Manager, Strategic Partnerships

Family Entertainment Group; Itasca (IL); On-site; USD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Family Entertainment Group (FEG) is seeking a Strategic Partnerships Manager to own the day-to-day commercial relationship for key partner brands. You will act as the on-the-ground extension of the Chief Commercial Officer, deeply fluent in the partner's strategy, promotions, and guest experience at each location.

You will drive same-store sales growth, shape commercial plans for new openings, and translate strategy into disciplined execution across FEG's partner footprint, with cross-functional

Qualifications

• 5+ years in a commercial or partner-facing strategy role.
• Experience managing external partner relationships at operating level.
• Proven project management across multiple locations.
• Bachelor's degree as stated.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day commercial relationship with partner brands.
• Drive same-store sales growth within portfolio.
• Shape commercial strategy for new location openings.
• Translate strategy into execution across locations.
• Collaborate with CCO and partner leadership.

Skills

Commercial acumen

Analytical thinking

Relationship building

Project management

Bias for action

Education

Bachelor's degree in business/marketing/hospitality or related field

Job description

Family Entertainment Group (FEG), is a recognized industry leader in designing, developing, and operating world-class family entertainment centers and amusement experiences. With a commitment to innovation and guest satisfaction, FEG partners with top brands and venues to create memorable experiences for families and guests of all ages. The Company provides turnkey outsourced facility management and arcade operations services for resorts, hotels, casinos, and amusement parks. Additionally, the Company owns and operates standalone family entertainment centers under the In The Game, Max Action, and Bonkers brands. The Company operates nearly 90 locations throughout the U.S.

Full-time

Family Entertainment Group (FEG), is a recognized industry leader in designing, developing, and operating world-class family entertainment centers and amusement experiences. With a commitment to innovation and guest satisfaction, FEG partners with top brands and venues to create memorable experiences for families and guests of all ages. The Company provides turnkey outsourced facility management and arcade operations services for resorts, hotels, casinos, and amusement parks. Additionally, the Company owns and operates standalone family entertainment centers under the In The Game, Max Action, and Bonkers brands. The Company operates nearly 90 locations throughout the U.S.

Position Summary

The Manager, Strategic Partnerships owns the day-to-day commercial relationship for one or more of FEG's key partner brands, acting as the on-the-ground extension of the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). This role is built for someone who wants to think and operate like a commercial owner: deeply fluent in the partner's business philosophy, strategic initiatives, promotional calendar, and pricing architecture, and equally fluent in how their guest experiences the brand at the location level.

The Strategic Partnership Manager primary measure of success is driving same-store sales growth within their assigned partner portfolio. Secondarily, they shape the commercial strategy that FEG brings to new location openings for that partner, ensuring every new site launches with a proven, partner-aligned commercial model.

This role does not own the executive relationship with partner presidents or C-suite – that remains with the CCO. Instead, the Strategic Partnership Manager builds and manages trusted relationships with the partner's operating and marketing leadership, translating strategy into disciplined execution across the partner's full footprint.

What Success Looks Like

• Same-store sales growth in the assigned partner portfolio meets or exceeds target, quarter over quarter.
• Agreed-upon initiatives (promotions, pricing changes, new offerings) launch on time, on budget, and to spec across every applicable location.
• The partner's operating leadership views FEG as a proactive, insight-driven commercial partner - not a vendor to be managed.
• New location openings for the partner launch with a commercial plan (pricing, promotional cadence, guest experience standards) that is proven and ready on day one.
• A steady pipeline of tested, scalable ideas moves from single-location pilot to full-portfolio rollout.

Key Responsibilities

Partner & Guest Experience

• Develop and maintain deep working knowledge of the partner's business philosophy, strategic priorities, brand standards, and competitive positioning.
• Understand the partner's guest: who they are, what drives visitation and spend, and how the guest experience is designed to deliver on the partner's brand promise.
• Track the partner's promotional calendar, pricing strategy, and merchandising approach, and understand how FEG's offerings fit within it.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with partner stakeholders below the president/C-suite level - regional operators, marketing leads, and field teams.

Driving Same Store Sales

• Identify and prioritize commercial opportunities (pricing, packaging, promotions, guest experience enhancements) with the clearest path to same-store sales growth.
• Partner with FEG operations, marketing, and analytics teams to design initiatives grounded in the partner's guest data and FEG's performance data.
• Monitor performance by location, diagnose underperformance, and course-correct initiatives quickly.
• Report out on sales performance, initiative impact, and forward-looking recommendations on a regular cadence.

New Store Commercial Strategy

• Develop the commercial go-to-market plan (pricing, promotional launch sequence, guest experience setup) for new locations opening within the partner's footprint.
• Partner with New Store Opening and Business Development teams to ensure commercial readiness is built into the opening timeline, not bolted on afterward.
• Capture lessons learned from each opening and feed them back into the standard playbook for that partner brand.

Execution, Project Management & Innovation

• Own execution of agreed-upon initiatives end-to-end: scoping, timeline, stakeholder alignment, rollout, and measurement.
• Manage multiple concurrent workstreams across the partner's full location footprint, hitting deadlines without requiring escalation.
• Bring forward new and innovative commercial ideas - tested at pilot scale where possible - that can drive FEG's business across all of the partner's locations.
• Flag risks, resource gaps, or misalignment early, and bring solutions rather than just problems to the CCO.

Cross Functional Partnership

• Act as the connective tissue between the partner and FEG's operations, marketing, analytics, and field leadership.
• Leads cohort group of GMs at partner locations to learn, share best practices.
• Support the CCO in preparing materials, data, and recommendations for partner executive-level conversations, without owning that relationship directly.
• Ensure consistent communication and follow-through across every location in the partner's portfolio.

Requirements

• 5+ years in a commercial, brand management, account management, or partner-facing strategy role, ideally in retail, hospitality, entertainment, or franchise/multi-unit environments.
• Track record of owning a P&L-adjacent metric (comp sales, same-store sales, revenue per unit) and moving it through disciplined execution.
• Experience managing external partner or client relationships at the operating level, including navigating priorities that don't always align.
• Demonstrated project management skill: running multiple initiatives at once, on time, across a distributed, multi-location footprint.

Skills & Attributes

• Strong commercial and analytical instincts — comfortable moving from guest-experience insight to pricing and promotional strategy to a rollout plan.
• High ownership mentality; operates like a business owner for the assigned brand, not a coordinator waiting for direction.
• Excellent relationship-builder with the credibility to influence partner stakeholders without formal authority over them.
• Clear, concise communicator, equally comfortable in a location walk-through and in a data-driven readout.
• Bias for action; treats deadlines as commitments.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, hospitality management, or related field, or equivalent experience.

Travel Requirements

• Minor travel to partner locations to maintain a first-hand understanding of guest experience, execution quality, and local market dynamics; frequency will vary by portfolio size and initiative cadence.

How This Role Shows Up In The LEADER Framework

• Learns & Adapts - builds deep, current knowledge of the partner's business and adjusts commercial approach as their strategy evolves.
• Energizes Others - brings partner stakeholders and internal teams along on new initiatives with enthusiasm and clarity.
• Accountable - owns same-store sales results for the portfolio and reports transparently on progress.
• Develops Talent - builds the partner-facing playbook so knowledge scales beyond any one person.
• Executes with Excellence - turns agreed-upon initiatives into on-time, on-spec results across every location.
• Resilient - adapts quickly when an initiative underperforms and drives toward the next solution.

Salary Description

$100,000 - $120,000