Head of Partnerships Revenue

Cult Ideas; Calgary; On-site; CAD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

On-site in Banff

Job summary

CULT Collective's The Gathering Festival in Banff seeks a senior partnership leader to own the end-to-end sales cycle from initial outreach to signed multi-year agreements.

You will build a national partner book, craft compelling packages, negotiate terms, and drive total revenue, while coordinating with the CRO and marketing on go-to-market plans.

Travel to events and on-site presence in Banff are required.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in partnership, sponsorship, or enterprise B2B sales.
• Experience selling live events, festivals, or experiential properties.
• Proven track record of personally closing seven-figure, multi-year partnership deals.

Responsibilities

• Deliver annual partnership revenue targets for The Gathering Festival.
• Build and manage a large, active sales forecast and pipeline.
• Lead strategic partnership conversations from first contact to signature.
• Negotiate terms, pricing, and exclusivity for multi-year deals.
• Collaborate with CRO and marketing on go-to-market strategy.

Skills

Partnership sales

Enterprise sales

Forecasting

Negotiation

CRM proficiency

Education

MBA or Bachelor's in Business/Marketing

Tools

CRM systems (Salesforce or similar)

Job description

Who you are

Located in Calgary, Alberta, or ready to relocate here, you are a career partnership sales professional who sees opportunities through from first conversation to signature. Ambitious and driven, you have a demonstrated track record of personally closing six-figure, multi-year partnership deals for live events, festivals, and experiences with senior marketing, brand, and executive stakeholders. You build your own pipeline rather than waiting for inbound interest to arrive, you thrive against a fixed event date that does not move, and you hold yourself accountable for one number above all else: total partnership revenue committed. You have done this before, and owning the partnership engine for one of North America's most distinctive brand events is the next step in your career.

Who we are

The Gathering Festival is an annual brand festival held in Banff, Alberta, produced by CULT Collective. It brings together the most ambitious brand, marketing, and executive leaders in North America for a few days that look nothing like a traditional conference. Our partners are not sponsors with a logo on a banner. They are co‑creators of the experience, and the best of them stay with us for years. We are scaling, and partnership revenue is the fuel. This role exists to make sure that fuel supply never runs dry.

Primary duties and responsibilities

• Deliver $1.8M in total annual partnership revenue for the 2027 festival: a minimum of $1M in net new partnerships, with the balance from renewal and expansion of the existing partner book
• Build and maintain a net new pipeline at a minimum 5:1 coverage ratio against the net new target
• Structure multi-year agreements as the default, not the exception. Single-year deals are the fallback position, not the opening one
• Partner with the CRO and marketing to formalize The Gathering's annual partnership plan and go-to-market strategy
• Translate the plan into target categories, ideal partner profiles, category exclusivity positions, and priority accounts
• Personally prospect and generate new partnership opportunities with target brands and decision-makers
• Build relationships with senior marketing, brand, and executive stakeholders, and with the agency and media partners who influence them
• Qualify opportunities against The Gathering's ideal partner profile and audience promise, and keep a full, healthy pipeline at all times
• Lead the Partner Success Manager against their renewal number, calendar, and execution.
• Set the partnership strategy the Partner Success Manager executes against, covering category priorities, pricing discipline, activation standards, and what a healthy partner relationship looks like, and coach them against it
• Lead consultative partnership conversations from first contact through signed agreement
• Develop compelling partnership concepts, packages, positioning, and pricing in collaboration with internal teams
• Negotiate commercial terms, rights, and exclusivity, and drive agreements to signature
• Personally lead and close The Gathering's highest-value and highest-priority partnership opportunities
• Report on pipeline health, forecast accuracy, renewal rate, and revenue attainment to the CRO
• Deliver a clear, well-documented handoff to the Partner Success Manager once an agreement is signed, so activation starts with full context and every commitment made in the sale is captured

Competencies

• Taking responsibility for your own successes and failures
• Setting and exceeding ambitious new partnership revenue targets
• Being highly effective at new business development (prospecting)
• Qualifying opportunities and overcoming objections
• Assessing situations and effectively solving problems in complex, multi-stakeholder sales
• Working backward from a fixed event date without letting the calendar dictate the quality of the deal
• Leading a direct report who carries part of your number, giving them ownership while staying close to the work

Results

• Personally close six-figure partnership deals
• Sell and structure multi-year partnership agreements that renew
• Proactively prospect to generate business from net new partners
• Build and manage a large, active sales forecast and pipeline without losing focus on the close
• Get to the decision-makers in an account
• Grow an existing partner book year over year through expansion, not just retention
• Carry a total revenue number that includes revenue delivered by a direct report
• Deliver against a defined annual revenue target with direct accountability to a CRO

Intangibles

• Driven, focused, and accountable to the number
• A self-starter who builds pipeline rather than relying on inbound
• Personable and collaborative with internal teams, leadership, and partners on site
• Exceptional at time management and prioritizing a full pipeline against a fixed event calendar
• Credible in a room full of CMOs and C‑Suite, as a peer, not a vendor
• The kind of leader who sets the standard by example, and who makes the people reporting to them measurably better

Skills

• Prospecting for new partners face to face, at industry events, and via technology
• Consultative, value-proposition-based selling
• Uncovering partner objectives and understanding what they are actually trying to buy
• Building partnership concepts and packages that serve the partner without compromising the attendee experience
• Developing compelling proposals, positioning, and pricing
• Negotiating commercial terms, rights, and category exclusivity, and driving agreements to signature
• CRM systems and disciplined pipeline management

Performance

• Held roles such as Head of Partnerships, VP of Partnerships or Sponsorship, Director of Partnerships, Director of Business Development, Head of Commercial Partnerships, or Enterprise Sales Leader
• Built or improved a partnership function, rate card, or sales process
• Sold to senior marketing, brand, or executive stakeholders
• Negotiated and closed complex, multi-year agreements
• Maintained pipeline coverage well ahead of target and forecasted with accuracy
• Retained and grown a partner book across multiple event cycles
• Managed a partner development, account management, or client success resource against a renewal number

Front of the line: if you have the experience

• 8+ years in partnership, sponsorship, or enterprise B2B sales
• A track record of personally closing seven-figure, multi-year partnership deals
• Experience selling partnerships for live events, festivals, or experiential properties
• Experience selling to senior marketing and brand leaders at national or global brands
• Experience owning a combined new business and renewal number with a partner-facing direct report

Education

An MBA, bachelor's degree, or diploma in business, marketing, or a related field is an asset.

Travel

Position may require travel for partner pursuits, pitches, and industry events, as well as on-site presence in Banff for the duration of the festival and related events throughout the year.