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Job Title: Vice President, Corporate Partnerships

Department: Corporate Partnerships

Reports to: EVP, Revenue

# Direct Reports: 3

Perks and Benefits:

FREE: breakfast, lunch, parking, on-site gym and training classes, and gym membership at Chicago Athletic Clubs. Free Peloton membership, casual dress environment, access to United Center concert events, competitive total rewards package, full benefits (medical, dental, vision, 401k matching, paid life insurance), comprehensive PTO package, social events, volunteer opportunities, and focused learning and development.

What It's Like Working Here:

The Chicago Blackhawks experience isn't just on the ice. Our office, located in the United Center, promotes a fun, engaging, fast-paced and collaborative atmosphere where we can celebrate both hockey and each other. Our commitment to curating an environment where all individuals feel empowered to bring their best self to work each day can be seen throughout our organization. Whether you are a job seeker looking to join the organization, a current member of our amazing team, or someone looking to help support our mission, our goal is the same - to reimagine the potential of hockey, which we strive to achieve through memorable, inclusive experiences.

The Top Shelf:

The Vice President, Corporate Partnerships will be responsible for building and implementing end-to end sponsorship strategies that drive outsized results for partners and the Blackhawks, Fifth Third Arena and other Wirtz owned teams and the United Center. This role will lead the design, planning, budgeting, management, and optimization of a multi-million-dollar P&L while working cross-functionally to realize positive financial and brand outcomes across the enterprise. You will be responsible for materially growing annual revenue, managing a high-performing team, improving processes, documenting SOPs, and ensuring we are continuously pushing the industry forward

How You'll Contribute:

• Own Corporate Partnerships strategy: Build and execute strategic direction for a high-performing Corporate Partnerships team. Lead 5-year strategy, annual planning, budgeting, reporting, process optimization, SOPs, goal setting, performance management, and talent development. Evolve key functional drivers including research, systems, operations, prospecting, category analysis, market approach, rate cards, tiering, asset development, strategic bundling, deal structuring, sales, negotiation, relationship management, and retention.
• Drive results for global partners and the Blackhawks: Lead a process to thoroughly understand partner needs and objectives to create and deploy compelling partnerships, deal structures and outcomes that align with mutual goals. Act as a trusted advisor to partners, helping them leverage new opportunities to exceed targets and demonstrating the impact of their investment. Ensure we continuously deliver and communicate measurable results and outsized outcomes to compel partners to renew and upgrade.
• Lead and manage high-performing team: Lead and inspire a high-performing team within Corporate Partnership Sales, Service, and Strategy to ensure continuous alignment, engagement, and performance. Set clear expectations, provide ongoing feedback, and foster development. Clarify how individual goals ladder up to departmental and organizational objectives. Encourage collaboration, innovation, and accountability within the team to achieve peak results and maintain a positive work environment.
• Optimize internal processes: Ensure Corporate Partnerships is equipped with systems and processes that optimize revenue and drive maximum impact. Own CRM (Salesforce) and reporting (Kore, Tableau). Define SOPs around critical tasks to elevate consistency, efficiency, and high quality outcomes. Proactively enhance organizational collaboration to improve effectiveness across Marketing, Sales, BSA, and other functions. Serve as a cross-functional integrator, driving engagement between internal teams.
• Own special initiatives and new revenue opportunities: Lead high-priority projects impacting Corporate Partnerships such as optimizing sponsorship revenue during the Blackhawks Centennial season or new opportunities at our expanded practice facility. Identify ways to extend the Blackhawks brand beyond the current business, expanding revenue and profitability through new partnerships, enhancements to current offerings, or entirely new revenue opportunities.
• Innovate strategic partnerships and communication: Use research, data, analysis, and insights to deliver results by maximizing return on investment via technology, media, or other channels. Drive partners and the Blackhawks towards more innovative approaches, learning from experiences of leading sales and marketing brands. Continuously strive to enhance areas such as brand moments, game-day experiences, or content.

Player Stats and Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Sport Management, or related field required
• 10+ years professional sports and entertainment experience, including demonstrated success in a leadership role
• Minimum 5+ years leading and evolving a large team
• Demonstrated success and leadership in developing annual budgets and forecasting, customer loyalty and membership programs, driving business improvement and profitability
• A willingness to embrace adversity during an organizational transformation period and work in a fast-paced business environment
• Ability to work independently while balancing the responsibility of leading and developing cross-functional departments and teams
• Possesses solid business acumen and effective leadership skills to deliver exceptional results
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to collaborate across multiple internal CBH stakeholders to develop programs and experiences that attract new audiences and drive incremental revenue
• Highly organized, process and detail oriented; strong project management skills with focus on
• analytics/reporting
• Embodies the company values and fosters strong relationships across all levels of the organization and external contacts
• Strong relationships within the professional sports and entertainment industry

Required Skills & Abilities:

• Strategic revenue leader with experience owning multi-million-dollar budgets and P&Ls
• Experience building and executing long-term strategies, annual plans, budgets, and financial projections
• Demonstrated ability to drive outsized financial and brand results for global partners
• Track record of evolving processes to drive exponential sales growth
• Experience leading and developing high-performing sales teams
• Experience selling or servicing multi-million-dollar deals
• Ability to handle multiple projects on competing, tight deadlines
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral
• Passion for the sports and entertainment business, sales, and service
• Confidence in making sound business decisions and driving incremental revenue
• Creative cross functional problem solver and collaborator
• Team-oriented with a positive attitude
• Confidence in presenting plans and projections to Leadership
• Ability to build strong relationships with Corporate Partners and possess strong negotiating skills
• Demonstrated sound organizational and coordination skills for delegating tasks
• Proven job reliability, diligence, dedication, and attention to detail
• Must be flexible with working nights, weekends, games, and holidays

The Team:

The Chicago Blackhawks started their journey as one of the NHL's "Original Six" professional ice hockey teams in 1926. Members of the Central Division in the NHL's Western Conference and six-time Stanley Cup Champions (1934, 1938, 1961, 2010, 2013, 2015), the team calls the United Center home.

Each day the Team works to uphold our mission to reimagine the potential of hockey. At its core, the team and greater organization uphold its mission through its core values centered around integrity, curiosity, empathy, collaboration, and originality. They are fiercely dedicated to evolving and delivering new and legendary fan experiences and captivating new and diverse audiences, both on and off the ice. As part of their unwavering commitment to drive impact and purpose in the Chicago community, the organization opened the Fifth Third Arena (the team's official practice facility and community space for youth hockey development), continues to make expansions to the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation, and acquired the AHL team the Rockford IceHogs.

The Chicago Blackhawks continue to grow in its commitments to honor and celebrate Black Hawk's legacy by offering our platforms, making meaningful contributions, collaborating with Native American people, and reimagining ways to support the many Native American people and communities they live amongst and alongside. They engage in this work through their formal partnership with Black Hawk's ancestral tribe, the Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma, which the tribe established with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2021.

The Chicago Blackhawks is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity at all levels. All individuals, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply. All qualified applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender, race, religion or religious creed, color, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, registered domestic partner status, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state, local law, ordinance, or regulation and will not be discriminated against on these bases.

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