BACKGROUND

RISE Sports Culture Entertainment (SCE) is the GCC’s leading sponsorship consultancy, providing data-driven, sustainable sponsorship services to some of the region’s leading brand and rights holder clients.

RISE SCE is contracted to a major government entity in Saudi Arabia (KSA) to deliver a long-term commercial program, driven by sponsorship, within a groundbreaking public art and cultural events program. The intention of the Program is to develop a stand-out world-class public art initiative.

The initiative is a key pillar of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan to create strong, meaningful connections between the citizens of KSA, their communities and civic life, whilst also being a fundamental driver of KSA’s Tourism strategy.
RISE seeks an experienced Commercial Project Director to lead the project, develop and implement the sponsorship sales and management strategy and oversee a team that will deliver a commercial success story for the Kingdom.


ROLE DESCRIPTION

Based in the client’s offices in Riyadh, working closely with the PMO and Sponsorship and Communications teams, as well as the client’s c-suite, to establish, create, manage and implement the commercial program
The Commercial Project Director will be responsible for the management and performance of RISE’s project team and the coordination of support from the broader SCE team. This five-person team will be focussed solely on the project to deliver a world-class commercial program for the client and RISE.

The Commercial Project Director is responsible for the development and implementation of the project’s strategy and accountable for the project’s revenue and performance objectives, including the project deliverables, client satisfaction and delivery. They will possess significant subject matter expertise in commercial arts programming, highly developed analytical skills, strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, sponsorship asset development and executive relationship management, the outcome of which will result in the onboarding of best-in-class sponsors to realise the vision of the public art program.

Main Objective: To develop and implement a commercial strategy, and lead the Sponsorship Sales & Partnership team, with the overall objective of raising sponsorship value for the client.

Working closely with the client PMO team and reporting into RISE Partners, the position requires someone who is passionate about the Arts and Culture industry and has experience in project management across the GCC region. The role will best suit someone who can lead a team, build long-term relationships with brand partners and deliver long-term commercial success in a competitive marketplace.

Internal Stakeholders: RISE Partners; Head of Consulting; Commercial Director

External Stakeholders: Mayor of Riyadh; Senior client Executives; client PMO Team; client Communications Team; Private Sector/Brand C-suites, Event Consultants, Contractors

Three main areas of focus:

PEOPLE: Build partnerships and foster collaborative relationships amongst key stakeholders, the PMO team, the RISE team and Brand Sponsors.

PARTNERS/SPONSORS: Facilitate strong business relationships with new and existing partners/sponsors, whilst striving to meet the operational and financial objectives of the commercial program

BUSINESS ACUMEN: Enabled as a business leader, the Commercial Project Director is responsible for managing diverse teams while operating in a multifaceted organisation effectively

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES

Responsibilities included but not limited to the following:

PEOPLE

• Report to client PMO team and RISE Partners to implement the commercial program
• Key day-to-day decision maker for project commercial program
• Leadership and responsibility for all RISE project team staff (team of five). As a strong people leader, you will lead our KSA-based team to do epic things, drive impact and generally bring joy to the work environment.
• Champion the professional development of team members & drive employee productivity
• Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, including but not limited to client, RISE Partners, and Brand decision-makers.
• Share knowledge in areas of expertise across the business
• Identifies gaps in team skill-set and works to produce and implement solutions

PARTNERS/SPONSORS

• Manage Senior level relationships with commercial partners, working closely with direct reports
• Oversee preparation of new sponsorship pitches and briefs
• Strong presenter: with exceptional communication skills able to convey and showcase the power of public arts and culture
• Accountable for each sponsor’s contract and deliverables from both internal and external stakeholders
• Facilitate the definition of partner rights and benefits, partnership scope, and client and other stakeholder deliverables
• Manage engagement timelines, prioritisation, and task management amongst RISE team to ensure partners are pitched, onboarded, and contracted satisfactorily
• Identify and react quickly when a partnership at risk and responds appropriately
• Engage partners in dialogue and independently manages communication flow
• Ensure partners receive reports on sponsorship return and proactively works with them to understand areas for future growth and improvement
• Has the maturity to lead independent partner contact and proactively engage partners in dialogue about the initiative

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

• Responsibility to drive the project forward with sustainable, scalable growth of the sponsorship program, in conjunction with the RISE management team as appropriate
• Set and report to client management on a weekly, monthly and annual basis on the project performance
• Refresh sponsorship revenue targets regularly
• Work closely with the RISE commercial team to share knowledge, contacts and opportunities across brand and sponsor engagements
• Report to the RISE board on quarterly performance updates
• Advise RISE on strategic direction, negotiation and execution of current and future partnerships culture throughout Saudi Arabia
• Spearhead thought leadership development in Arts and Culture for RISE business

ADDITIONAL SKILLS

• Experience with new media technology, digital content and other commercial rights management
• Experience in commercial-oriented project management
• Experience with programme management and workforce planning tools
• Innovative problem-solver.
• Strong teamwork and interpersonal skills
• Strong organisational skills, required to handle multiple projects and priorities simultaneously
• Focused listening skills and the ability to drill down to gain greater understanding
• Strong attention to detail, inquisitive personality and passion for knowledge & experience
• Strong analytical skills, work ethic, independence, problem solving ability and overall positive attitude
• Strong computer-literate with extensive software proficiency covering a wide variety of applications.
• Ability to multi-task while under pressure
• Ability to learn and apply knowledge quickly
• Ability to keep sensitive information confidential
• Cultural awareness of the Middle East and specifically Saudi Arabia
• Good business sense and ability to work within budget constraints.

ROLE OUTCOMES
To build-up, establish and lead the sponsorship sales and management of the Kingdom’s flagship public art program, ensuring that the sales target is secured in contracted sponsorship revenue.
The successful candidate will take on the responsibility of leading a successful team of individuals who will all pull together to achieve long-term commercial success for the client and have engaged, fee paying sponsors on board that activate and promote their involvement in the program.

CRITERIA
The successful candidate will ideally have a background in rights holder asset development, commercial valuation, project management and sponsorship strategy, aligned with excellent stakeholder management skills and a good working knowledge of the Middle East.

• 10+ years’ experience in cultural and/or Arts sponsorship
• Experience managing executive level client/account relationships and projects
• A strong interest in culture and entertainment – both an existing personal knowledge and a willingness to learn more in line with our existing clients
• Strong core commercial skill set of building sponsor rights packages (in Microsoft Power Point and Excel)
• Exceptional analytical and quantitative project management
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Track record of leadership skills and ability to work collaboratively in a team environment
• Entrepreneurial mindset to help shape and drive the business
• Specialist Skills: Leadership, Project management; Strategic planning, Marketing & Brand strategy, Business growth, Commercial partnerships, Revenue generation, Arts sponsorship strategy and activation, Pitching, Sales & Business Development, Talent Management, Negotiation, Brand building.