Partnerships Manager

Founders Forum; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Birthday leave

Remote work 3 weeks/year

Private healthcare

Mental health & wellbeing stipends

Lunch and snacks

Team activities & annual trip

Access to Founders Forum Group network

Job summary

Founders Forum is seeking a Partnerships Manager to own new business across our portfolio of programmes and events, from workshops to dinners and ecosystem forums. You’ll drive revenue through identifying partners, building relationships and converting opportunities.

You will collaborate with the Partnerships Coordinator and Programme Leads to ensure deliverables are aligned with partner needs and that onboarding is smooth, with a focus on delivering genuine value to founders.

Qualifications

• Proven track record in B2B sales, partnerships or sponsorship.
• Relationship‑first approach and strong networking.
• Comfortable in a world where everyone knows everyone; mindful of reputation.

Responsibilities

• Own the new business pipeline across the full portfolio of programmes and events, from prospecting to signed agreements.
• Build and manage relationships with prospective partners across financial services, professional services, the tech ecosystem and beyond.
• Attend and represent Tech Nation at events as a credible ambassador for our programmes and community.
• Develop a fast, deep understanding of our product offering and communicate it to different prospect types.

Skills

B2B sales

Partnerships

Sponsorships

Relationship management

Prospecting

Tools

Affinity

Salesforce

MS Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Opportunity

Tech Nation's partnerships team is growing. As we scale our commercial offer across one of the UK's most respected founder communities, we're looking for a Partnerships Manager to own new business across our full portfolio of programmes and events: from programme workshops and intimate dinners, to ecosystem forums.

This is a revenue-critical role. You'll be the primary driver of new commercial partnerships, identifying the right partners, building the relationships and converting them. Our community is tight-knit and well-connected, so you're looking for partners who bring genuine value to our founders and get real value back. You'll need to get across a varied and nuanced product portfolio quickly, and represent it confidently from day one.

You'll work closely with our Partnerships Coordinator, who manages the existing book, and with Programme Leads to make sure what you sell is delivered brilliantly.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the new business pipeline across Tech Nation's full portfolio of programmes and events, from prospect identification through to signed agreement
• Build and manage relationships with prospective partners across financial services, professional services, the tech ecosystem and beyond
• Attend and represent Tech Nation at events, acting as a credible and knowledgeable ambassador for our programmes and community
• Develop a fast, deep understanding of our full product offering and communicate it compellingly to different prospect types

Pipeline & Reporting

• Maintain accurate, real-time pipeline and revenue records
• Report on conversion, activity and forecast to the Head of Partnerships on a regular cadence
• Work within agreed targets and contribute to commercial planning

Collaboration & Delivery

• Work alongside the Partnerships Coordinator and Programme Leads to ensure new partners are onboarded well and set up for a successful experience
• Feed insights from prospects and the market back into the wider commercial strategy

Person Specification

• Proven track record in B2B sales, partnerships or sponsorship, ideally in tech, events or media
• Relationship-first approach: motivated by the quality of the match as much as the close
• Comfortable in a world where everyone knows everyone; instinctively mindful of reputation and how you show up
• Fast learner with the ability to get across a complex, varied product portfolio quickly and confidently
• Highly organised and detail-oriented, from pipeline hygiene to proposal copy
• Familiarity with the UK tech ecosystem strongly preferred

Requirements

• Detail oriented and organized while being able to understand the big picture
• You possess excellent written and verbal communication skills via telephone, email and in-person and are able to select the appropriate form of communication for a given situation
• You are a highly motivated self-starter with ability to prioritise, work to tight deadlines and adapt to last-minute adjustments and rapidly changing agendas
• You have experience of working in a customer-facing role, or have a general understanding of sales principles and practises.
• Experience with MS Excel and Powerpoint
• Experience with Affinity and Salesforce (desirable)

Benefits

We offer a range of flexible, discretionary benefits to our team. These currently include:

• 25 days contractual annual leave
• Enhanced discretionary leave provision, including an additional day off for your birthday and leave between Christmas and New Years Day
• The option to work remotely anywhere in the world for 3 weeks/year (1 week at Easter and 2 weeks during July and August)
• Private healthcare package
• Mental health, wellbeing, and learning and development stipends
• Lunch 1x/week, office snacks, and regular team drinks
• Quarterly team activities and annual team trip/day out
• Access to the Founders Forum Group network of businesses and wider tech ecosystem

We currently have a hybrid working model with 4 days spent in the office and 1 day with the option to work remotely/from home.

Successful applicants will be invited to a phone interview for the first stage.