Partnerships Manager

Company Description

Crux Football is a European women’s football multi-club platform focused on scaling the women’s game.

We take a player-first, incubator-style approach, creating high-performance environments where players thrive, and clubs are built on strong foundations.

By combining accelerated growth with long-term sustainability, we unlock each club’s full sporting and commercial potential. With global best practices and deep local commitment, Crux honours the unique identity and culture of every club we support, giving them the resources, expertise, and network to win on and off the pitch.

Crux Football is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic.

For more information, visit us at https://cruxfootball.com/

Role Overview

Commercial partnerships are fundamental to Crux Football's mission of building a more sustainable future for women's football.

We believe partnerships should do far more than provide funding or deliver traditional sponsorship rights. They should help strengthen clubs, improve infrastructure, create opportunities for players, and tell authentic stories that connect brands with one of the fastest-growing sports in the world.

As Partnerships Manager, you will play a central role in building and delivering Crux Football's commercial partnerships. During the early stages of the role, you will work closely with the Director of Commercial Partnerships to support partnership development, category strategy, market mapping, sales materials and go-to-market planning as we build our commercial portfolio. As partnerships are secured, the role will progressively transition towards leading activation, relationship management and long-term partnership delivery across Crux Football and our clubs.

Operating across multiple clubs, countries, and cultures, you will serve as the link between commercial partners, Crux Football, and our club partnership teams. From developing activation plans and coordinating campaign delivery to creating compelling case studies and measuring success, you will ensure every partnership reflects the ambition and innovation that define Crux Football.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial Development Support

• Support the Director of Commercial Partnerships in developing Crux Football's commercial strategy and go-to-market plans.
• Conduct market research and category mapping to identify high-potential partnership opportunities.
• Research prospective partners, industries and market trends.
• Help develop partnership propositions, sales materials and presentations.
• Support proposal development and pitch preparation.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen Crux Football's commercial proposition through market insight.

Partnership Management

• Progressively take ownership of day-to-day partner management as Crux Football's commercial portfolio grows.
• Act as the primary point of contact for partners following the completion of commercial agreements.
• Coordinate regular partner meetings, ensuring clear communication, proactive planning and timely follow-up.
• Ensure all contractual rights are fulfilled to the highest standard across Crux Football and our clubs.
• Work collaboratively with internal teams and club partnership teams to deliver seamless partnership programmes that reflect each club's local identity while supporting Crux Football's wider vision.
• Support partnership renewal conversations by demonstrating the impact and success of partnership programmes.

Partnership Activation

• Develop creative partnership concepts aligned with Crux Football's Solutions Partnership model, embedding partner products and services into the day-to-day operations of our clubs to solve genuine challenges and create measurable impact.
• Capture authentic stories that demonstrate the value created for both our clubs and our partners. 
• Plan and deliver integrated partnership programmes across Crux Football and our clubs, coordinating activity across multiple markets and stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities to build the story of each partnership by capturing evidence, insight and tangible outcomes throughout implementation. 
• Coordinate internal and external creative resources to deliver best-in-class partnership programmes.

Commercial Operations

• Manage partnership delivery plans, timelines and project schedules across Crux Football.
• Maintain accurate partnership rights trackers, activation plans and operational documentation.
• Coordinate internal approvals and cross-functional workflows to ensure efficient delivery.
• Support legal, finance and operational processes relating to partnership execution.
• Manage ticketing, hospitality, merchandise and other contractual assets where applicable.
• Drive excellent project management across multiple concurrent partnerships.

Events and Campaign Delivery

• Plan and deliver partner events, hospitality experiences and commercial activations.
• Coordinate partnership campaigns across Crux Football and our clubs.
• Support the delivery of photoshoots, content capture, launches and other commercial initiatives.
• Attend selected matches, partner events and activations.
• Travel across Europe to support club visits, partner meetings and key commercial events.

Budget Management

• Build activation budgets alongside the Director of Commercial Partnerships.
• Monitor campaign expenditure and ensure partnership programmes are delivered within agreed budgets.
• Forecast activation costs and support commercial planning throughout the season.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency while maintaining best-in-class delivery.

Measurement & Reporting

• Produce partnership reports that clearly demonstrate value delivered against agreed objectives.
• Conduct post-campaign evaluations and identify opportunities for future improvement.
• Capture evidence, insight and outcomes from partnership programmes, creating commercial assets from real-world implementation that support partner storytelling, future sales and renewals. 
• Lead the development of compelling partnership case studies across both Crux Football and our clubs.
• Capture commercial success stories that demonstrate the impact of our partnerships on clubs, players and communities.

Person Specification

Essential Qualifications & Experience

• A proven track record in partnership delivery and relationship management, either at a sports rights holder or an agency working with sports rights holders
• Strong knowledge of core marketing and sponsorship principles, including exposure to sponsorship contracts and rights packages
• Experience developing and activating sponsorship strategies and campaigns
• Experience measuring partnership performance against agreed KPIs and demonstrating ROI
• Experience working with commercial contracts and cross-functional teams
• Experience developing proposals, sales materials and presentations for prospective partners

Essential Skills & Attributes

• Exceptional stakeholder and relationship management skills, confident working with stakeholders at all levels, including senior stakeholders.
• Strong organisational and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects in a fast-paced environment
• Commercially minded with the ability to think creatively about how partnerships create genuine value
• Entrepreneurial spirit and comfort with ambiguity, particularly within a growing organisation
• Digitally literate and confident navigating technology-driven partnerships
• A clear and compelling communicator, with excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Flexible and willing to travel across Europe, including evenings and weekends for matches and events

Desirable

• Genuine passion for women's football and broader women's sport
• Knowledge of the women's football or wider sport and sponsorship landscape
• Experience working across multiple markets or in a multi-territory environment
• Understanding of digital marketing and content landscapes
• Experience working with broadcasters or media partners

How to Apply:

Please submit your CV and a cover letter (max 250 words) to careers@cruxfootball.com.