Partnerships Manager

CIPD; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

28 days’ annual leave

Personal development allowance

Award-winning pension scheme

Wellbeing cashback

Parental leave enhancements

Fertility & family-forming support

Support for carers

Job summary

CIPD is seeking a Partnerships Manager to develop, govern and expand CIPD's partnership network. You will oversee governance, commercial relationships, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver value aligned with CIPD’s objectives.

You will identify new opportunities, manage partner accounts, and lead due diligence from selection through renewal. The role requires strong analytical, negotiation and relationship skills within a knowledge-driven organisation.

Qualifications

• Experience in a commercial partnership role.
• Experience of contract negotiation and creation.
• Knowledge of procurement and due diligence processes.
• Experience in dealing with brand, IP, data considerations.
• Experience of partnership/product management cycles.
• Commercial understanding and experience managing P&L.
• Experience of working with sponsors/partners.
• Experience of working with sales teams and presenting to external partners.

Responsibilities

• Identify and develop new partnership opportunities to drive strategic growth, reach and reputation.
• Manage commercial partner accounts and lead sponsorship partner performance.
• Act as subject matter expert on partnership management and governance.
• Own the Partnership Framework, ensuring governance across agreements and contracts.
• Lead due diligence and approval processes for new partnerships.
• Oversee full partnership lifecycle: planning, onboarding, performance, reviews.
• Monitor partnership effectiveness via defined metrics and reporting.
• Oversee procurement, contracting and budgets for partnerships.
• Manage partnership and supplier contracting, invoicing and tender processes.
• Be the department's data protection champion and first point of contact for partnership queries.

Skills

Partnership management

Contract negotiation

Procurement/due diligence

Brand/IP/data knowledge

P&L management

Stakeholder management

External partnerships representation

Analytics & reporting

Ambiguity tolerance

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

As a Partnerships Manager, you will develop, manage, and govern CIPD's partnership relationships to maximise brand opportunity, commercial value, reputation, reach and impact. You will oversee partnership governance, commercial relationship management, and cross-functional collaboration to ensure partnerships deliver sustainable value aligned with CIPD's objectives.

What you’ll be doing

• Identifying and developing new partnership opportunities that drive CIPD's strategic growth, reach and reputation, including commercial content providers, corporate sponsors, academic bodies, data/market research organisations, think tanks/NFPs, and professional bodies
• Managing commercial partner accounts and leading the selection, retention and performance management of sponsorship partners and their agency
• Acting as CIPD's subject matter expert on partnership management and governance
• Owning the CIPD Partnership Framework, ensuring consistent governance across commercial, brand, IP and data partnership agreements, from selection and due diligence through to contracting, delivery, evaluation and renewal
• Leading due diligence and approval processes for new commercial and non-commercial partnerships
• Overseeing the full partnership lifecycle - planning, onboarding, performance management and review and working in collaboration with colleagues internally to deliver agreed outcomes
• Monitoring partnership effectiveness through agreed metrics and reporting
• Managing operational activity for Policy and HR Practice partnerships, including procurement, contracting, and budgets
• Overseeing partnership and supplier contracting, invoicing and tender processes, in alignment with procurement, legal and finance requirements
• Managing partnership and supplier budget reporting, acting as department data protection champion, and serving as first point of contact for all incoming partnership queries

What you’ll need to be successful

• Experience in a similar commercial partnership role
• Experience of contract negotiation and creation
• Knowledge of procurement and due diligence processes
• Experience in dealing with legal considerations in relation to brand, IP, data
• Experience of partnership and product management cycles
• Commercial understanding and experience managing P&L
• Experience of working with sponsors
• Experience of working with sales team/sales experience
• Experience representing and presenting the organisation to external partners
• Knowledge of marketing /comms/partnership activities
• Exceptional relationship management and influencing skills
• Excellent analytical and reporting
• Comfortable with working with ambiguity and ability to flex
• Understanding of brand value in a knowledge business
• Experience of working with/for professional bodies

About us

We’ve been championing better work and working lives for over 100 years. We help organisations thrive by focusing on their people, supporting our economies and societies. We’re the professional body for HR, L&D, OD and all people professionals – experts in people, work and change. With over 160,000 members globally – and a growing community using our research, insights and learning – we give trusted advice and offer independent thought leadership. And we are a leading voice in the call for good work that creates value for everyone.

We offer an inclusive and collaborative working environment, a wide range of development opportunities and a competitive benefits package, including 28 days’ annual leave (with the option to buy and sell), a personal development allowance, access to an award-winning pension scheme and a strong focus on wellbeing, including a cashback health scheme. We also support colleagues at different life stages, with enhanced parental leave, fertility and family-forming support, and support for those who are full-time carers for their loved ones.

We value everyone as an individual and are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where different perspectives are welcomed, ensuring fair opportunities for all and strengthening how we work and deliver impact together.