Partnerships Sales Manager in Cardiff

Employer: Cardiff City Football Club

Location: Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff

Contract: Full Time, Fixed Term Maternity Cover

Salary: Competitive and dependent on experience

• Auto-enrolment into the Club’s pension scheme (depending on eligibility)
• Club discounts and offers
• 20 days annual leave entitlement per annum

Hours of Work: 37.5 hours per week

Department: Commercial

Reporting to: Senior Partnerships Manager

Job purpose

The Partnerships Sales Manager supports the delivery of Cardiff City FC’s commercial partnerships strategy, working across both sales and account management. This role plays a key part in driving new business, managing existing partner relationships, and ensuring the smooth delivery of partner rights. The Partnerships Manager will work closely with internal departments and external stakeholders to ensure that all partnership activity is well-planned, professionally executed, and aligned with the club’s commercial objectives.

Main duties

Key Responsibilities:

• Outreach and New Business Development
  • Take a highly proactive approach to identifying and pursuing new business opportunities
  • Support the identification of target categories and the compilation of prospect lists
  • Meet set outreach and pipeline targets
  • Conduct outreach and host introductory meetings with potential partners
  • Work with the Senior Partnerships Sales Manager to create proposals, actively seeking feedback and approval
  • Use the sales CRM diligently to record all sales activities
  • Reflect on each lead and interaction to identify what worked and where improvements can be made
• Account Management
  • Maintain organised records of partner contracts, rights schedules, and activation plans
  • Strive to over-deliver on partner expectations and seek opportunities to provide additional value
  • Look for upsell opportunities within existing partnerships
  • Take a people-first approach, building strong and trusted relationships with partners
  • Use chosen software diligently to track rights delivery and activation
• Sales Strategy
  • Provide feedback and suggestions to the Senior Partnerships Sales Manager on strategic direction
  • Ensure strategic plans are factored into day-to-day activities and decision-making

Personal Attributes:

• Proactivity: Brings energy and initiative to sales, account management, and internal collaboration - always approaching team meetings with ideas.
• Hands On: Flexible approach to work, offering hands-on support to other teams when necessary.
• Organised: Uses existing tools and systems diligently, making sure we get the most out of them through consistent and thoughtful use.
• Growth Mindset: Always looking for ways to improve, learning from experiences and applying those lessons to future work.

Requirements:

• Minimum 4 years of experience in a partnership sales, business development, or account management role.
• Experience working within the sports, media, or entertainment industry is preferred, but not essential.
• Proficiency with CRM software and strong general IT literacy.
• Strong presentation skills, with the confidence to pitch to senior stakeholders and decision-makers.

Person Specification

Essential Experience

• Minimum 4 years’ experience in a B2B sales, business development, or account management role.
• A proven track record of meeting or exceeding commercial targets and KPIs.
• Demonstrated experience in the full sales lifecycle, from lead generation to closing deals.

Desirable

• Solid skills in presentation software to create visually compelling proposals.
• An understanding of digital marketing or social media metrics in the context of sponsorship activation.

Knowledge

• Solid understanding of the sales process and lead generation tactics.
• Knowledge of account management and how to build long-term client loyalty.
• Understanding of how to use CRM systems to track activity and forecast pipelines.

Desirable

• Knowledge of the sports commercial landscape and current sponsorship trends.
• Understanding of marketing rights, IP usage, and brand activation strategies.
• Knowledge of the local or regional business market relevant to the sports industry.

Skills

• Exceptional verbal and written communication, with the ability to draft professional proposals.
• Strong negotiation skills and the ability to handle objections effectively.
• High level of organization and the ability to manage multiple projects under tight deadlines.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (specifically Excel and PowerPoint).

Desirable

• Creative storytelling skills to build unique and compelling pitch decks.
• Proficiency in using digital collaboration tools.

Attitude

• A proactive approach to supporting the wider team.
• A people-first mentality with a genuine interest in building authentic relationships.
• A natural curiosity to stay ahead of industry trends and competitor activity.

Equality Statement

Cardiff City Football Club promotes equal opportunities in employment and positively welcomes applications from all candidates regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

Safer Recruitment

Cardiff City Football Club operates a ‘safer recruitment policy’ and is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All appropriate reference checks and Enhanced Level Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks form a significant part of this recruitment process.

How to apply?

• If you are interested in this position, please complete a club application form along with a CV and send via email to advert@myjobvacancies.co.uk stating “Partnerships Sales Manager” as the subject.
• The closing date for receipt of completed application forms is 5.30pm on 9th February 2026.
• As we are anticipating many applications for this role, please note only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.