Commercial & Sports Partnerships Manager

Responsible for managing and driving strategic partnerships in both the commercial and sports sectors, aligning these initiatives with DCTCM’s overarching marketing strategy. This role aims to enhance DCTCM’s marketing initiatives through partners’ ecosystems and platforms, and so the role requires effective market research, innovative partnership models, and active engagement with key stakeholders.

Commercial Partnerships

• Develop and manage strategic partnerships with organizations such as banks, telecom groups, FMCGs, and others.
• Conduct market research to identify high-priority markets and partnership opportunities, tailoring strategies to regional and global objectives.
• Scope and define partnership models, including loyalty programs and innovative collaborations.
• Drive activation and execution of partnerships, ensuring alignment with DCTCM’s marketing spectrum and wider business goals.

Sports Partnerships

• Build and manage partnerships with sports entities such as clubs (e.g., Real Madrid), athletes, and sports brands.
• Explore new avenues for leveraging sports sponsorships to enhance DCTCM’s marketing agenda.

Relationship and Portfolio Management

• Maintain strong relationships with partners, ensuring effective collaboration and performance evaluation.
• Oversee a portfolio of "Content through Partnerships," which oversees the entire organization’s content that is produced through commercial, sports or other external partners like fashion brands, social media platforms (e.g. Beautiful Destinations). This does not include managing content produced but rather manage to portfolio to ensure they are aligned and delivering on key strategic objectives.
• Setup and manage operational projects within DCTCM be it related to partnerships or other operational areas in the organization as agreed with management.

Corporate Strategic Planning

●Contribute to the development of the DCTCM’s operational strategy and model, and drive overall performance through providing inputs on the Marketing Operations Management’s strategy, priorities and initiatives. 

●Take onus of the Marketing Operations Management’s achievement against set OKRs/KPIs to ensure the Marketing Operations Management performs in line with overall DCTCM and DET targets.

Financial Planning & Monitoring

●Oversee the determination of the Marketing Operations Management’s annual and long-term capital and operating budgetary requirements to ensure strategic and operational plans can be delivered. 

●Take accountability for the Marketing Operations Management’s budgetary performance, ensuring minimal divergences and that expenditures are optimized and directed towards value adding activities. 

Operational Excellence & Governance 

●Lead the development of Marketing Operations Management’s specific policies, procedures and processes ensuring full alignment with the prevalent and applicable laws and regulations. 

●Ensure the Marketing Operations Management’s achieves the highest level of governance and compliance with both internal (DET wide) and external policies and standards across various areas such as legal, quality, risk, cybersecurity etc. in relation to the core operations of the Marketing Operations Management’s. 

●Oversee the productivity and operational efficiency of resources and employees within the Marketing Operations Management’s to maximize returns on investment in people and resources. 

●Continuously seek opportunities to leverage innovative technologies and digital solutions to optimize both internal and customer facing processes, in line with Dubai government's ambitions pertaining to being a digital economy. 

Advisory Support 

●Provide advisory services to the AVP, Marketing Operations & Transformation, as needed. 

●Build a favorable reputation and image of the Marketing Operations Management’s within DCTCM, DET and to all external parties by continuously representing DET favorably. 

●Support the DCTCM in establishing deep relations across its stakeholder ecosystem which includes creating synergies and collaboration within DET. 

●Contribute to and support on department and DET wide corporate priorities and initiatives e.g., ESG related initiatives.

People Leadership Responsibilities

●Lead by example and role model the core values of DET in an aim to build a high performing and competent environment within the organization.

●Foster and instil a culture which drives cross-functional collaboration between teams in an aim to drive synergies and collaboration. 

●Build the next generation of leaders through mentoring and coaching in order to develop the capabilities of the team and DET as a whole; this includes nurturing and grooming potential successors in an aim to drive business continuity.

●Ensure that the Marketing Operations Management’s maintains a happy working environment for employees to support the DET achieve government level targets related to employee happiness. 

Drive the implementation of diversity and inclusion initiatives to ensure thorough participation of females, and people of determination within the workforce of the Marketing Operations Management’s. 

Qualifications & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Communications, Marketing, Business Administration, or a related field. A Master's degree or MBA is highly preferred.
• Professional certifications such as the Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Marketing Management Professional (CMMP), Digital Marketing Certificate, Certified Partnership Manager (CPM); are advantageous.
• Minimum of 8-9 years of experience in marketing, with expertise in a managerial role focused on strategic partnership management, marketing operations, or related areas.
• Extensive experience in market research, loyalty program development, and strategic partnership development, with a proven track record of driving organizational growth and enhancing brand visibility through effective commercial strategies.
• Proven track record of developing and managing commercial that drive organizational growth and brand visibility.
• Proven track record of successfully identifying, negotiating, and managing strategic partnerships and sponsorships, particularly in the commercial and sports sectors.
• Extensive experience in industries such as banking, telecom, FMCG, sports, or media, with a deep understanding of market dynamics and consumer behaviour in these sectors.
• Experience with digital marketing, including digital advertising, social media marketing, content marketing, and SEO.

Key Skills & Capabilities:

·Expertise in identifying, setting up, negotiating, and managing strategic partnerships across commercial sectors such as banking, telecom, or FMCG to enhance brand visibility and market reach.

·Strong ability to develop and implement comprehensive marketing strategies that align with both regional and global business objectives, tailoring approaches to diverse markets.

·Strong capability in conducting market research and data analysis to identify trends, evaluate partnership performance, and inform decision-making processes.

·Proficient in managing multiple projects simultaneously, with a focus on meeting deadlines, budget management, and achieving strategic goals.

·Excellent communication skills for effective negotiation and relationship management with partners, stakeholders, and team members.

·Proven leadership skills with the ability to inspire and direct a team towards achieving marketing objectives and operational excellence.

·Flexibility to adapt strategies in a dynamic market environment and innovative thinking to leverage new marketing technologies and methodologies.

·Sensitivity to cultural differences and the ability to operate effectively in a multicultural and diverse environment.

·Familiarity with integrating partnerships into a broader marketing strategy

·Understanding of legal and regulatory frameworks impacting marketing practices, especially in relation to commercial and sports partnerships.