Commercial Director at Saracens Rugby

You likely know us for our teams. The Men have won 6 Gallagher Premiership's since 2011 and 3 European Champions Cups. Our Women's team are the most successful in the sport. You might not be aware of the rest. We were the first sports team in the world to open a high school. Our Foundation works to enhance our broader community. StoneX Stadium serves both as a great matchday experience but as a multi-purpose community hub.

The Commercial Director is responsible for driving revenue growth across all commercial streams, including partnerships, ticketing, hospitality, merchandise, and special events. Reporting to the Chief Growth Officer, this role plays a pivotal part in executing the club's commercial strategy, maximizing revenue opportunities, and ensuring sustainable financial growth. A key focus is expanding partnerships revenue by identifying, securing, and growing sponsorships across multiple categories.

The Commercial Director will lead and manage a team across each revenue vertical, ensuring high performance, innovation, and alignment with the club's strategic objectives. Saracens is an inclusive, people first organisation. A core part of achieving our mission is that our workforce is diverse and reflective of the community that we serve. There will be no discrimination in our recruitment and selection processes, nor when considering pay and benefits. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply for the position and join us on our mission to enrich lives through sport and entertainment.

WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING

• Develop and implement a strategic plan to drive revenue growth across all commercial streams.
• Work closely with the CGO and COO to align commercial objectives with the club's long-term vision.
• Oversee the commercial performance of partnerships, ticketing, hospitality, merchandise, and special events.
• Set and achieve revenue targets, ensuring sustainable commercial success.

Partnerships & Sponsorships

• Lead the growth of partnerships revenue by securing new sponsorship deals across key categories.
• Identify, negotiate, and close high-value sponsorship agreements with corporate partners.
• Develop strong relationships with existing sponsors, ensuring exceptional activation and ROI.
• Work closely with the marketing and content teams to create compelling sponsorship assets and activations.
• Monitor industry trends to identify new revenue opportunities and partnership categories.

Ticketing & Hospitality

• Oversee the club's ticketing strategy, ensuring pricing, sales, and promotions maximize revenue and fan attendance.
• Work with the ticketing team to optimize season memberships, group sales, and corporate hospitality offerings.
• Develop premium hospitality experiences to attract high-value clients and enhance matchday revenue.
• Oversee the club's retail and merchandise operations, including online and physical stores.
• Work with apparel partners to optimize kit sales and branded merchandise opportunities.
• Ensure the product range aligns with fan demand and brand positioning.

Special Events & Non-Matchday Revenue

• Drive revenue growth through special events, including concerts, conferences, and community activations.
• Identify new commercial opportunities outside of matchdays to maximize stadium and facility usage.

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead and mentor the commercial team, ensuring alignment with revenue targets and strategic goals.
• Foster a high-performance sales culture across all commercial verticals.
• Establish clear KPIs and reporting structures to track commercial performance.
• Collaborate with internal departments (marketing, finance, operations) to optimize commercial outcomes.

Key Skills & Experience

• Proven track record in commercial leadership within sports, entertainment, or related industries.
• Extensive experience in sponsorship acquisition and corporate partnerships.
• Strong commercial acumen with a track record of exceeding revenue targets.
• Expertise in ticketing, hospitality, and retail operations.
• Strong negotiation skills and ability to secure high-value commercial deals.
• Leadership experience managing multi-functional teams across revenue verticals.
• Excellent stakeholder management and relationship-building skills.
• Experience working within rugby or other professional sports environments.
• Knowledge of CRM, digital ticketing, and data-driven commercial strategies.
• Familiarity with emerging revenue trends, including digital sponsorships and fan engagement platforms.

Performance Measures & Success Metrics

• Achievement of annual revenue targets across all commercial streams.
• Growth in partnership revenue through new and expanded sponsorship deals.
• Increased matchday and non-matchday revenue through ticketing and hospitality.
• Expansion of merchandise and apparel sales.
• Successful execution of special events generating additional club income.
• High-performing commercial team with clear progression and development.

Personal Characteristics

• You have a relentless focus and are a great team player.
• You thrive in and promote a culture of hard work, discipline, honesty, and humility to deliver results.
• You manage projects, activities, and resources effectively, assuming personal ownership and accountability for results.
• Proven ability to challenge and influence others.
• Ability to quickly build professional, deep, long term relationships with stakeholders.
• Inspiring trust, confidence and commitment to Saracens.
• Assertive, yet calm and works well under pressure.
• Perception and awareness of when things may work.
• You encourage open discussion of different ideas and views; welcome and solicit feedback.
• You instil a continuous improvement mind-set and champion best practice.

BENEFITS

• Compensation: Your manager reviews your salary annually. However, proactive pay increases will be implemented to reflect growing responsibilities.
• Holiday: Up to 25 days' holiday a year, plus bank holidays.
• Paid sick leave for both physical & mental health.
• Sports & Entertainment: Ballot tickets for International Rugby Games. Opportunities for discounted tickets to Saracens games and events for you and your family.
• Family: Enhanced paid maternity, paternity, adoption or shared parental leave, if you've accrued two years continuous service.
• Life Assurance with Zurich.
• Company pension scheme.
• Commuting: We're a member of the cycle-to-work scheme.

HOW TO APPLY: Please apply with your CV and a covering letter explaining your interest and suitability for the role. Applications should be sent to Sangita Asani, People Business Partner. Closing Date: Friday 4th April 2025 at 5pm.