Sponsorship Manager

Job description / Role

Responsibilities

The Sponsorship Manager will be responsible for managing various sponsorships across the Etihad Portfolio. The successful candidate will develop activation plans and strategies with partners, proactively work with key stakeholders and departments across the Etihad business and sponsorship agency, as well as creating detailed budgeting forecasts. The Sponsorship Manager will be focused on how Etihad Sponsorships will create enhanced value across a number of key business objectives.

• Drive marketing and activation opportunities by creating and implementing innovative marketing-driven campaigns and events that align with business objectives and strategy, competition analysis, research and best market practices globally.
• Own, maintain, and develop partnerships by coordinating weekly status meetings and ensuring up-to-date status documents for owned partner accounts.
• Deliver best-in-class activations/events by leading ideation, campaign planning, budget management, and post-event analysis to ensure successful partner activations.
• Create seasonal plans for partners alongside the Etihad Sponsorship agency by developing and executing tailored seasonal plans that ensure business objectives are met, leveraging all available rights and activations.
• Build strong partner relationships by establishing and nurturing trust with partner organizations, understanding their industry, business, and marketing goals.
• Support budget and financial management by assisting the Head of Sponsorship in managing the departmental budget, tracking expenditures, and ensuring financial efficiency for partner accounts.
• Stay current with the sponsorship landscape by regularly reviewing sponsorship and marketing trends and formulating opinions on Etihad Sponsorship strategy.
• Assist in reviewing sponsorship proposals, formulating business cases where relevant.
• Coordinate with both internal teams and external stakeholders to ensure smooth account operations and suggest improvements when necessary.
• Measure partner success by collaborating with internal departments and the sponsorship agency to capture and measure partner activities, creating case studies, and tracking success metrics.
• Maintain shared documents by ensuring up-to-date tracking of key documents such as rights utilization, invoices, and partnership payment schedules.
• Present project and activation plans and strategies to senior internal stakeholders.

Skills and Desired Experience

• Proven experience of managing multiple client accounts, with a pride for relationship management.
• Ability to build relationships and strong networking skills.
• Experience in working in a fast-paced commercial environment under pressure while managing multiple projects simultaneously.
• Process driven with good attention to detail and strong analytical/research skills.
• Ability to follow key trends and apply and integrate them into a strategic approach.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills which are clear, concise, and accurate to internal/external stakeholders.
• Possession of a level of gravitas with the ability to confidently present business cases to senior management.
• Work flexible hours as the business requires, this may include attending events both domestically and internationally.
• Proven experience of managing multiple client accounts in a sponsorship or marketing environment.
• Educated to degree level or equivalent.
• Proven experience working within a similar Senior Partnership Account Management role.
• Ability to work independently and be self-driven.
• Proficient in Microsoft tools.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in the field of Business, preferably with a specialization in Marketing or Business Administration.
• A minimum of 5 years of overall experience required, with a minimum of 3 years of experience in marketing, events, or sponsorship - including negotiation, contracts administration, and service delivery.

About Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, was formed in 2003 and quickly went on to become one of the world's leading airlines. From its home in Abu Dhabi, Etihad flies to passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America. Together with Etihad's codeshare partners, Etihad's network offers access to hundreds of international destinations. In recent years, Etihad has received numerous awards for its superior service and products, cargo offering, loyalty program, and more. All this ties into Etihad's ambitious Journey 2030 strategy. The airline plans to double its fleet size and triple the number of customers over the next six years as it sets out to be the airline everyone wants to fly!

About the Company

Etihad Airways is the National Airline of the United Arab Emirates. The airline was set up by a Royal Decree in July 2003, with Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, as its hub. Etihad started commercial operations in November 2003.

With Etihad, everyone who flies with us is welcomed as our guest.

This simple credo illuminates everything we do, from big things like making sure that our fleet is one of the most advanced in the sky, to small touches like letting you choose the films you watch.

Were proud to be the National Airline of the United Arab Emirates. At the crossroads between Europe and Asia, our home reflects our commitment to bringing the world closer together - as does our highly cosmopolitan staff.