Head of Partnerships @ Victoria Racing Club
Peeps Consulting have been engaged to recruit a Head of Partnerships for Victoria Racing Club. Please see the Job Description below and follow the prompts to apply.
Reporting to: Chief Commercial Officer – Commercial & Events
Location: Melbourne (Flemington)
Employment Type: Permanent Full-time (Hybrid WFH 2 Days Per Week)
Purpose
The Head of Commercial Partnerships is responsible for defining and leading the partnership strategy for both the retention, management and growth of the current partner portfolio as well as the acquisition of new partners. This role drives revenue growth through sponsorships, brand collaborations, licencing, and brand integration strategies. The Head of Partnerships will develop compelling partnership propositions, nurture high-value relationships, and ensure all partnerships deliver measurable value for both the organisation and its partners.
Stakeholders
Internal External Associations.
| C-Suite, Executive General Managers, Department Heads & Managers, the wider VRC team.
| VRC Official Partners, Key Partners & Corporate Clients, Suppliers & Vendors, and Industry Networks &
Key Responsibilities
Partnership Retention and Growth
• Develop and execute a strong commercial partnership strategy aligned with organisational goals and targets
• Identify new revenue opportunities through aligned and emerging categories across race day brand sponsorship, onsite assets, digital content and media, licensing, activations and events.
• Lead renewal negotiations for high-value partnerships, ensuring optimal commercial terms that support revenue growth and profitability
• Analyse market trends and understand the competitive landscape to create a sound strategy and maintain competitive positioning.
• Build a robust pipeline of prospective partners across key sectors taking a long-term of view building a diverse and comprehensive portfolio.
• Create tailored proposals and partnership packages that demonstrate clear ROI and brand alignment.
• Represent the organisation at industry events, conferences, and networking opportunities to drive new business.
• Ensure best-in-class service that supports partner retention and renewal.
Commercial and Performance Management
• Increase acquisition of new partners each year
• Diversify our partnership portfolio, attracting new and well aligned brands to Flemington
• Retain current portfolio of partners with key revenue uplift each contract term
• Oversee delivery of all commercial partnership entitlements to ensure commitments are met and exceeded.
• Deliver on all performance metrics, provide detailed reporting and communicate partner results to ley stakeholders
• Increase upsells within existing portfolio of partners, uncovering new entry points to meet partner objectives or deliver on new innovative concepts and activations.
• Maximise the yield and profitability of each partnership investment with growth across each year of term
• Support the opportunity to cross sell incremental products and services within the commercial product suite at the VRC (corporate product, membership sales or providing benefits to our members and customers)
Cross-Functional Leadership
• Collaborate with key internal departments (Product, Corporate sales, Membership and Community) to maximise the partnership opportunity to drive shared value
• Align with Event team, Marketing, Racing and Operations teams to ensure delivery feasibility and quality, operational readiness, and risk mitigation in the delivery of all partnership entitlements
• Provide clear direction, leadership, and workflow prioritisation to support team growth and performance
• Work with partners to promote, market and advertise the 4x Racing Carnivals at Flemington, with particular focus on the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
• As part of the commercial leadership team, contribute to the overall commercial and customer strategy and planning process
Stakeholder Engagement
• Build strong relationships with senior partnership stakeholders and their supporting agencies
• Protect the organisation’s brand by ensuring partner alignment with values, image, and strategic direction.
• Create long term engagement plan for all partners with clear roles and responsibilities for all key internal stakeholders
Key Skills and Attributes
• Strong product management background with experience in major events and venues, hospitality products or large-scale customer experiences – ideally within racing or sport
• Clear understanding of the racing and/or major event environment
• Customer-first and best-in-class audience led mindset with proven ability to turn insights into experience products onsite
• Commercially minded, with strong decision-making capability and experience managing multi-million- dollar event portfolios
• Excellent communication, influencing and cross-functional leadership skills
• Proven people leadership capability, with experience guiding, managing and motivating team members
• Ability to work under pressure, across large and multiple events, and to tight racing timelines
• Innovative thinker with a passion for the continuous improvement of live experiences and delivering world class racing to Melbourne
Qualifications & Experience
• 10+ years in partnership or media sales roles ideally in sport, major events or media and marketing
• 5+ years in senior management role successfully leading high performing sales teams
• Proven negotiation and contract management skills
• Strong understanding of the Sports and Event competitive landscape
• Excellent presentation skills and proposal preparation
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment
• Tertiary qualification in Sports Administration, Media sales, Marketing, Media agency
Success Measures (KPIs)
• Achievement of annual partnership revenue targets, including renewal, acquisition, and upsell contributions.
• Year-on-year growth in partnership revenue and yield across the full portfolio.
• Increased diversification of the partner portfolio, demonstrated by growth in new categories and acquisition of strategically aligned brands.
• Strong retention rate across existing partners, with targeted revenue uplift achieved at each renewal cycle.
• Develop and foster executive level client relationships and deliver strong client engagement programs.
• High satisfaction and advocacy levels from partners, informed by structured feedback and engagementreporting.
• Successful launch, enhancement, or optimisation of partnership-led or partnership-supported products, experiences, and activations.
• Demonstrated partner engagement and integration across major race days and key precinct destinations.
• Strong cross-functional alignment with internal teams, reflected in positive feedback and seamless delivery of partnership activities and contracted rights.
• Clear and effective communication of partnership performance, insights, and reporting to internal stakeholders.
• Positive internal team engagement, capability uplift, and retention within the partnerships team.
• Demonstrated leadership in fostering a high-performance, commercially focused, and customer-centric team culture.
Values
Think VRC: We deliver with one purpose and plan. We’re one VRC team.
Create Joy: We design every experience, for our members, customers and each other, to create joy.
Be Gutsy: We are grounded in our heritage; we’re brave and curious in our pursuit of a bigger future.
F-Learn: We fail but learn, treating setbacks as opportunities for growth.
Care Deeply: We genuinely care about each other: our people, our members, are customers and our community.
If you possess the skills and experience for this role please send your CV to info@peepsconsulting.com.au