Southbank, Melbourne
Full-time, ongoing
$115,000 + Superannuation + up to $50,000 annual performance bonus
Some partnership roles are about taking really good care of relationships that are already there.
This one is much more about building the ones that are not.
Our client is one of Melbourne's most recognised cultural organisations, with a strong brand, established relationships and plenty of untapped commercial opportunity.
They're looking for a Head of Partnerships & Engagement who genuinely enjoys opening doors, creating new opportunities and building relationships from the ground up.
There are warm leads.
There are senior networks to tap into.
There is a team around you to help bring ideas to life.
What they need now is someone who will get out into market, create momentum and turn the strength of the organisation's brand into meaningful commercial growth.
You'll report to the Chief Growth Officer and lead partnerships and engagement across the organisation, with a very clear focus on new business.
This is a role for someone who likes the chase, but also cares deeply about what happens once the deal is done.
What you'll be doing
Your remit will be broad and will include:
Building and delivering a proactive new-business partnership strategy
Identifying prospective corporate partners and finding smart ways to get in front of them
Creating new pipeline through networking, referrals, introductions, direct outreach and targeted prospecting
Developing tailored partnership propositions, presentations and commercial opportunities
Creating new partnership ideas and assets that organisations actually want to be part of
Managing conversations from first approach through to negotiation and close
Owning partnership revenue targets and driving year-on-year growth
Building trusted relationships with CEOs, executives and senior decision-makers
Managing and growing key existing relationships where needed
Overseeing partnership activation and making sure commitments are delivered well
Leading membership acquisition, retention and engagement activity
Overseeing community and broader stakeholder engagement programs
Identifying revenue risks and opportunities early
Managing budgets, forecasts and reporting
Leading and developing the Partnerships and Engagement Manager
Working closely with Marketing, Communications, Brand, Customer Experience, Philanthropy, Education and creative teams
The biggest priority is recent business.
But this is not a role where you sign the deal and throw it over the fence.
You'll also help make sure the partnership actually works, creates value and feels worthwhile for everyone involved.
The environment
You won't be starting from zero.
This is an organisation with profile, credibility, strong existing relationships and access to some very useful networks.
There are genuine opportunities already sitting within reach.
The opportunity here is to become more deliberate, proactive and ambitious about turning that platform into commercial growth.




That means spending meaningful time out in market.
You might be asking for introductions, meeting prospective partners, reconnecting with people in your network, attending events or simply finding a genuinely relevant reason to start a conversation.
You'll need to enjoy that part of the job.
You'll also be working across a much broader ecosystem than just sponsorship.
Partnerships connect into membership, audiences, community, customer experience, brand, engagement and the organisation's broader purpose.
So yes, commercial instinct matters.
So do judgement, curiosity and understanding what makes a relationship valuable beyond the number on the contract.
What we're looking for
You'll ideally bring:
At least five years' experience across commercial partnerships, sponsorship, business development or a related field
A strong track record of winning net-new commercial partnerships
Experience personally carrying and delivering against revenue targets
Confidence building pipeline from scratch
Experience approaching organisations you do not already know
Strong commercial and financial judgement
Experience creating tailored partnership propositions and presentations
Confidence negotiating and closing deals
Experience managing pipeline and forecasting revenue
The ability to spot revenue risks early and do something about them
Confidence working with CEOs and senior executives
Strong written, verbal and presentation skills
Excellent relationship and stakeholder management capability
Experience leading at least a small team
Enough operational judgement to understand what happens after the partnership is signed
Persistence, resilience and the confidence to follow up again when the first email goes unanswered
You might come from sport, sponsorship, major events, entertainment, media, venues, cultural organisations, membership businesses or another commercially driven environment.
You do not need to have spent your career in the arts.
In fact, experience somewhere with genuine commercial pace could be incredibly valuable.
What matters most is what you have personally created, won and grown.
New business really matters
We will want to understand the detail here.
You should be comfortable talking about:
The revenue targets you personally carried
What new revenue you brought in
Where the opportunities came from
How you opened the door
What you personally did to move the conversation forward
What the partnership was worth
How you navigated the negotiation
What helped you ultimately get it across the line




If most of your experience has been centred around renewals, servicing existing sponsors and managing established relationships, this may not be the right next move.
This role needs someone who genuinely enjoys creating what is not there yet.
The kind of person who will thrive here
You'll be commercially ambitious, but you won't make every conversation feel like a transaction.
You'll be persistent without being pushy.
You'll be comfortable making the call, sending the message, asking for the introduction and following up again when the first email disappears into the abyss.
You'll also understand that great business development is not about being the loudest person in the room.
It is about timing, relevance, curiosity, judgement and giving someone a genuinely good reason to say yes.
And in this environment, those reasons can be very different.
For one organisation, it might be brand exposure.
For another, it could be employee engagement, customer experience, community impact, social responsibility, reputation or simply a genuine connection to the arts.
You'll need to understand what matters to the person sitting across from you and shape an opportunity around that.
Warmth matters here too.
They want someone who can sit comfortably with a CEO, but who is equally capable of building trust with people right across the organisation.
Why this role is worth considering
Because you get to build something.
You'll be joining an organisation people already know, with a strong platform, genuine credibility and real commercial potential.
You'll report to a commercially minded Chief Growth Officer and work with high-profile organisations and senior decision-makers.
You'll also have support around you across partnerships, marketing, growth and the broader organisation.
That means more time creating opportunity and less time disappearing into admin.
There is also meaningful upside.
The base salary is $115,000 + Superannuation, with an annual performance bonus of up to $50,000.
So if you back yourself commercially, there is a genuine opportunity to be rewarded for the growth you create.
And if you do it well, you will have a pretty strong career story to tell.
You came in, built a stronger new-business partnership engine and materially grew revenue for one of Melbourne's best-known cultural organisations.
That is a pretty interesting thing to have on your CV.
The practical details
The role is full-time and ongoing, based in Southbank, Melbourne.
You'll report to the Chief Growth Officer and lead one direct report.
Travel is limited and mostly partner-specific.
Most activity is Melbourne-based, with interstate travel only where a prospective or existing partner requires it.
Salary is $115,000 + Superannuation, with an annual performance bonus of up to $50,000.
If you are someone who genuinely enjoys opening doors, building relationships and creating commercial opportunities that did not exist before, we'd really love to hear from you.
#J-*****-Ljbffr

📌 Head Of Partnerships & Engagement (Melbourne)
🏢 Kindtide
📍 Melbourne