Associate Director of Commercial Partnerships in Manchester

Associate Director of Commercial Partnerships

Location: The postholder can be based at any of the seven UK campuses (Brighton, London, Essex, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester or Leeds)

Salary: £62,400 – £88,400 per annum

Our client is more than just an educational institution; they are a vibrant community dedicated to nurturing creativity and empowering students to reach their full potential. With campuses across the UK, Ireland, and Germany, they offer a diverse range of courses in modern music, performing arts, filmmaking and creative technology. Their commitment to excellence in creative arts education sets them apart, providing students with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities they need to succeed in their chosen fields.

About the Role

As Associate Director of Commercial Partnerships, you will lead the development of our client’s commercial partnership activity, creating new opportunities that support growth, diversification and long-term value.

Working with organisations across the creative industries and wider commercial sectors, you will develop partnerships, sponsorships and other income-generating initiatives. You will play a central role in shaping their approach to commercial growth, bringing strategic oversight and commercial rigour to partnership decisions.

You will also identify opportunities to maximise the value of their facilities and assets, helping to strengthen industry engagement and support new revenue streams.

What You'll Do:

• Shape and deliver our client’s commercial partnership strategy in support of growth and diversification objectives.
• Secure new partnership, sponsorship and business development opportunities that generate sustainable revenue and long-term value.
• Build relationships with employers, brands, technology providers, industry bodies and other external stakeholders.
• Expand engagement across the creative industries while exploring opportunities in adjacent and emerging sectors.
• Originate opportunities for executive education, professional training and other commercial initiatives, working with relevant teams to support delivery.
• Create sponsorship frameworks, strategic alliances and partnership models that deliver mutual benefit.
• Maximise the commercial potential of facilities, studios, specialist spaces and other organisational assets.
• Produce robust business cases and guide opportunities through governance and approval processes.
• Oversee the commercial partnerships pipeline, monitoring performance, forecasting activity and reporting on progress.
• Use market intelligence and industry insight to identify trends, unmet needs and areas for growth.
• Establish effective partnership governance, performance measures and reporting frameworks.
• Collaborate with academic and professional services colleagues to support the successful implementation of partnership activity.

What You'll Bring:

• A degree-level qualification or equivalent professional training or experience.
• A demonstrable track record of originating, developing and securing high-value commercial (B2B) partnerships where income had to be created, not simply managed.
• Well-developed commercial acumen, including experience developing business cases, applying pricing and P&L thinking, assessing return and converting opportunities into signed, revenue-generating agreements.
• An established network across the creative industries, employer / B2B or wider commercial markets, together with the credibility and relationship-building skills to develop strategic opportunities.
• Strategic thinking and an entrepreneurial mindset, with the ability to translate growth ambitions and market insight into a defined and actionable commercial pipeline.
• Excellent negotiation, influencing and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build support and alignment across a range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to develop compelling proposals, business cases and approval papers for executive and Board audiences.
• Experience developing partnership frameworks, governance arrangements, reporting and performance measures.
• Experience working collaboratively across complex organisations, building strong internal partnerships and securing stakeholder commitment to deliver shared outcomes.
• A commercially disciplined, entrepreneurial and delivery-focused approach, with the confidence to own targets, make decisions and be measured on results.

Why Our Client?

They are a values-led organisation, meaning their core values underpin all that they do:

Believe in Everyone, Challenge the Norm, Grow Together, Do The Right Thing, Own It.

In addition to joining a committed and dedicated team, you will have access to:

• 25 days holiday per year (FTE)
• SMART pension
• A comprehensive benefits package

They continually strive to create a culture of inclusivity so that they truly represent their diverse communities. They particularly welcome applications from people of colour who are underrepresented in their organisation.

They are committed to promoting the safety and welfare of their students therefore, all successful applicants are required to complete a basic DBS disclosure. Depending on the role, you may be required to complete an enhanced check / enhanced check with barred list if required by statute and internal policy.