Description With the Women's Rugby World Cup taking place here in England this year, it's an incredibly exciting time to join the RFU and working at the RFU means being part of the ‘bigger picture’ at England Rugby: to be rooted in our purpose, which is to enrich lives, introduce more people to rugby union & develop the sport for future generations. If our purpose resonates with you, and you recognise the value that sport can bring to people’s lives, we’d love to work with you. An opportunity has arisen for a Partnerships Strategy Manager to join our Commercial Partnerships team on a permanent basis. Job Title : Partnerships Strategy Manager Department : Commercial Reports to : Commercial Partnerships Director Direct report(s) : N/A Salary Banding : c.£60,000 per annum Job Level : Guide Location : HQ - This role is contractually based at Allianz Stadium, offering some flexibility to work from home Employment Type : Permanent Working Hours : This is a full-time role, covering 35hrs per week Application Information: Please submit an anonymised CV and cover letter (i.e. please exclude personal details). The closing date for applications Thursday 29th April at 5pm. The RFU reserves the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications. Applications may be considered whilst this vacancy is advertised. The Role: The Partnerships Strategy Manager role is responsible for defining and implementing the RFU’s Commercial Partnerships strategy. This role will support the business development efforts of the Commercial Partnerships department while working closely with a newly appointed partnerships sales agency to maximise and diversify sponsorship revenue to from both renewals and new leads. The role reports into the Commercial Partnerships Director. Some key responsibilities include: Partnerships Sales Strategy Work hand in hand with the Partnerships Sales agency to identify key opportunities across renewal, new business and upsells to drive sponsorship revenue. Assist with the overall sponsorship strategy, including an assessment of current and future categories, rate card valuation, growth opportunities, idea generation, and inventory management. Work closely with the Partnerships Sales Agency on sponsorship package valuations. Effectively implement and oversee management of key commercial inventory to drive maximum commercial yield to the RFU. Work with the Partnerships Sales Agency and the broader RFU business to identify new and innovative assets which can drive incremental commercial revenue for the RFU. Work closely with the Commercial Digital Manager to identify new digital commercial assets to sell and ensure that comprehensive reporting is delivered to partners in relation to all digital assets. Work Closely with other internal stakeholders to create and package new rights and assets across Community Game and Women & Girls game. Work closely with the Venue team to identify commercial opportunities linked to the stadium masterplan strategy. Work closely with the Commercial Operations Manager to ensure alignment between sponsorship propositions/concepts with internal dependencies and operational delivery. Partnerships Intelligence Lead the identification, curation and analysis of all data that underpins and informs the RFU’s partnerships business. Support with any internal data requests which cannot be sourced by the RFU’s Partnerships Sales Agency. Use a wider variety of data and external reports to demonstrate value for RFU partners and help secure new partnership deals. Design, develop and implement, research, analyses, surveys, reports, and dashboards to deliver effective, data-driven stories to the Partnerships Management team and their partners Own the measurement, analysis and reporting on partnership performance. Work closely with the Strategy and Insights team to collate and publish regular business insights reports to support and inform both the Partnerships Management team and the Business Development team. Consolidate, analyse and share internally and externally broadcasting performance and media valuations. Connect with Six Nations commercial intelligence area to drive synergies in SNRL sponsorship sales efforts and partner tracking. Work with 3rd party vendors for partnership valuations, tracking, analysing return on investment, and measuring the performance of partnership assets and activations (i.e. Kantar). Other Coordinate and lead Commercial Partnership's business process improvement initiatives including season planning sessions, end-of-season debriefs, interdepartmental check-ins, tool understanding, and adoptions Understand the external market and be present at industry events – produce reports of new ideas and ways to drive innovation internally Support the Commercial Partnerships Director in strategic and ad hoc projects. Support the Commercial Director in business planning and budget tracking. Track sponsorship and sales trends across rugby and other professional sports worldwide. As an RFU Employee, you will: Actively collaborate with colleagues to contribute to the development and delivery of the current strategic, business and operational plans. Act as an ambassador for, and promote the best interests of the RFU, including the promotion of our culture and core values – This Rose Means Everyone: Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other. Undertake other duties as may be required from time to time as are consistent with the responsibilities of the post and the needs of the organisation. Qualifications, Skills & Experience: The skills and attributes outlined in this description are not exhaustive and we welcome candidates who can bring different relevant experiences to the role. Essential: Strong commercial acumen. Significant experience working in a sponsorship related role within the wider sports, media and entertainment space. Experience working with Partnerships Sales agencies Experience in interpreting media valuations. Experience in formulating and evaluating sponsorship packages Structured and analytical in approach, able to apply frameworks to simplify rather than complicate business challenges. Ability to understand data, visualize it, and use it for sales-orientated storytelling purposes. Committed to embodying the ethos our culture by using our three core values – Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other – to guide your day-to-day decisions, actions and interactions. Committed to actively contributing and building an inclusive culture in your role and day to day behaviours. Desirable: Good understanding of the sports industry Experience with sponsorship business intelligence tools Experience with using and administrating a data visualization tool such as Tableau or Power Bl is a plus. Additional Information: We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability and potential. If there is anything we could do to support you through your application or to provide the best environment for your interviews, including assistance or adjustment, please reach out to recruitmentrfu.com. During your application, we will ask questions about your identity. This information is considered highly confidential and will not be seen by hiring managers. You can find out more about why we ask these questions here. Please download the job description here for full details of this role. We recommend keeping a copy of the JD to hand as you may wish to revisit the role requirements in the event you are invited to interview.