Commercial Manager

Bedford Blues are looking to appoint a Commercial Manager to join the Championship club based at Goldington Road.

This is an exciting opportunity for an individual to join our team and help continue our commercial growth across all aspects of Bedford’s premier sporting club, with a focus on sponsorship generation and new business.

Job Title: Commercial Manager

Application End Date: Wednesday, 9th April 2025

Salary: Competitive based on experience

Contract Type: Permanent, Full Time

Overview

Bedford Blues are a rugby union club, with a men’s first team playing at the top end of the Championship, the second tier of English Rugby. Our women’s team is growing with two promotions since inception in 2020. Our Foundation works to enhance our broader community, and Goldington Road serves both as a great matchday experience and a multi-purpose town-centre events hub.

The right candidate will have strong communication and networking skills, be driven and passionate about their work and the Club’s values. One of the best supported clubs in the division, Bedford has a strong and loyal fanbase. There is fantastic potential for the right candidate, who is ambitious and skilled, to further grow the sponsorship family and help shape the commercial sales strategy.

Due to the nature of the sporting industry some weekend or evening work will be required.

The Role

The full-time position will be based out of Goldington Road and will report to the Chief Operating Officer. The right candidate will be required to hit the ground running and maintain existing partnerships as well as taking a proactive approach to creating and developing new sales leads.

As well as grow the sponsorship base and delivering on the agreed commercial inventory of our partners, the Commercial Manager will help drive revenue across all areas of the business. This includes hospitality, retail, events and community.

The successful applicant will ideally be educated to degree level and demonstrate experience in relationship management and communication with external stakeholders.  

Key Responsibilities:

• Be proactive in sourcing potential sponsors and successfully grow the sales base through commercial partnerships.
• Develop bespoke sponsorship proposals to meet the needs of individual companies.
• Ensure adequate management of partnerships and deliverables, including renewal timelines and incremental growth opportunities.
• Support the management and administration of all commercial activity.
• Capture and process all commercial related financial and budget management activity alongside the COO and Finance team.
• Develop the inventory of commercial assets and ensure awareness of pricing strategy, availability and potential opportunities are clear and consistent across the business.
• Ensure all commercial inventories are delivered across required operational activity.
• Input to strategic plan in driving revenue growth across all commercial streams.
• Oversee the management of commercial hospitality and match sponsorship commitments.
• Carry out lead generation campaigns in support of sales objectives.
• Deliver the Club’s advertising and sponsorship sales budgets.
• Contribute to weekly marketing meetings in relation to the Club’s commercial activities.
• Cross sell match hospitality, events and experiences to both new and existing client base.
• Oversee the club’s retail and merchandise operations, including online and physical store.
• Work with apparel partners to optimise kit sales and brand opportunities.
• Drive revenue through special non-matchday events in coordination with Events Manager.
• Lead a small commercial team, ensuring alignment with revenue targets and strategic goals.
• Ensure compliance with Championship commercial infrastructure requirements.

Experience:

• Commercial Experience (essential)
• Relationship Management (essential)
• Communication with internal and external stakeholders (essential)
• Professional Sports and/or Events Exposure (desired)
• Sponsorship acquisition and corporate partnerships (desired)
• Knowledge of CRM, digital ticketing and data-driven commercial strategies (desired)

Skills & Qualifications:

• Organisational, Administration and IT (essential)
• Communication – verbal and written (essential)
• Strategic Planning (desired)
• Educated to Degree Level or Equivalent Professional Experience (essential)
• Valid UK Driving Licence (desired)

Personal Characteristics:

• You promote a culture of hard work, honesty and ambition to deliver results within a team environment.
• You manage projects, activities, and resources effectively, assuming personal accountability.
• Ability to quickly build professional, deep, long-term relationships with stakeholders.
• You instil a continuous improvement mind-set and champion best practice.
• You demonstrate our values of Passion, Adaptability, Unity, Sustainability and Enjoyment.

Applications and How to Apply

To register your interest in this role please submit a Cover Letter and your CV outlining your suitability for the position of Commercial Manager by Wednesday 9th April 2025.

Bedford Blues is an inclusive, people first organisation. A core part of achieving our mission is that our workforce is diverse and reflective of the community that we serve. There will be no discrimination in our recruitment and selection processes, nor when considering pay and benefits. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply for the position and join us on our mission to be the best we can be.