Manager, Partnerships

Arrow McLaren is the McLaren Racing IndyCar team located on the West side of Indianapolis. By joining our team, you’ll be part of an exhilarating racing program that aims to set the standard for high performance in sport. Our values define what matters most to us:

                                                          Innovative – Respectful – Inclusive – Energetic – Brave

Every day, we want members of this team to come to work with a simple goal in mind: Build better race cars and develop better ways to go racing.

Focus on the process, enjoy the process of continual improvement and the results will take care of themselves.

Purpose of the Role:

The Manager, Partnerships role is a functional leader reporting to Head of Partnerships at our Indianapolis location. The qualified candidate will be responsible for the management of multiple partner relationships in the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team portfolio.

The Manager, Partnerships is responsible for the onboarding, activation, business planning, growth opportunities and overall relationship with assigned Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team partners. This includes conceptualization, brand strategy and application and project execution. This role will understand the team’s partners’ objectives to build meaningful engagements, activations and general deliverables at track and away from track. This position will manage stakeholder expectations, mitigate risks to partner relationships and project outcomes, and continuously look for ways to distinguish the Arrow McLaren team in partner relationships. Leveraging and optimizing technology in how we manage our partner relationships and deliverables is key to success and development in this position. Extensive travel to races/tests, requiring the ability to make decisions quickly and accurately in a high-pressure environment.

Principal Accountabilities:

• Develop a deep understanding of partners’ business strategies, objectives, target markets/consumers, competitors and key performance indicators (KPI)
• Support the team in developing and fulfilling partner activation and annual Strategy Road Map (SRM) plans to ensure the partner has a clear framework for success
• Trackside experience host, CRM & B2B introductions
• Track all revenue across the portfolio of assigned partners and strategize financial growth opportunities to ensure commercial goals are met or exceeded as part of master business plan
• Identify and support activities and stewardship opportunities that will strengthen the value of the partnerships
• Adopt a commercial business mindset to create and convert partner opportunities for continued growth
• Support in the delivery of best practices for project management, project delivery, budgeting/reconciliation, and client reporting
• Partner Case Study ownership and mid-year and quarterly business planning
• Develop and maintain healthy relationships with partner and industry contacts
• Identify and execute meaningful partner integrations across Arrow McLaren functions and infrastructure
• Identify ways to incorporate technology and strengthen processes to lead to greater organization and efficiencies for how we work with and deliver to our partners
• Leverage Arrow McLaren Race Team to optimize trackside partner experiences
• Display proficiency in cross departmental collaboration, working alongside Communications, Marketing Operations, Hospitality, Licensing & Merchandise, and Social & Digital
• Assist colleagues within the Commercial team with collective tasks or other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• 3-5 years’ experience working in a marketing or partner management role
• Ability to prioritize workload and respond to partner briefs on time and within budget
• Experience delivering corporate hospitality experiences
• Demonstrates a broad knowledge of core marketing and sponsorship principles
• Demonstrates an ability to understand our partners’ business
• Excellent communication skills – verbal and written – and attention to detail
• Knowledge of, and passion for, marketing of sport and entertainment
• Core competencies required: Collaborative; Creative; Focused; Organized; Flexible
• Background in executive planning, content capture, and event briefings ideal
• Previous experience of campaign management, sponsorship, brand marketing, sales or product marketing experience would be beneficial
• Proficient in using MS Office suite and CRM systems
• Previous experience in working with and managing agencies and suppliers

Total Rewards:

• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, & Vision benefits
• 401(k) Retirement match
• Voluntary life, short-term and long-term disability benefits
• Annual bonus plan
• Competitive time off plan
• Company discounts, including kit apparel

Arrow McLaren is committed to equal employment opportunity. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, disability, ethnicity, gender (including gender identity and gender expression), marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other status or condition protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws