Senior Manager - Commercial Development

Global Sports Jobs Limited; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Chelsea FC in London is seeking a Commercial Development professional to build and manage a high-quality revenue development pipeline for Football Development, identifying opportunities and developing robust commercial proposals. You will collaborate with the Head of Sales and colleagues across the club to drive sustainable revenue growth in the UK and internationally.

The role requires experience in building and managing pipelines, conducting due diligence, and developing pricing models and

Qualifications

• Experience in building and managing a commercial, sales or business development pipeline with forecasting.
• Strong research and analytical skills to assess unfamiliar markets and turn evidence into practical recommendations.
• Experience developing pricing models, business cases or deal scenarios and explaining assumptions clearly.
• Sound judgement and a disciplined approach to assessing opportunity, value and risk.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for senior stakeholders and external partners.
• Strong organisation and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and maintain accurate records.
• A collaborative approach and the confidence to build constructive relationships across teams.
• Comfortable working in a developing environment and creating practical processes and tools where these are not yet established.

Responsibilities

• Build, maintain and manage an accurate commercial pipeline, ensuring opportunities are clearly recorded, assessed, prioritised and forecast.
• Apply a consistent qualification process to opportunities across all channels and sources, focusing time and resources on those with the strongest potential.
• Lead commercial due diligence on prospective partners, assessing each organisation against agreed criteria.
• Produce market intelligence for priority markets, including market size, competitor activity, pricing, the operator landscape, regulatory considerations and routes to entry.
• Develop clear pricing and financial models for licence, direct operation and business-to-business opportunities, testing assumptions, margin and risk with Finance.
• Maintain a clear register of Football Development's commercial assets, communicating inventory.
• Prepare high-quality proposals, business cases, partner materials and supporting documentation for internal approval and external discussions.
• Provide regular reporting on pipeline value and quality, conversion, sales cycle, market coverage and reasons for unsuccessful opportunities.
• Develop and continuously improve templates, processes, controls and guidance to support a scalable commercial approach.
• Build effective relationships across Football Development and the wider club.
• Undertake additional responsibilities to support changing priorities of Chelsea FC.
• Embody the club's BLUE behaviours (Brave, Lead, Unity, Edge) in the approach to work.
• Adhere to the club's policies and procedures, including health and safety, financial authorisation, confidentiality and GDPR.
• Act as an ambassador for diversity, equality and inclusion, treating others fairly.

Skills

Commercial pipeline management

Research and analysis

Pricing and financial modelling

Communication skills

Organisational skills

Collaboration across teams

Governance and safeguarding awareness

Attention to detail

Job description

About the Role

This role builds and manages a high-quality commercial development pipeline for Football Development, identifying and assessing opportunities and developing robust commercial proposals. Working closely with the Head of Sales and colleagues across the club, it provides the insight and tools needed to support sustainable revenue growth in the UK and internationally. The position sits within the Football Development department and works alongside Commercial, Finance, Legal, Strategy, Brand and Safeguarding teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Build, maintain and manage an accurate commercial pipeline, ensuring opportunities are clearly recorded, assessed, prioritised and forecast.
• Apply a consistent qualification process to opportunities across all channels and sources, focusing time and resources on those with the strongest potential.
• Lead commercial due diligence on prospective partners, assessing each organisation against agreed commercial, operational, legal, regulatory and safeguarding criteria.
• Produce market intelligence for priority markets, including market size, competitor activity, pricing, the operator landscape, regulatory considerations and routes to entry.
• Develop clear pricing and financial models for licence, direct operation and business-to-business opportunities, working with Finance and relevant stakeholders to test assumptions, margin and risk.
• Maintain a clear register of Football Development's commercial assets, working with Commercial Strategy and other club teams to understand and communicate available inventory.
• Prepare high-quality proposals, business cases, partner materials and supporting documentation for internal approval and external discussions.
• Provide regular reporting on pipeline value and quality, conversion, sales cycle, market coverage and reasons for unsuccessful opportunities.
• Develop and continuously improve the templates, processes, controls and guidance that support a consistent and scalable commercial approach.
• Build effective relationships across Football Development and the wider club, including Commercial, Finance, Legal, Strategy, Brand and Safeguarding teams.
• Undertake additional responsibilities as required to support the changing priorities of Chelsea FC.
• Embody the club's BLUE behaviours (Brave, Lead, Unity, Edge) in the approach to work and in interactions with others.
• Adhere to the club's policies and procedures, including health and safety, financial authorisation, confidentiality and GDPR.
• Act as an ambassador for diversity, equality and inclusion, treating others fairly and reporting any acts of discrimination through the appropriate channels.
• Create a safe environment and act to protect all young people and vulnerable adults either in the role holder's care or attending club premises, reporting any concerns to the Safeguarding Lead.

Required Experience & Qualifications

• Experience of building and managing a commercial, sales or business development pipeline, including qualifying opportunities and maintaining reliable forecasts.
• Strong research and analytical skills, with the ability to assess unfamiliar markets, identify relevant organisations and turn evidence into practical recommendations.
• Commercial and financial capability, including experience of developing pricing models, business cases or deal scenarios and explaining assumptions clearly.
• Sound judgement and a disciplined approach to assessing opportunity, value and risk.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce clear, concise materials for senior stakeholders and external partners.
• Strong organisation and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and maintain accurate records.
• A collaborative approach and the confidence to build constructive relationships across different teams and professional disciplines.
• Comfortable working in a developing environment and creating practical processes and tools where these are not yet established.
• Successful applicants must complete a DBS check prior to starting employment, and may be required to undergo other child protection screening depending on the role.

Preferred Skills

• Experience of international business development, licensing, education, sport, football development or another relevant sector.
• Knowledge of partnership assessment, commercial due diligence or working across different regulatory environments.