team, the successful candidate will lead the delivery of integrated commercial partnerships across live events, broadcast, digital and hospitality environments, whilst driving the growth and commercial evolution of partnership within the event.

The role offers the opportunity to work with leading brands, broadcasters and stakeholders in a fast paced and highly collaborative environment, curating best in class experiences that reflect the heritage, ambition and prestige of The Boat Race. From being key in the partnership strategy and activation to luxury event delivery and new commercial opportunities, this is a broad and influential role for a commercially minded individual looking to make a meaningful impact within elite sport and live events.

This role reports directly into the Managing Director but will also have a close working relationship with the Commercial Committee, various members of the Board and the Oxford and Cambridge Rowing Foundation.

Key Responsibilities

Partnership Management and Activation

· Lead the end-to-end management of commercial partnerships across the full partnership lifecycle, from onboarding and strategic planning through to activation, reporting, renewal and growth opportunities.

· Develop and implement partnership plans with clear objectives, deliverables and KPI frameworks to ensure successful delivery and measurable impact.

· Lead the onboarding process for new partners, including briefing materials, planning sessions and activation roadmaps.

· Build and maintain strong relationships with partners, broadcasters, agencies, suppliers and internal stakeholders, acting as the primary point of contact and ensuring seamless delivery across all partnership activity.

· Develop and manage a calendar of contractual partnership rights, club requirements and activation deliverables to ensure all commitments are fulfilled effectively and on schedule.

· Collaborate across BRCL to coordinate and deliver all aspects of partner activation including branding, hospitality, digital campaigns, crew appearances, broadcast integration and joint marketing initiatives.

· Oversee event branding and partnership implementation in collaboration with event operations, ensuring all activity aligns with contractual rights and brand guidelines.

· Manage post event reporting and evaluation, delivering KPI tracking, performance analysis and return on investment insights to partners.

· Drive innovation and growth across partnership activations, identifying creative digital, broadcast and experiential opportunities to enhance partner visibility, engagement and commercial value.

· Through strong links with the Marketing/ Comms Manager ensure our partnerss are well represented in all marketing plans and drive value for our partners through our marketing and comms plans.

· Identify opportunities to grow existing partner relationships through renewals, upselling and the development of enhanced partnership assets and activation opportunities.

· Support the Board and Committees in the creation of both documents and ideas for new Partnership pitches.

· Support the wider commercial strategy by contributing to partnership growth initiatives and delivering income growth.

· Manage partnership budgets effectively, ensuring strong commercial return and cost control.

Event Curation, Management and Delivery

· Lead the planning, curation and delivery of BRCL and Club events throughout the year, working collaboratively with internal colleagues but particularly in operations and marketing/comms and with external stakeholders to ensure seamless execution.

· Work with the team to develop and deliver event and hospitality experiences that reflect the prestige and heritage of The Boat Race while enhancing audience engagement and particularly partner value. A particular focus should be on growth of partnership income growth through hospitality.

· Ensure all events successfully fulfil contractual partnership obligations and contribute to the wider strategic objectives of BRCL.

· Oversee partnership event logistics, stakeholder coordination and operational delivery to maintain exceptional standards across high profile live event environments working closely with the Managing Director and Operations Manager but during the event will involve hands on activity.


Merchandise and Licensing

· Act as a key liaison with the Master Licensing Agent to support the continued growth and development of merchandise and licensing opportunities.

· Ensure a focused and close relationship with the marketing/comms team to ensure and measure weekly that we deliver the key merchandise revenue growth.

· Oversee all event retail and merchandise sales operations, coordinating closely with BRCL marketing teams to maximise promotion and audience engagement.

· Work with the Managing Director to identify and develop new opportunities to grow merchandise sales, licensing revenue and associated commercial activity that delivers revenue growth.


Skills and Experience

You will be joining a small and busy team that expects high quality work standards, created and delivered responsively with an excellent ability / natural desire to deeply integrate and communicate as part of the team with positivity and excitement about the challenges of a growing brand with a small flat structured team where everybody supports each other.

· Proven experience managing commercial partnerships, sponsorships or luxury events, ideally within sport, media or entertainment.

· Strong understanding of partnership activation, sponsorship delivery and live event operations.

· Proven experience creating strong appealing commercial pitch decks through creative ideas and a deep understanding of client requirements.

· A strong understanding of how Marketing and Comms can be smoothly integrated to strengthen the brand and support the sponsor value, particularly experience of the development of digital assets would be a benefit.

· Specific experience working with sophisticated multi-national brands, agencies, rights holders and broadcast stakeholders.

· Commercially minded with a strong understanding of P&L’s and a proven ability to create commercial opportunities leading to revenue growth.

· Excellent stakeholder management, communication and relationship building skills.

· Strong organisational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.

· Experience managing budgets, timelines and operational delivery within fast paced environments.

· Creative, proactive and solutions focused with strong attention to detail.

· Passion for sport and live cultural events including a clear understanding of the dynamics of a large event and the business/responsibility scaling that has to occur to be successful.

Administration

· Maintain timelines, trackers, and documentation across multiple event projects.

· Attend, take notes and distribute actions from internal and external meetings.

· There is part time administrative resource available across all the teams to support systems and processes where appropriate.

On-site Event Support

· Be available for on-site delivery during key event periods including Trial VIIIs (11 and 12 December), media days (Feb/March) Tideway Week and Race Day (11 April 2027).



Person Specification Essential

· Be an individual with strong personal credibility used to operating with luxury brands and sensitive to working within complex and sensitive corporate environments.

· Highly organised with excellent time management and attention to detail. Comfortable working across multiple projects with varying timelines.

· Excellent interpersonal skills and confidence in liaising with a wide range of stakeholders.

· Good team player able to work independently and take initiative to solve problems.

· Willingness to work flexible hours during event periods.


Skills/Experience

· Proven record in development/growth of partners revenue streams

· Writing skills to produce copy, reports and presentations

· Experience and awareness of various partnership activation campaigns including specifically digital.

· Proficient in Microsoft Office, Excel and PowerPoint, Sharepoint and collaborative file systems

· Must be able to create strong pitch decks using Powerpoint/Canva, etc

· Experience with project management tools and CRMs is important.

· This role is hybrid splitting time working from home together with meetings in the South East and in London as well as at scheduled events. There will be a requirement to attend team meetings in London weekly if requested.

How to apply

If you would like to apply for this role, please send a cv and cover letter outlining your suitability and desire to work with BRCL to recruit@partnersinhr.co.uk

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