Head of Partnerships & Growth

Overview

talkSPORT is the world’s biggest sports radio station. From World Cups and European Championships to the Premier League and the Champions League, through to Test cricket and world class boxing, the talkSPORT network is at the heart of the world’s major sporting events.

Your Role:

talkSPORT is currently seeking a Head of Strategic Partnerships & Growth, an external-facing leadership role responsible for securing the content foundations and steering the future direction of talkSPORT. This role is primarily focused on strategic partnerships, rights acquisition, and station strategy, ensuring the brand maintains a premium sports offering while championing diversity in its content portfolio. The Head of Strategic Partnerships & Growth will manage key relationships with sporting bodies, leagues, and external partners to cement talkSPORT's position in the media landscape.

Responsibilities

• Shape and drive talkSPORT's long-term strategic vision across all platforms (radio, digital, video, social).
• Continuously analyse the sports and media landscape, market trends and competitor activity to identify and exploit new commercial and content opportunities.
• Lead and manage all aspects of sports rights and license acquisition and renewal (e.g., Premier League, FA Cup, International Cricket).
• Spearhead the negotiation of complex rights deals with major sporting organisations, ensuring maximum value and return on investment.
• Maintain and strengthen senior-level relationships with key rights holders, sporting bodies, and regulatory groups globally.
• Build and nurture strategic industry partnerships with organisations that enhance talkSPORT's programming and brand reach.
• Actively focus on securing diversity partnerships and content deals (e.g., women’s sports, disability sports, minority interest leagues) to broaden the station's content offering and audience base.
• Work cross-functionally with the Managing Editor and editorial teams to ensure new rights and partnerships are successfully integrated into broadcast and digital content plans.
• Act as a senior external-facing ambassador for talkSPORT at industry events, rights holder meetings, and major sporting occasions.
• Manage commercial relationships and collaboration with sister brands and other media entities within the wider group.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of successfully negotiating and closing multi-million-pound media rights, licensing, and broadcast deals within the sports or entertainment industry.
• Strategic leader with experience operating at an executive level, contributing to the corporate strategy and direction of a major media brand.
• Strong stakeholder management, with the ability to cultivate and manage complex, long-term relationships with senior rights holders, club executives, and external partners.
• Demonstrable commitment to and experience in developing content strategies that promote diversity of sports, voices, and audience engagement.
• Deep, authoritative knowledge of the global sports broadcasting landscape, its commercial models, and evolving digital consumption trends.
• Robust financial acumen, including strong understanding of deal valuation, financial modelling, and budget forecasting related to rights acquisition.
• Visionary and forward-thinking approach, anticipating industry trends and proactively securing talkSPORT’s growth for the future.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, necessary for navigating sensitive negotiations and managing high-profile relationships.
• Commercially driven, tenacious, and focused on closing complex rights and partnership negotiations to a successful conclusion.
• Innovative and passionate about new content opportunities, particularly those that drive content diversification and audience expansion into new demographics.

Benefits

News UK is one of the leading media businesses in the UK and Ireland. Our newsbrands include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Sun on Sunday and The TLS. Our national broadcast brands include talkSPORT, Times Radio and Virgin Radio UK, and we have market-leading local stations across Ireland. Our world-famous brands provide news, analysis, opinion and entertainment to almost 40 million people each month. Spanning print and pixel, audio and video, events and experiences, our multi-format brands are home to a plurality of opinion, representing the diverse communities we serve. Driven by passion, guided by principles and acting with purpose, we exist to promote a fair society, freedom of speech and a little bit of fun.

At News UK, we embrace a hybrid work model, currently requiring a minimum of three days per week in the office. This approach fosters collaboration, innovation, and team spirit within our workspace. Certain roles may necessitate additional in-office days; please discuss this with your recruiter for specific requirements.

Life at News

Driven by passion, guided by principles and acting with purpose. We represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter. We inform our audiences so that they can make decisions based on trusted information. We represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter most. To ensure these stories resonate with as broad an audience as possible, it is essential that our organisation reflects the diversity of the people we reach. Whether through age, gender, ethnicity, disability, social class or sexuality, we are committed to representing the rich variety of voices that make up our society. And we champion a culture where everyone has the opportunity to contribute and thrive as we continue to innovate and drive long term sustainable growth. This is done through our Diversity Strategy.

At News UK, we take pride in our exceptional employee-led networks that bring together individuals with shared interests and create a vibrant sense of community. We believe our networks play a vital role in fostering a collaborative and supportive work culture at News UK. Groups that we support include the African & Caribbean Network, Parents and Carers, and LGBTQ+ group News Is Out, and Next Gen.

Some of our benefits include:

• Private medical insurance including coverage for pre-existing conditions
• Discounted gym memberships, free ClassPass at Home, weekly in person/ virtual exercise classes
• ‘Bikes for Work’ and ‘Electric Car’ scheme
• Up to 60% discount on Harper Collins books
• Maternity leave up to 18 weeks full basic salary & paternity leave up to 2 weeks
• Access to exclusive events and competitions with exciting brands such as talkSPORT, Virgin Radio UK & The Times. Weekly virtual panel chats with top journalists and celebrities
• Access to wellbeing benefits such as EAP, physio/massage and counselling
• A generous pension scheme with employer contributions of up to 5%
• Wide range of training available, plus full LinkedIn Learning access
• 25 days holiday, plus bank holidays and up to 4 volunteering days per year

We want to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to perform to their best when applying for a role. If you would like to receive any information in a different way or for us to do anything differently to support you to apply for any of our roles please contact us on careers@news.co.uk.