Senior Partnerships Manager

TEAM: Partnerships
CLIENT: Portfolio International
REPORTING TO: Director of Partnerships
ABOUT US
tms unites technology, marketing, and sourcing to drive transformational change for the world's leading brands. With 1,200+ employees across 26 countries, we offer an impressive range of solutions - from inspiration and innovation to category management and delivery.
Operating as a creative agency, a strategic consultancy, a sourcing business and a technology provider, we engage with over 110 million customers every single day for our clients, including McDonald's, T-Mobile, O2, Samsung, Starbucks and adidas.
Most importantly, we're a place where you can achieve great things, and be recognised as the best.
WHAT MATTERS THE MOST
Breakthrough, business-driving ideas come from extraordinary people with the freedom to be their most authentic selves at work. Authenticity and diversity are critical elements of our business. They can only be realised when we create access and equity for all. We foster a culture of inclusion and belonging and aspire to be ever evolving.
tms is a place where brilliant people are better together. If you want your ideas to be heard and to contribute to a culture of inclusion and authenticity, bring us your voice! Visit us at tmsw.com
WHY WE THINK YOU WILL LOVE THIS ROLE
As the Senior Partnerships Manager, you will work closely with the Director of Partnerships to support and strengthen our existing relationships across major global clients. You will represent tms with confidence, helping to build, manage and grow strong relationships with brand partners across relevant sectors, territories and markets.
Your role will be to manage and deliver both long-term commercial, and strategic partnerships, from early partner identification and outreach through to developing proposals, negotiation, activation, reporting and ongoing relationship management. You will need to be comfortable working with senior stakeholders, internal teams and external partners, while keeping a clear view on commercial value, delivery detail and client expectations.
In this senior role, you will help drive the success of the partnership strategy, leading high-profile partner conversations and managing complex discussions with sensible commercial judgement. Your approach will not be limited to one category or mechanic; it may include loyalty, sponsorship, member benefits, brand collaborations, experiential, retail, travel, technology, culture or other relevant partnership opportunities.
You will also support senior leadership, help guide junior team members as we grow, and bring structure to a fast-moving partnerships pipeline.
WHAT YOU WILL BRING TO THE ORGANISATION
Leadership in Partnership Management

• Strong experience in developing, nurturing and managing brand partnerships, with a clear commercial orientation and a track record of delivering partnerships that work for both clients and partners.
• A practical understanding of how to build a partner pipeline, qualify opportunities, shape a value proposition and move conversations forward in a credible way.
• Confidence in managing senior clients and partners, while knowing how to bring the right people into the conversation at the right time.
• A detail-oriented and analytical mindset, with the ability to navigate matrixed environments, multiple stakeholders, different workstreams, and deliver workflows under strict deadlines.
• Proven ability to lead commercial discussions, support contract negotiations, manage margins, and understand key terms, risks and dependencies.

Strategic Vision and Analytical Expertise

• A good understanding of partnership models and value exchange, including where loyalty, sponsorship, media, experiential, content, member benefits or brand collaboration mechanics may be relevant.
• The ability to translate a client brief into a sensible partnership approach, identifying which sectors and partners are most likely to deliver against the objective.
• A clear view on partnership performance, including how to monitor progress, spot issues early, report value and find ways to improve or extend the relationship.
• Ability to identify new business opportunities and bring useful market intelligence, industry examples, and partner insight back into the agency.

Team Management and Collaboration

• Experience managing or mentoring junior team members, helping them develop confidence, judgement, and good working habits.
• A collaborative approach, with the ability to work closely with Account, Strategy, Creative, Production, Legal, Procurement, Finance and senior leadership teams.
• A calm and professional manner in high-stakes client or partner interactions, with the confidence to lead conversations without overcomplicating them.
• Commitment to your own professional growth and to help create positive, useful and commercially sharp partnerships with team culture.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO HAVE

• Strong experience in partnership management, License/IP rights, sponsorship and loyalty programmes
• Previous experience working in an agency for global consumer brands
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to manage complex discussions, partner pipelines, proposals, trackers and negotiations without losing sight of the bigger picture.
• Strong communication, writing, and presentation skills, and researching market trends, building out presentation materials, data-analysis, with the ability to make a clear case internally and externally.
• Sound commercial judgement, including the ability to understand value, cost, margin, deliverables, timings and contractual considerations.
• Strong IT skills, particularly Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

And We'd Love You To Have...

• A strategic and analytical mindset, anticipating market trends and linking them back to client needs.
• A well-established network of industry contacts and the ability to identify new partnership opportunities quickly.
• Experience with CRM tracking, and data analysis
• Familiarity with emerging trends in the Partnerships and Loyalty industry, including value exchange, member benefits, data-led partnerships and brand-to-brand collaborations.
• Experience preparing senior-level proposals, pitch materials, partner credentials, commercial models or post-campaign reports.

Travel and Presence

• Willingness to spend 2x days week in the London office and attend client or partner meetings as needed, with some travel possible depending on the client assignment.
• Comfortable representing tms in person with clients, partners and internal stakeholders, including when conversations are senior, commercial or time sensitive.