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 Commercial Executive to join our Commercial Partnerships team on a permanent basis. Job Title : Commercial Executive Department : Commercial Reports to : Commercial Manager Direct report(s) : N/A Salary Banding : £35,000 per annum Job Level : Implement Location : HQ - This role is contractually based at Allianz Stadium, offering some flexibility to work from home Travel Requirements : Within UK 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 Wednesday 23rd 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 Commercial Team is evolving and looking at developing the next generation of sports marketing experts delivering best in class partnerships by understanding and managing the development of new and existing partnerships within the team. As part of the ‘More Roses More Hands More Often’ Commercial vision, the Commercial team is looking to not only deliver partnerships but make sure that we collectively deliver better business impact for our partners while at the same time leaving rugby in a better place. We will do this by driving more investment into the Rugby ecosystem from new partnerships to game changing activations. This role is integral to ensuring the Commercial vision is adopted and we bring in bigger better longer-term partners into RFU. Partnerships are becoming more complex, and the sales cycle is getting longer and more detailed as the expectations of brands gets higher as the market develops. Using external resource to accelerate market engagement, this role is integral to ensuring we support this external resource with best-in-class responses to brand briefs, coordinating with internal RFU teams to ensure we focus on prospective partners objectives and outputs and acting as the conduit between the brand, external resource and RFU teams to close new partnership agreements and partnership upsells within the existing partnership base. Commercial Vision: As part of the "More Roses More Hands More Often" Commercial vision, the team aims to: Deliver partnerships that provide better business impact for partners and engage rugby fans, Players & Volunteers. Create and support the curation of partnerships that provide total business solutions for our partners that aim to engage the entire boardroom. Drive increased investment into the Rugby ecosystem through new partnerships and innovative activations. This integral role is designed to ensure the adoption of the Commercial vision and attract larger, better, and longer-term partners to the RFU. The position involves: Supporting the Commercial Manager and external agency with high-quality responses to brand briefs and renewals with current partners. Coordinating with internal RFU teams to focus on prospective partners' objectives and outputs. Acting as a liaison between brands, external resources, and RFU teams to ensure research, case studies, data and insights are optimised for new business and renewals. Some key responsibilities include: Support the day-to-day relationship with the external agency resource to drive revenue generation with new and existing partners. Attend and represent the RFU in various brand meetings organised by the external agency resource acting as the RFU’s subject matter expert where required. Enhance the commercial strategy by incorporating innovative and forward-thinking initiatives that benefit the organisation, along with industry best practices. Providing RFU input for the development of commercial concepts, sales strategies and sales policies. Support the sales process for new business leads that fall outside of the external resource remit. Support internal relationships in the development of new business opportunities and act as the liaison between external resource and internal departments. Liaise with Partnership Strategy to develop partnership case studies and respond to brand briefs, ensuring the correct data & assets are used to support the new business process and correctly accounted for with live conversations. Liaise with Partnerships Strategy and the external resource to ensure reporting of the new business pipeline is kept up to date and management reports are created and distribute to the RFU leadership team and executive team. Oversee production workflow of bespoke sales materials. From time to time, supporting the Retail & Licensing team on ad-hoc projects and business needs, specifically with Licensing opportunities. Support the contracting process internally ensuring that contractual points are agreed internally and managed efficiently with various departments. Support the financial budgeting, risk management and control of all new business deals to ensure they maximise the organisational benefit to the RFU. Stay up to date with industry current thinking and best practice, proposing recommendations on improvements the RFU and the external resource can make. 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: Proven track record of successful sponsorship sales experience. Deep understanding of best practices and current trends in sports marketing and sponsorship. Exceptional project management abilities, capable of handling multiple projects simultaneously while effectively prioritising and communicating tasks. Proactive self-starter with perseverance and the capability to manage competing priorities. Excellent oral and written presentation/''storytelling'' skills. Ability to work independently with a high degree of autonomy. Demonstrable skills in time management and prioritisation. Effective communicator with the confidence to deliver clear written and verbal messages. Strong skills in collaboration, influence, and partner engagement, with the ability to challenge constructively. Ability to translate consumer insights and market trends into business strategies Proven expertise in stakeholder management with the ability to influence at all levels. Excellent judgement, a proactive problem-solving attitude, and creative thinking to achieve goals. Self-aware and committed to continuous professional and personal development. Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, with expertise in Smartsheet. 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: Degree-level qualified within a relevant sector desirable. Clear understanding of the sports business landscape and media marketplace. Strong problem solving / analytical skills with a solution-oriented attitude. Ability to deliver administration and coordination, alongside strategic thinking and influence. Experience in complex 7-figure sports sponsorship agreements. Experience of curating and delivering community centred commercial agreements. An effective team member, with sufficient flexibility and willingness to take on roles outside their normal functional responsibility when required. Recent / relevant experience of the rugby environment / strong practical understanding of the rugby / sporting landscape in England. 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.