Sponsorship Sales Manager

JOB DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

RISE Sport | Culture | Entertainment (SCE) is an independent multi-disciplinary commercial agency based in Dubai, Riyadh and Jeddah. Our clients include major rights holders such as the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, the Abu Dhabi Department for Culture and Tourism, the Saudi Pro League and brands including Qiddiya and NEOM.

RISE develop bespoke solutions for our client’s strategic and commercial challenges, we specialise in commercial and project-specific strategy, sales, commercial rights development and organisational strategy / design. 

We are seeking a proven sponsorship sales professional, based full-time in Riyadh who is excited about the opportunity to join our rapidly growing team and sell some of the world’s most exciting rights.

REQUIREMENT

The Sponsorship Sales Manager’s purpose is to drive new rights sales and renewals on behalf of RISE’s clients, with a specific focus on professional football. Reporting into the SCE Head of Sales, the Sponsorship Sales Manager will be responsible for developing and maintaining a thriving pipeline of opportunities alongside developing its portfolio of clients. 

The ideal candidate, will have a track record of securing high-value sponsorship sales, with a proven network of brands and partners in the GCC. They will be passionate and knowledgeable about sponsorship rights, valuations and ROI, including broadcast rights, and comfortable working across the management spectrum, including c-suites and boards.  They will have the ability to work as part of a busy team and manage multiple projects concurrently, confident in English and ideally Arabic.

The role will be based in Dubai, UAE. However, regional and international travel may be required alongside remote work from client offices.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The primary function of the role is to deliver rights sales and renewals to RISE clients, in high value partnership deals. The Sponsorship Sales Manager will be expected to understand brand and rights holder strategy and source partners that align to them. They will be comfortable using sourcing tools and RISE’s CRM system to develop and maintain relationships, including sponsorship sales pitches, negotiations and contracting.

They will be expected to present frequently, both orally and in writing, including the development of bespoke sales decks and rights materials. They should expect to engage in market research and benchmarking and should be confident to prepare reports, valuations, ROI data and other materials in pursuit of sponsorship sales, renewals, and reporting.

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

• Proven experience in GCC sponsorship sales, ideally football.
• Experience in sports, ideally within a rights holder, or agency.
• Strong network and experience with senior decision makers, including c-suite and boards in the GCC, ideally KSA.
• Exceptional presentation and design skills, including creating sales decks, reports and other written documents,
• Self-motivated and demonstrable passion for rights sales.
• Organised, reliable and excellent within teams (internal and external)
• Excellent communication, sales and negotiations skills in English and preferably Arabic.

QUALIFICATIONS

Candidates interested in this position must have:

• A University Degree from an internationally recognised institution, or equivalent vocational training related to sales, marketing, sponsorship or a relevant field.
• Sales training certification and / or PowerPoint or Keynote certification 
• 4+ years in sponsorship sales