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Introduction

IBM is putting technology innovation and consulting expertise to work in the world of sports and entertainment, transforming fan experiences. Across golf, tennis, motorsports, football, and music, our solutions allow our partners to deliver world-class digital experiences.

We partner with brands that represent the pinnacle of achievement, are culturally significant, and appeal to the passions of our buyers—while leveraging commercially available technology to showcase IBM’s capabilities in authentic, meaningful applications that clients and fans can experience first-hand.

Your role and responsibilities

We are seeking a dynamic and results-driven Partnerships Manager to join our team. This individual will be responsible for leading, developing, implementing, and executing activation strategies that drive brand awareness, engagement, and revenue opportunities for IBM. The ideal candidate will possess strong marketing and partnership management skills, as well as the ability to collaborate across teams within the marketing & communications ecosystem to bring innovative storytelling to life across all client touchpoints.

You will be a core team leader working across Wimbledon and Ferrari programs based in London.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage partnership activations across paid, owned, and earned channels, as well as B2B hospitality programs, to enhance IBM’s brand visibility and engagement aligned with IBM’s strategic priorities.
• Work closely with leaders across hospitality, marketing, communications, and technical partnerships to ensure consistent messaging and successful campaign execution.
• Collaborate with a robust set of internal and agency partners to deliver best-in-class marketing and event activation plans, including advertising, social media, case study videos, immersive experiences, and event collateral.
• Track, analyze, and report on the performance of activations, making data-driven recommendations to optimize future efforts.
• Support the management of large-scale sports & entertainment budgets, ensuring the optimal allocation of resources, alignment with internal tracking and reporting processes, and spending that is on or under target.
• Represent IBM within the sports & entertainment partnerships industry to deepen relationships, knowledge, and development to continue to be on the cutting edge of client experience.

Required education

Bachelor's Degree

Preferred education

Bachelor's Degree

Required technical and professional expertise

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Sports Management, or a related field (MBA or relevant certifications a plus).

• 10+ years of experience in partnerships, brand management, experiential marketing, or sports marketing, with a proven track record of successful campaigns.

Preferred technical and professional experience

• Experience working in a matrixed organization with large, global cross-functional teams.

• Strong communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.

• Excellent project management, with the ability to manage multiple initiatives and deadlines simultaneously.

• Data-driven mindset with the ability to analyze marketing metrics and adjust strategies accordingly.

• Experience with sports sponsorships, activations, marketing, and event planning.

• Creative thinking and an ability to develop innovative marketing solutions.