Technical Partnership Lead

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.

Purpose of the Role

Responsible for the long-term strategy and day-to-day activation and operational fulfilment of Chelsea’s Technical Partner, Nike, to ensure that contractual rights are maximised to deliver in a highly effective and efficient partnership across the entire Club (Men’s, Women’s & Academy).

Role Dimensions

• Focus on leading, developing and delivering our Technical & Performance Partnerships, with overall responsibility for their strategic direction, commercial success, and day-to-day fulfilment of contractual rights at both Stamford Bridge and Cobham training centre
• Extensive knowledge and working experience in the sporting performance and apparel sector is critical to the success of this role
• Leadership role that supports the development of a high performing team culture
• Manage one report, with the opportunity to grow and take on additional responsibilities
• This role requires occasional weekend work in the UK and international travel and consequently flexibility in working hours will be required

Principal Accountabilities

Partnership Management

• Develop a deep understanding of our partner’s business operation, strategy, objectives, target growth areas, competitors and KPI’s / metrics that resonate when evaluating success
• Collaborate with sales, brand, marketing, Chelsea Women’s team, and product teams to develop and execute joint GTM campaigns with partners
• Create integrated partnership marketing strategies that successfully deliver the partners rights to an agreed set of KPIs that add value to the Chelsea brand
• Lead in the organisation and coordination of key asset delivery across the partnership marketing mix. This includes but is not limited to the delivery of core football rights, licensing and merchandise, internal events, asset bookings, player appearances and social media and digital assets
• Ensure all assets, rights and campaigns are delivered on brief and to the required standards
• Proactively pitch and track all asset usage and lead in keeping project status documents up to date and circulated to the relevant stakeholders
• Lead the development of a commercial business plan to help create and convert new, innovative opportunities
• Set the example for partnership best practices, processes, project management, budget management and client reporting
• Be pro‑active in initiatives that could strengthen the value of the partnership
• Develop and deliver a dedicated CFCW activation plan within the Nike partnership, with its own objectives, KPIs and reporting cadence, agreed annually with CFCW commercial leadership
• Champion the development and performance of the CFCW product range with Nike, including range depth, replica availability and retail presence, with merchandise reporting split by team
• Lead our Nike Principal Partner account across the entire club as well as our Player Operations team
• Support in the delivery and establishment of regular partner reporting procedures internally and externally to track delivery of partner KPIs
• Strong ability to work cross department and in cross-functional working groups – specifically with retail and licensing teams
• Maintain a dotted reporting line into CFCW commercial leadership, with regular updates on activation delivery, partner KPIs and commercial performance relating to the women’s team
• Represent CFCW interests in all Nike planning, renewal and rights discussions, ensuring the women’s team is positioned as a commercial growth driver rather than a delivery obligation
• Develop personal credibility by behaving with humility and in a confident manner
• Build internal reputation and knowledge of the wider business
• Always operate with our core values in mind – Bravery; Leadership; Unity; Edge

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

• Significant experience in a global marketing role is essential that includes successful delivery of sports performance and apparel partnerships, ideally in a sponsorship and or brand arena
• Previous experience in planning and delivering global product development and launch campaigns is mandatory alongside working with and managing agency relationships and suppliers
• Demonstrable understanding of women’s football, its audience and its commercial growth dynamics, with experience activating partnerships in women’s sport strongly preferred
• Experienced people leader with a minimum of 3+ years of people management leading and developing a team of direct reports
• Excellent time management and workload prioritisation required to respond to project timelines within budget
• Ability to work in a high‑pressure environment and manage senior stakeholders and workloads
• Strong communication skills – verbal and written with an eye and attention to detail
• Knowledge of, and passion for, both sport and entertainment – especially Football
• Demonstrate a strong knowledge of core marketing and sponsorship principles alongside retail, lifestyle, licensing and merchandise
• Presentation skills (both writing and delivery), internally and to partners / suppliers
• Good working knowledge of IT packages (e.g. MS Office suite) such that presentations can be made in context of the Sport & Entertainment landscape
• Competencies required: Strategic; Commercial: Collaborative; Creative thinking; Leadership; Organisation; Influencing others
• Fluent in English. Other languages would be an advantage

Personal Attributes

• Leadership: leads from the front, with an innovative and open mindset, creating a strong culture by empowering others and is held up as a role model championing best practice
• Results Driven: a proven winner, someone who is driven, and comes with an outstanding work ethic, holding themselves and others to the highest standards
• Commercial: has a keen eye for commercial growth, with a pro‑active attitude to find, cultivate and close new opportunities
• Strategic: provides clear strategy, vision and direction for the partner and business
• Responsible: comfortable with taking on additional responsibility for the day‑to‑day actions of team members and accounts
• Personable: as one of the initial and key faces of Chelsea into our Partners and the marketplace, must be personable, approachable, and a persuasive presenter
• Credible: considered credible and has gravitas, acting as a role model for the Chelsea values
• Challenges: challenges others to strive for more, both in innovation and meeting stakeholder needs
• Ownership: understands the impact of leadership behaviour on the business and demonstrates behaviours that support a high‑performance culture within and across teams.
• Change: is a champion for change by driving evolution, clearly communicating the vision and purpose for change and supporting the business to adapt.
• Collaborative: engages in partnerships, networks and alliances to support long term success and engages in partnerships for decision making to support the best interests of the business.
• Engagement: champions a culture that motivates and inspires employees to take personal responsibility and sees people management decisions as a key Senior Manager accountability

OUR EXPECTATIONS

• To embody the club’s BLUE behaviours (Brave, Lead, Unity, Edge) in the approach to work and interaction with others
• To adhere to the club’s policies and procedures, including Health & Safety, Financial Authorisation, Confidentiality and GDPR.
• To act as an ambassador for diversity, equality, and inclusion, and demonstrate a positive commitment by treating others fairly in line with our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy and reporting any acts of discrimination through appropriate channels
• To create a safe environment and act to protect all young people and vulnerable adults that are either in your care or attending club premises, and report any concerns to the Safeguarding Lead
• To report any misconduct or suspected misconduct to the HR Department

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

At Chelsea we recognise that the diversity of our people is one of our greatest strengths and we are taking positive action to ensure our existing colleagues and job applicants can fully be themselves and bring their own unique experiences and perspectives to Chelsea FC. This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity.

If you need reasonable adjustments made to the recruitment process, please reach out to your recruiter, who will be able to advise and support you.

Chelsea FC is fully committed to ensuring the safety and well‑being of all children, young people and adults at risk (vulnerable groups). We therefore require all successful applicants to complete a DBS Check prior to starting employment. Depending on the role, successful applicants may also be required to undergo other child protection screening where appropriate.

This 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.

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