Partnerships Manager

The MRG Group; Toronto; On-site; CAD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Commission structure

Growth opportunities

Access to unique experiences

Job summary

The MRG Group’s MRG Live arm seeks a Manager, Partnerships to lead day-to-day account management of brand partners across venues, festivals, hospitality properties and live events. Reporting to the Director, Head of Partnerships & Group Sales, you will oversee contract delivery and drive growth through renewals and cross-property opportunities.

You will build a robust partner pipeline, manage onboarding, coordinate with internal teams, and support new business development, while serving as a

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in sponsorships, brand partnerships, experiential marketing, account management, media, live entertainment, or hospitality.
• Experience managing significant brand or agency relationships and delivering complex sponsorship programs.
• Strong understanding of sponsorship sales, renewals, account growth, and partner value.
• Proven ability to manage multiple partnerships, timelines, stakeholders, and deliverables.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with ability to develop partner-facing materials.
• Financial literacy: budgets, invoicing, revenue tracking, and contractual commitments.
• Experience with CRM platforms and workflow tools such as HubSpot and Asana.
• Highly organized, entrepreneurial relationship builder with cross-team collaboration.
• Experience in live entertainment, festivals, hospitality, sports, media, or experiential marketing preferred.
• Willingness to travel and work on-site at events, including evenings and weekends.

Responsibilities

• Lead sales conversations and business development for non-festival partnership opportunities across venues, hospitality businesses, ticketing, media, tours, and live entertainment properties.
• Collaborate with senior leadership on major national, multi-property partnership opportunities.
• Build and manage a pipeline of prospective partners from outreach to proposal, negotiation, and close.
• Serve as the primary day-to-day relationship lead for assigned national and year-round partners.
• Oversee partner performance, deliverables, timelines, and activation standards across active agreements.
• Lead onboarding, renewal planning, account growth, and cross-property expansion opportunities.
• Align festival partnerships with broader relationship opportunities across MRG.
• Support complex festival sponsor execution and activation delivery as needed.
• Review major festival sponsorship programs for renewal and upsell opportunities.
• Coordinate with Marketing, Operations, Hospitality, Ticketing, Finance, Media, Production and Events to deliver commitments.
• Lead or support post-campaign reporting, partner recaps, and performance reviews for major accounts.
• Maintain visibility into pipeline, contracted revenue, renewal status, and growth opportunities.
• Support proposal development, agreements, pricing, and commercial structures for significant opportunities.

Skills

Sponsorships

Brand partnerships

Account management

Project management

Communication

Financial literacy

Relationship building

CRM usage

Tools

HubSpot

Asana

Job description

MRG Live is part of The MRG Group - Canada’s largest independent concert promoter and live entertainment venue operator. We produce over 1000 events annually across 9 owned and operated venues and have produced concerts hosted in clubs and arenas across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Our diverse portfolio includes leading hospitality brands, experiential venues like Par-Tee Putt and Par-Tee Pong, as well as AdmitOne, North America’s fastest-growing multi-product ticketing platform. We are at the forefront of the experience economy, producing innovative festivals, concerts, and community events - and working with some of the most recognizable brands in the country to bring them to life.

Founded in 2008, The MRG Group is Canada’s largest independent entertainment company, specializing in live entertainment, hospitality, ticketing, travel, and digital media.

Who You Are:

Reporting to the Director, Head of Partnerships & Group Sales, the Manager, Partnerships will play a key role in managing and growing MRG’s portfolio of brand partners.

This role will lead the day-to-day management of assigned accounts, oversee partnership execution across MRG’s venues, festivals, hospitality properties and live events, and ensure all contractual commitments are delivered successfully.

Working closely with the Sales & Development Manager, this role will also support new business development, proposal creation, renewals, and account growth, while acting as a senior internal resource across the Partnerships team.

What You’ll Work On:

• Lead sales conversations and business development for non-festival partnership opportunities across MRG’s venues, hospitality businesses, ticketing, media, tours, and live entertainment properties.
• Work alongside the Director, Head of Partnerships & Group Sales on major national, multi-property, and category-level partnership opportunities.
• Build and manage a pipeline of prospective partners outside the festival portfolio, from initial outreach through proposal, negotiation, and close.
• Act as the primary day-to-day relationship lead for assigned national and year-round partners.
• Oversee partner performance across active agreements, ensuring deliverables, timelines, commercial commitments, and activation standards are met.
• Lead partner onboarding, renewal planning, account growth, and cross-property expansion opportunities.
• Work closely with the Sales & Development Manager to ensure strong alignment between festival partnerships and broader MRG relationship opportunities.
• Support the Sales & Development Manager on complex festival sponsor execution, partner servicing, and activation delivery where additional senior oversight is required.
• Review major festival sponsorship programs from a partner-performance perspective, helping identify renewal, upsell, and cross-divisional opportunities.
• Coordinate with Marketing, Operations, Hospitality, Ticketing, Finance, Media, Production, and Events to ensure partnership commitments are effectively delivered.
• Lead or support post-campaign reporting, partner recaps, and performance reviews for major accounts.
• Maintain visibility into partnership pipeline, contracted revenue, renewal status, partner performance, and account growth opportunities.
• Support proposal development, agreements, pricing, and commercial structure for significant partnership opportunities.

What We're Looking For:

• Experience: 5+ years of experience in sponsorships, brand partnerships, experiential marketing, account management, media, sports, live entertainment, or hospitality.
• Account Management: Demonstrated experience managing significant brand or agency relationships and delivering complex sponsorship programs.
• Commercial Acumen: Strong understanding of sponsorship sales, renewals, account growth, and partner value.
• Project Management: Proven ability to manage multiple partnerships, timelines, stakeholders, and deliverables simultaneously.
• Communication: Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills, with experience developing partner-facing materials.
• Financial Literacy: Comfortable working with budgets, invoicing, revenue tracking, and contractual commitments.
• CRM & Workflow: Experience with CRM platforms and project management tools such as HubSpot and Asana.
• Core Competencies: A highly organized, entrepreneurial relationship builder with strong situational EQ, attention to detail, and the ability to work effectively across internal teams.
• Industry Experience: Experience in live entertainment, festivals, hospitality, sports, media, or experiential marketing is strongly preferred.
• Flexibility: Willingness to travel and work on-site at events, including evenings and weekends, as required.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive compensation, including base salary and commission structure.
• Opportunities for growth in a dynamic, fast-paced organization.
• A collaborative culture that celebrates creativity and innovation.
• Access to unique experiences across The MRG Group’s diverse portfolio.

Our Commitment

The MRG Group is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply. If you require accommodation during the recruitment process, please contact us.

We thank all applicants for their interest. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.