Partnerships Lead

Science in Sport PLC; Knuzden Brook; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative sports nutrition company is seeking a Partnerships Lead to enhance brand partnerships for commercial growth. This role is pivotal in managing relationships, analyzing partnership impact, and developing strategic initiatives. Candidates should possess strong negotiation skills and a thorough understanding of the sports sector, ensuring mutual benefits are achieved through effective collaborations.

Benefits

Cycle to work scheme

Product discount

Birthday day off

Pension scheme with employer contribution

On-site gym opening in August 2025

Qualifications

• Experience in partnerships management, sponsorships, or business development.
• Deep knowledge of elite sports environments and athlete needs.
• Experience with digital and social strategies related to event activations.

Responsibilities

• Manage key brand partnerships to drive commercial and brand value.
• Track and measure the impact of partnerships and report insights.
• Support contractual negotiations and sourcing new partners.
• Collaborate with internal teams to deliver on partnership rights.

Skills

Contract negotiation

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

Data-driven decision making

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Sports Management

Tools

CRM systems

Excel

Job description

Who We Are

Science In Sport Group is a world leader in sports and performance nutrition.

We have two highly regarded brands; SiS which combines world-class science and innovation to provide optimal performance nutritional solutions for professional athletes, sports and fitness enthusiasts and the active lifestyle community. This includes over 320 professional teams worldwide across a broad range of sports including Football, Rugby, Cycling, Athletics, Basketball, Netball and Swimming. Brand ambassadors include former track cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, an eleven-time world champion and six-time Olympic champion, and Eilish McColgan, who won gold in the 2022 Commonwealth Games 10,000 metres.

PhD Nutrition is a premium, active-nutrition brand for the active lifestyle community wanting intelligent nutrition to help them achieve their goals. With over 20 years of research and development, our products are designed to maximise performance in and out of the gym. It’s an exciting time for PhD Nutrition as 2025 will kick off an entirely new line up of brand ambassadors, from hybrid athletes to qualified sports nutritionists.

The two brands sell through the phd.com and scienceinsport.com digital platforms, third-party online marketplaces including Amazon, as well as extensive domestic and international retail distribution.

In 2022 the company opened a state of the art 160,000 square foot manufacturing and logistics facility in Blackburn, Lancashire. Providing a significant advantage in product costs and customer response time and most importantly, allowing Science In Sport to lead the way for quality standards.

Science In Sport is a Performance Solutions partner to globally recognised elite teams, including Tottenham Hotspur, Saracens Rugby, British Triathlon, Aquatics GB, British Cycling, England Netball and Loughborough Sports. As well as being the Official Energy Gel Provider of RunThrough and the Official Nutrition Partner of Ultra X.

The Role

The Partnerships Lead will be the point of contact for all key brand partnerships to ensure maximum commercial and brand value can be gained. This role will require a deep understanding of the contractual agreements with each partner and should therefore build meaningful relationships with each partner to maximise the opportunities for both parties. The role will focus on developing and executing individual, specific strategies that are relevant to the partner and to our brands.

• Job Type:Full time, permanent
• Salary:Up to £50,000 per annum
• Working Hours:Monday - Friday 09:00 - 17:30
• Location:Blackburn

Benefits

• Cycle to work scheme
• Product discount
• Birthday day off
• Pension scheme, employer contribution at 4%
• On-site gym opening in August 2025

The work - Your 4 most important responsibilities

1. Full operational ownership of key brand partnerships.
This role will be the day-to-day owner of all communications with our Tier 1 partnerships, ensuring smooth delivery of our commitments as a brand whilst simultaneously executing all our contractual deliverables to drive commercial and brand value. This requires a thorough understanding of each partner, their calendar of events and key moments, and importantly, how this can be leveraged to build an authentic brand tone of voice and relevance within their respective communities.
On occasion, this would require travelling to the relevant partners for face-to-face meetings.

2. Track and measure the impact of our partnerships
This role requires analytical skills to deliver key insights on our partnerships by conducting regular reviews of partnerships, using both external and internal data to build a clear picture of how the partnership adds business value. This would include the formation of a reporting template to review shared partnership insights such as email, social, survey and product data, in addition to internal analytics tools. These key insights and trends would be shared in the right internal circles to inform future decisions.

