Strategic Partnerships Manager

Bastion is an independent agency that exists to put brands, organisations and people in a position of strength. Our integrated model sees brand, digital, social, influencer, experiential and research experts sitting side by side, working together on major brands to solve their marketing challenges.

Our Experiential team, Bastion Experience is the leading partnership and experiential agency across Sports & Entertainment in ANZ. We deliver leading strategy, insights and analysis to help our clients solve their complex marketing, partnership and business problems. Working with leading brands (such as Suntory, L’Oreal, KIA, Pepperstone, SIXT) and the biggest rights holders in sports and entertainment, a role at Bastion Experience is unlike any other.

We are looking for an ambitious Strategic Partnerships Manager who thrives on helping brands solve challenges others can’t and discovering and developing innovative partnerships that land impactful results.

We want someone:

• Who has cultivated a robust network of industry and brand connections and is driven by a passion for strengthening and expanding these relationships.
• Who excels at creating and presenting compelling, tailored partnership presentations
• Who understands the world of partnership rights and benefits and how to structure them into effective commercial agreements.
• Who can challenge themselves, is results-focused, and possesses a strong motivation for action.

The major responsibilities of the role include:

Business Development

• Support the Partnerships Marketing Director to identify, evaluate, and secure new partnership opportunities for clients
• Build a deep understanding of potential clients and a grasp on their business and marketing challenges, working in collaboration with the Partnerships Marketing Director to present solutions tailored to client goals
• Consistently meet and exceed quantitative and qualitative partnership targets, while delivering a best-in-class experience to clients
• Prepare and present partnership proposals leveraging your understanding of how to build compelling, factual, tailored documents and multimedia presentations
• Build and manage a pipeline of opportunities to grow the existing and new partnerships client base, including maintaining a CRM database
• Build a knowledge base on available assets, properties, competitive environment and cultural insights within the partnership landscape to identify new partnership opportunities
• Support the Head of Strategic Partnerships and Partnerships Marketing Director in retaining and developing existing clients and share regular partnerships updates with executive stakeholders within the agency

Partnership Strategy

• Support the Partnerships Marketing Director team to deliver world-class Rights Holder, Brand and Partnership Leverage Strategy presentations and solutions
• Work with the Partnerships Team to incorporate research, data and recommendations that deliver against client brand and business objectives in every instance

Relationship Management

• Cultivate and nurture relationships in the partnerships landscape with key personnel across Rights Holders, Media and Brands that influence partnership and marketing spend
• Become an advocate for the Partnerships business across the agency teams to aid in maximising new opportunities from within the existing client base

The ideal experience we are looking for:

• Bachelor’s degree with minimum 3 years of relevant work experience in partnerships and sales/business development
• Experience in an agency is preferred (but not required)
• Strong understanding of the partnership landscape across sports, arts, music or community, with experience in negotiating and managing commercial agreements
• Experience with prospecting of new clients and utilising sales pipeline tools
• Results-oriented with a strong drive for achieving goals, you are highly motivated and comfortable in fast-paced work environments that are outcome-oriented
• Ability to connect with both internal and external stakeholders and a strong network of existing brand relationships
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills, proficiency with Google Suite and Microsoft Powerpoint
• Ability to engage effectively with all levels of management
• Highly organised with an eye for detail
• Strong commercial insight with the ability to evaluate strategic, financial, marketing, and business issues
• Comfortable operating at both a hands-on and strategic level

And what else do we offer?

• Monthly Happy Day and Birthday Leave - a day off to concentrate on you!
• A flexible work environment where people can enjoy a mix of WFH and in-office collaboration.
• A supportive environment focused on nurturing culture and personal growth.
• A strong Growth and Development program including internal and external professional training programs throughout the year.