APAC Partnerships Manager

JOB TITLE:
APAC Partnerships Manager

LOCATION:
Hong Kong SAR, China

CONTRACT:
Full time position

DIRECT REPORTS:
None

Chelsea FC is one of the world's most iconic football clubs, renowned for its winning legacy, global fanbase, and relentless pursuit of excellence both on and off the pitch. With a culture rooted in ambition, innovation, and teamwork, Chelsea offers a dynamic environment where bold ideas are welcomed and careers are built. From our state-of-the-art facilities at Stamford Bridge and Cobham, every role at Chelsea is part of a bigger mission: to inspire, lead, and shape the future of football worldwide.

Closing date: 12th December

We encourage you to apply as soon as possible. In the event that we receive a large number of applications, the position may be filled before the listed closing date. To avoid missing out, please submit your application at your earliest convenience.

JOB FUNCTION:

• To be responsible for nurturing relationships with brands, developing commercial partnerships for the club that deliver partnerships rights, assets & activations for the brand. Partnerships include, but are not limited to shirt, training kit, sleeve, global, regional, VIK and Women's bespoke partnerships.
• To work closely with key club stakeholders, agencies and brands, as well as using personal networks, to source and engage viable partnership prospects and to take such prospects through the partnership process from initial conversation to contract signature through collaboration with Chelsea FC Headquarters in London.
• To interact with the other members of the Commercial team and the wider club, to drive partnership opportunities as appropriate.
• To be flexible and adaptable to the commercial landscape and the commercial requirements of the club.
• To support the Head of APAC Partnerships on APAC wide strategic initiatives, primarily focused on commercial partnerships.

You'll Be (Main Responsibilities):

• Sourcing, assessing and evaluating new partnership prospects through personal contacts, club contacts, agency leads or outbound approaches.
• Crafting partnership presentations and proposals tailored to the individual brand.
• Determining the applicable rights for the level of partnership, budget and available assets to ensure the value of club assets are maximised, liaising with the Head of APAC Partnerships, Insights team, Legal & Finance team, Digital Marketing team and Partnership Activation team as required.
• Carrying out the required due diligence from a reputation, legal and financial perspective.
• Engaging all key stakeholders across the club to ensure viability where a product or service is to be integrated or where there is potential crossover with a partner, service or supplier.
• Negotiating and agree rights subject to President, Commercial and Board approval.
• Liaising with Finance department regarding the payment schedule as required.
• Preparing documentation for Board approval of a partnership to proceed to contracting – partnerships summary, P&L, competitive benchmarking,
• Working with legal through the contracting process concluding in contract signature.
• Working with the Partnerships Activation team on the partner onboarding process.
• Keeping a relationship with the new partner as appropriate, to ensure delivery of rights as agreed and to provide relationship continuity.
• Assisting agencies who may engage with Chelsea FC to drive forward partnership opportunities as required.
• Working closely with and assist the Partnerships Sales team, the wider commercial team and other departments as required.
• Where a prospect does not progress to contract stage or signature, feedback should be gained as to why the partnership didn't progress. Dialogue should be maintained with the brand lead as appropriate to keep the relationship in case there is an opportunity to revisit a partnership in the future.

Key Objectives

Short Term

• Developing, progress and maintain relationships with brands and agencies who may be interested in partnering with Chelsea Football Club.
• Identifying categories, industries and brands where Chelsea FC could develop strategic partnerships from the APAC region.
• Supporting the Head of APAC Partnerships in maintaining and growing network of partners, brands and agencies in the region.

Medium Term

• Building a strong contact network and prospect pipeline within the club making us less reliant on third party agencies.
• Delivering new partnerships maximising the value of the club assets and monetising new assets to increase revenues.
• Helping reduce budgetary spend across the club by sourcing VIK supply agreements where appropriate.

Long Term

• Increasing the number of, and quality of, partnerships from the APAC region.
• Helping to build a holistic APAC regional headquarters for Chelsea FC.

MEASURES OF PERFORMANCE (Here to Win):

• KPIs are set each year to measure the performance of the role which will be related to commercial partnerships generated each season considering the assets available and the commercial landscape.

You'll Have (Personal Specification):

Qualifications:

Essential

• A strong knowledge of the sports marketing industry, the football landscape and how sponsorship fits with the wider marketing mix.
• The ability to engage with senior level executives from prospective companies to inform them of the opportunity, listen and understand their requirements and shape a proposal that meets their marketing needs.
• To have strong negotiation skills to ensure the best commercial partnership is achieved for the club but also which will provide an opportunity to drive success for the new partner.
• A good communicator, who is able to work as part of a team and on their own.
• The ability to find practical solutions to issues that may arise from time to time.
• The ability to work effectively in a pressured environment.
• The ability to be flexible and adapt to the ever-changing sponsorship and commercial landscape.
• Native, Fluent or business proficiency in English with one other Asian language. There is a strong preference for Mandarin.

Desirable

• An understanding of the digital marketing landscape with a key focus on social media assets, reach and values.
• Experience of working in a sponsorship sales environment – either for a rights holder or sports marketing agency.
• A network within the brand, football, agency and wider sports sector.
• A knowledge of the contracting process and IP.
• A knowledge and understanding of the rights which can be delivered in practice and areas which are difficult to achieve.

The Employee must at all times carry out his/her responsibilities with due regard to Chelsea Football Club policies and procedures in particular Health & Safety, Financial Authorisation, Confidentiality and with regard to the Data Protection Act. The Employee must act to protect all young people and vulnerable adults that are in their care or attending the Company's premises. The Employee must report any misconduct or suspected misconduct to the Safeguarding Lead.

Chelsea Football Club and the Foundation is fully committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all children, young people and adults at risk (vulnerable groups) that are in our care or attending our premises. As a consequence, Chelsea FC may require any successful applicants to complete a DBS Check prior to working at our premises. Successful applicants may also be required to undergo other child protection screening appropriate to the post applied for.

The Employee must ensure a positive commitment towards equality and diversity by treating others fairly and not committing any form of direct or indirect discrimination, victimisation or harassment of any description and to promote positive working relations amongst Employees and customers.

The above Job Description is not intended to be exhaustive, the duties and responsibilities may therefore vary over time according to the changing needs of the Club.