Partnership Management - Team Lead

Rise; Saudi Arabia; Hybrid; SAR 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading sponsorship agency based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is seeking a seasoned candidate to lead their brand sponsorship team. The ideal applicant will have over ten years of experience in sponsorship roles, particularly within the football sector. You will be responsible for managing partnerships, providing strategic insights, and developing a successful team environment. This fixed-term contract offers a competitive salary and dynamic work environment.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Benefits

Qualifications

• Minimum ten years’ experience in a sponsorship role.
• Strong experience in football sponsorship.
• Proficiency in PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.
• Experience in leadership and mentoring.

Responsibilities

• Lead the brand sponsorship team.
• Manage day‑to‑day partnership management.
• Deliver strategic recommendations to clients.
• Oversee vendor relationships and contracts.

Skills

Sponsorship knowledge

Leadership

Client management

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree

Tools

PowerPoint

Excel

Job description

Overview

RISE is a leader in Saudi Arabia’s sport, culture and entertainment (SCE) sectors.

With offices in Dubai (UAE) and Riyadh (KSA), RISE specialises in providing data‑driven, sustainable sponsorship services to some of the region’s leading brand and rights‑holder clients.

The successful candidate will join on a fixed‑term contract to provide maternity cover, leading the brand sponsorship team and responsible for leading a team managing the day‑to‑day partnership management of our brand clients.

They will be passionate about the SCE industry and have a track record of success in partnership management and the development of brand strategy.

Role & Responsibilities

Working closely with the leadership team, the role requires someone who is passionate about sponsorship, its role in the brand marketing mix and has a good working knowledge of sport, culture and entertainment industries across the GCC region.

The successful applicant will collaborate with the team to support and lead the numerous Brand Sponsorship accounts across the business.

The role will be best suited to someone who can manage complex partnerships, has experience of working with rights‑holders and a track record of achieving return on investment for brand clients.

They will need to hold extensive knowledge of the sponsorship lifecycle, the main value drivers of sponsorship and have expertise in client leadership, broad consulting, sponsorship activation, integrated marketing, and team management.

Someone with proven abilities in providing strategic recommendations to clients and leading a team is essential.

The successful applicant will serve as the leader and driving force of the Brand Sponsorship unit of the team, be responsible for client business, accountable for the unit’s overall profitability, and lead the team’s recruitment, development and performance.

The role has three main areas of focus:

• People: Build partnerships and foster collaborative relationships among clients, employees, partners and board members.
• Clients: Facilitate strong business relationships with new and existing clients while striving to align with the company’s operational and financial objectives.
• Business Acumen: Enable a business leader who will be responsible for building and managing a diverse team while operating in a multifaceted organisation effectively.

People: Embody and reflect RISE’s performance‑based culture and commit themselves and their team to the highest standards for all agency work.

Work effectively with cross‑functional teams to deliver planning, consulting and execution excellence.

Apply genuine eagerness to mentor, grow, and develop a diverse and talented team.

Manage and train the brand sponsorship and activation team members with responsibility for goal‑setting, feedback, and constructive guidance.

Work closely with engagement teams to ensure account work is projected accurately and effectively and efficiently planned and staffed with all deliverables prioritized accordingly.

Serve as a subject‑matter expert on football and related industry trends, sponsorship landscape, and competitive activities.

Proactively communicate insights and experiences with colleagues and clients.

Build relationships with third‑party suppliers and manage team engagement to deliver brand activations in the digital and physical realms.

Guide brainstorming and idea‑generation sessions with cross‑functional teams; oversee the hiring, development, and training of the team, adapting the team’s focus based on the needs of RISE and its clients.

Clients: Demonstrate an understanding and passion for the client’s industry, business, brand, and consumer target(s); establish trusted strategic partnership; lead client relationships in key verticals and with selected rights‑holders and brands.

Ensure approaches and solutions are linked to objectives and future needs; consistently manage client expectations, ensure delivery of the highest quality service, and solicit and act on client feedback; ensure goals for client account growth, retention and satisfaction are met with consistency and best‑in‑class concept‑ling, planning, and execution.

Leverage relationships with rights‑sales teams to support efforts between RISE and rights‑holders, support negotiation discussions on behalf of clients when necessary.

Deliverables include consumer insights, landscape analysis, business planning considerations, perspective on portfolio and property evaluations, multi‑channel messaging and activation strategies, asset valuation and negotiation, etc.

Business Acumen: Lead the company’s Brand Sponsorship service offering, providing strategic advisory to brands and rights‑holders on their sponsorship programming; develop, refine, and advance RISE’s sponsorship offering to best leverage marketplace intelligence, best practices, and creative innovation; own accountability of the service offering P&L across strategic planning, reporting, analysis, and resource planning (in collaboration with senior leadership).

Manage profitability by collaborating with key stakeholders to develop and negotiate statements of work and ensuring the work is delivered on budget.

Lead strategic development of new business pitches from RFP response to closing accounts, including contract negotiations; maintain strong presentation, verbal and written skills and a proven ability to develop well‑positioned and thoughtful documents and presentations.

Oversee various initiatives across RISE’s sports, entertainment, and cultural client portfolio, applying focus on sponsorship strategy, evaluation and execution, as well as sponsorship best practice.

Oversee team‑leading vendor relationships, including contracts, negotiations and oversight of the deliverables and quality of work.

Lead RISE IP development, marketing and thought‑leadership initiatives that generate business impact for the Brand Sponsorship team; act as the authority on program and partner review debriefings and analyse and evaluate individual programs and partnerships.

Oversee team providing asset valuations and points‑of‑view for current partnerships and new partnership opportunities with RISE’s team.

Collaborate with the internal account team to lead the continuous improvement of client deliverables with brand, consumer and in‑market learnings; ensure accuracy of scope and comprehensive budget management, including development and management of activation budgets to achieve client needs.

Maintain responsibility for client billings and ensure timely payment of invoices and against agreed billing schedules.

Take an active role in business development, leading creative input into RFP responses, new client opportunities and existing client growth strategies (in both UAE and KSA).

Qualifications

The successful candidate will be a true self‑starter with an entrepreneurial mindset and strong critical thinking skills, with proven success in leading multi‑disciplinary teams and demonstrating the ability to deliver exceptional work within budget parameters.

Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree is a plus.

Minimum ten (10) years’ experience in a sponsorship role at an agency, brand, sports or entertainment property, or related organisation.

Strong experience, knowledge and understanding in/off‑football sponsorship, ideally with previous experience in the GCC.

Demonstrable expertise in key focal areas with a senior‑level network of professional contacts; ability to lead clients and manage account teams in the midst of multiple programmes/projects concurrently in a fast‑paced, high‑intensity work environment.

Reporting, analysis and budgeting expertise; exceptional relationship and influencing skills along with highly developed presentation and delivery skills.

Proven effectiveness in leading, managing and mentoring junior team members; application of superior prioritisation and time‑management skills.

Proactive, team‑player with a strong work ethic and the ability to work independently.

Exemplary written and oral communication skills with proficiency in PowerPoint, Word and Excel; good working knowledge of the Middle East and Arabic language proficiency is a plus.

Compensation & Working Conditions

This is a fixed‑term contract.

Competitive salary and benefits.

Role will be based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Remote working from client offices is frequent; working hours are 9:00 AM–6:00 PM, Sunday–Thursday.

Occasional travel and weekend work may be required.

The right candidate will be highly motivated, ambitious and hungry for responsibility, client interaction and the opportunity to make a difference within RISE.