3. Support with contractual negotiations and sourcing new partners
In addition to the delivery of existing partners, this role would be involved in the procurement and sourcing of relevant new partners that align to the objectives of the brands. This requires building solid relationships within the industry, understanding the needs and capabilities of both parties to find mutually beneficial agreements that would add commercial value.

4. Collaborate with internal teams to deliver on partnership rights
A critical component of this role is to work closely with internal teams to ensure marketing and product activity is coordinated to achieve maximum ROI and brand relevance. It will closely with the creative, events and social teams to plan relevant content and opportunities into the marketing calendar.

Accountability – what you are responsible for delivering

• Be the main point of contact for all key partners, scheduling regular check-ins to ensure the execution of the marketing deliverables and to identify relevant opportunities and activities.

• Create and sustain strong partner relations with key business contacts, becoming their day to day, top of mind, point of contact to grow our mutual business.

• Define and determine our voice and presence in the communities of the partnerships that we currently have in place

• Work with relevant internal stakeholders to facilitate the delivery of brand commitments such as product, hardware, education and sampling. This includes Finance, Logistics, Elites, Customer Experience and Marketing.

• Support in the development and execution of tailored partnership strategies for partners that align to brand objectives. This includes the creation of joint marketing activities that add value to both parties.

• Take ownership of the end-to-end delivery of all digital rights within partnerships; briefing, reviewing and suppling the relevant creative assets when needed.

• Organise and participate in relevant partner opportunities that could help drive incremental value to the partnership or to our brands. This would include utilising content and appearance days.

• Survey the athletic and sports landscape and identify opportunities to extend our partnerships.

• Identify relevant new partnership opportunities by networking and representing the brand when required.

• Monitor, analyse and provide regular partnership performance reports including KPIs, general feedback, and renewal recommendations. This includes using insights to refine strategy and demonstrate the value of the partnership internally.

• Manage the allocated partnership budget diligently, ensuring relevant invoices are processed and costs accounted for, regularly reviewing spend vs outcomes.

• Stay informed on sports and nutrition industry trends, sponsorship innovations, and competitor activity that may be of relevance.

Capability - the skills and behaviours required to do this job well

• Strong understanding of contract negotiation, value exchange, and ROI-driven partnerships

• Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management abilities.

• Ability to collaborate with marketing teams to amplify partnerships across digital and physical channels.

• Data-driven and proficient in tracking KPIs, preparing performance reports, and using data to inform strategy.

• Comfortable using tools like Excel, CRM systems, and reporting dashboards.

• Ability to identify and unlock mutual commercial opportunities
  

Performance – how you will know you are doing a great job

• Revenue generated directly or indirectly through partnerships, demonstrating a positive ROI and efficient cost management.

• Increased brand awareness via owned channel digital reach/impressions and external partner surveys/data.

• Brand and product adoption amongst wider partner communities and athletes.

• Expansion of partnerships scope within budget.

Specific metrics will be set when in role and will be reviewed and built upon regularly. Alongside this, you will be supported with a personal performance plan that will enable you to continue improving your own performance and impact.

Attributes – experience and mindset that will enable you to do well in this role.

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Sports Management, or a related field.

• Demonstrable experience in partnerships management, sponsorships, or business development—preferably in the sports, nutrition or entertainment sector.

• Deep knowledge of elite sports environments, including team operations, performance culture, and athlete needs.

• Experience in co-branded campaigns, content creation, and event activations. This includes familiarity with digital and social strategies.

• Experience working with global brands, teams or rights holders.

Mindset

• Views partnerships as mutually beneficial relationships, not just transactions.

• Strives for excellence and credibility in every interaction with athletes and performance staff.

• Always thinking about ROI, brand exposure, and how to turn partnerships into growth.

Science in Sport Group is an equal opportunity employer; we value diversity and strive to cultivate an inclusive workplace. We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind in regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We fully support reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, to provide an inclusive and welcoming recruitment experience.