Head of Client Partnerships | Peppermint

A part of Compass Group UK & Ireland, the company is an inclusive employer and a member of myGwork – the largest global platform for the LGBTQ+ business community. Peppermint is a multi-award-winning events business, founded in 2003 by Alex Brooke and Adam Hempenstall. Passionate about providing first‑class bars and drinks‑led solutions to the UK's greatest events & venues, Peppermint services over 50 events and venues each year and has developed long‑standing relationships with AEG, IMG and Live Nation. Events include BST Hyde Park, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, All Points East, Lytham and Rewind festivals. Peppermint has recently partnered with Levy UK and supports venues with premium F&B experiences, including The O2, Dreamland (Margate), The Piece Hall (Halifax) and the Johan Cruff Arena in Amsterdam. Peppermint's success is driven by its relentless passion for its people, innovation and sustainable practices – with 20 years of operational experience it is a powerful combination.

Overview Of Role

The Head of Client Relationships plays a pivotal role within Peppermint's commercial function, responsible for safeguarding, strengthening and expanding the company's incumbent business across its portfolio of existing events and venues. This position oversees the retention and account management function, ensuring Peppermint consistently maintains effective relationships with clients while proactively seeking opportunities to grow its presence at established events and venues. The role supports the Commercial Sales Director, founders and operations to maintain client relationships, drive retention and ensure Peppermint delivers excellent service across its portfolio.

Client Relationship Management

• Build strong relationships with Peppermint's clients across events, venues, and partners, focusing on long‑term retention.
• Act as the main commercial contact, ensuring honest communication and timely updates to meet client needs.
• Provide regular, transparent information throughout each event or partnership to reinforce trust.
• Manage ongoing work to align client relationships with business goals and foster loyalty through exceptional service.
• Work closely with Project Management and Operations to maintain positive interactions and high‑quality service during event delivery.
• Attend events to strengthen engagement, assess standards, and offer tailored care.
• Seek client feedback to identify improvements, aiming to retain clients and surpass their expectations for service and support.

Client Partnerships & Retention

• Lead Peppermint's client retention strategy across its portfolio of events and venues.
• Proactively manage contract renewal, ensuring Peppermint retains key partnerships year‑on‑year.
• Conduct regular client reviews, debriefs and follow‑up meetings to ensure clients receive meaningful insight and value from their partnership with Peppermint.
• Work closely with operational teams to ensure learnings from events are captured and communicated effectively to clients.
• Ensure Peppermint consistently demonstrates value to clients, strengthening long‑term relationships and reducing the risk of losing partnerships to competitors.
• Collaborate with the Levy Retention Team to gather valuable feedback and guidance as needed, identify risks and update the Compass or Levy CRM when required.

Commercial Support to Operations

• Coordinate with Operations and Project Management to manage client commercial needs.
• Assist with documentation, reporting and presentations as needed.
• Maintain clear communication to align client expectations with operations.
• Propose improvements to enhance Peppermint's F&B value for clients.
• Regularly review events to keep Peppermint's offerings competitive.

Account Management Leadership

• Guide the Account Management team to deliver reliable and excellent client service throughout the business.
• Assign accounts to Account Managers according to each event size and complexity, while also overseeing your own set of accounts.
• Offer direction and assistance to Account Managers to help build strong client relationships and manage contracts effectively.

Handover from Sales Team

• Coordinate with the Head of Sales to transfer new business to account management after contract signing.
• Assign account ownership and support based on successful pitches.

Pipeline & Reporting

• Keep Peppermint's retention pipeline visible across all platforms (internal Excel, Compass CRM & Monday.com).
• Track and manage retention and renewal timelines.
• Regularly update the Commercial Sales Director and Directors on retention, client relationships and upcoming tenders.

Commercial Performance & Insight

• Collaborate with Finance to assess event performance and pinpoint ways to improve financial results.
• Identify and recommend strategies to boost commercial success, revenue, guest satisfaction and efficiency for events and venues.

Success In This Role Will Be Measured Through

• Targeted % retention of existing events and clients.
• Strong client satisfaction and long‑term partnerships.
• High‑quality client communication and reporting.
• Effective leadership of the account management function.
• Strong collaboration between commercial and operational teams.

Contacts and Key Contacts

Internal

• Commercial Sales Director
• Founders
• Commercial Finance Analysis
• Operations / Project Director
• Project Managers
• Levy Retention Team
• Strategic Bid Director (Levy) & Bid Writing Team

External

• Event owners and promoters
• Festival Directors
• Venue operators and rights holders
• Commercial partners and stakeholders across the events and entertainment sectors

Knowledge / Experience / Skills Essential

• Demonstrated experience in leading, motivating and developing teams (3–5 years).
• Extensive background within the events, festivals, venues or hospitality sectors (minimum 3 years).
• Proficient in client relationship management and retention within commercial settings (3 years).
• Track record of effectively managing and sustaining client relationships in a business environment.
• Exceptional communication and negotiation skills.
• Skilled at balancing client expectations.
• Highly organised, with proven ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines.
• Strong commercial acumen and adept at problem‑solving.
• Collaborative approach to working across commercial, finance and operational teams.