Partnerships Lead

Job Title:
Partnerships Lead

Reports to:
Senior Partnerships Lead

Department:
Sales - Partner Lab

Locations:
Bristol / Glasgow / Leeds / London / Manchester

Grade:
M

DEPARTMENT DESCRIPTION

Partner Lab is Channel 4 Sales' in-house creative partnerships and sponsorship offering, with the ambition to create stand-out advertising campaigns for our commercial partners.

Made up of four specialist teams - Partnerships, Sponsorship, Creative Strategy, and Production, Partner Lab brings together Channel 4's content expertise and cultural understanding with client brand objectives to deliver high-quality, engaging work across TV, streaming, sponsorship, and branded entertainment. Everything we create is built to feel naturally at home within Channel 4's world. Our approach is rooted in a simple principle: for brands that want to stand out.

This role sits specifically within the Partnerships Sales Team which is charged with a multifaceted role that includes selling Branded Entertainment and Creative Partnerships across TV, Streaming and Social. The sales team are responsible for ensuring Channel 4 is front of mind with agencies and clients and that all brief responses are to the highest standard.

JOB PURPOSE

The Partnerships Lead, reporting directly to the Senior Partnerships Lead, oversees a portfolio of agency groups and accounts and is the key point of contact for our agency and client customers. Taking direction from the Senior Partnership Lead, the Partnerships Lead role is tasked with driving revenue across Channel 4's partnership ecosystem.

The Partnership Lead is responsible for managing the end-to-end process from brief to sales, handing off to the Production team for delivery, across a defined patch of business. The Partnership Lead cooperates closely and with the Customer Groups to ensure the delivery of Business Plans aligns seamlessly with the set objectives. The Partnership Lead plays a key role in maximizing revenue potential, leading workstreams that impact the overall team as well as their own work and ensuring the successful execution of Partnership initiatives within the established strategic framework.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as the main point of contact for a defined roster of clients, responding to agency/client briefs to deliver best-in-market partnership proposals and to hit the defined revenue target.
• Supports Senior Leads to direct and manage the team effectively in creating sales collateral both pre- and post-sales.
• Supports Senior Leads in identifying and creating proactive sales opportunities and for developing go-to-market sales collateral.
• Independently leads workstreams that impact the overall team.
• Identifies new ways of working or processes that can help the team to succeed.
• Completes weekly revenue forecasting and tracking for your defined agency group and accounts to be shared with key internal stakeholders.
• Work closely with the C4 Digital Commissioners and Creative Strategy team to deliver best-in-class content ideas that meet the client's needs while adhering to the Channel's creative and strategic guidelines.
• Work alongside the Creative Strategy team in building the campaign strategy for proposals and applying campaign measurement to prove the effectiveness of social branded entertainment on Channel 4.
• Create high-impact sales decks and collateral in response to client briefs and to promote brand partnership opportunities.
• Proactively pitch sales decks and collateral to media agencies and advertisers to ensure they are fully versed in our offering and how it can benefit advertisers through compelling sales narrative, research, and insight.
• Take ownership of the end-to-end sales process, ensuring clients are aware of key milestones and any challenges to delivery; work closely with the Content Production team to ensure the campaign's smooth delivery and assist in client management throughout.
• Work with the Legal and Compliance teams to ensure all campaigns follow the relevant Channel 4 compliance and legal guidelines.
• Identify and generate new revenue opportunities for Channel 4 on social.
• Develop meaningful relationships and build long-lasting relationships with stakeholders at agencies and key clients.
• Negotiate the best value social branded entertainment and social sponsorship deals for sustainable and repeat business to hit and exceed revenue targets.

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE & SKILLS

• Experience selling brand partnerships to media agencies and clients.
• An excellent understanding of the media landscape across all platforms and of branded content/branded entertainment inclusive of social channels.
• A proven track record of working with multiple stakeholders, including but not limited to project management, legal, finance, social media marketing, research and insights teams.
• Previous experience working with production companies and/or internal production teams and a good understanding of how advertising-funded programming is brought to air on social channels.
• An understanding of paid media across linear, streaming and social platforms
• Knowledge of Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Ofcom Regulations that apply to advertising across linear, streaming and social platforms.
• Good negotiator and presenter.