Vice President, Corporate Partnerships

Ottawa Senators

$175K — $200K *
Business Services
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
  • 10-12+ years of professional sports and entertainment experience in corporate partnership sales.
  • Proven track record of driving significant revenue growth and managing multi-million dollar P&Ls.
  • 5+ years of experience leading and developing high-performing sales and service teams.
  • Strong business acumen with analytical and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

  • Develop and lead a long-term revenue plan for corporate partnerships.
  • Build and execute strategic direction for the Corporate Partnerships team.
  • Create and deploy compelling partnership packages based on partner needs.
  • Lead, inspire, and manage a high-performing Corporate Partnership team.
  • Utilize data and analytics to inform partnership strategy and performance.

Benefits

  • Competitive total rewards package and full benefits including medical, dental, and vision.
  • 401k matching and paid life insurance.
  • Employee assistance program (EAP) and comprehensive PTO package.
  • On-site amenities such as gym, breakfast, lunch, and parking.
  • Social events, volunteer opportunities, and learning and development.
Full Job Description
Job Title: Vice President, Corporate Partnerships
Department: Corporate Partnerships
Reports To: Chief Revenue Officer
Location: This position is 100% in-office based out of the United Center in Chicago, IL
Hours: Standard business hours are 9:00 am - 5:00 pm / Monday • Friday. However, this position will require extensive non-traditional hours including nights, weekends, and holidays based on business needs and company event schedule. This position also requires occasional travel.
Status: Full-Time, Exempt
People Manager: Direct and indirect reports
Compensation: The budgeted annual base salary for this position is $175,000 • 200,000 with final compensation offer based on the candidate's years of experience, skills, qualifications, and overall fit for the role. This role is eligible for performance-based incentive compensation.

Position Summary:

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 Chicago Blackhawks. 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, and ensuring we are continuously pushing the industry forward. Reporting to the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), this role serves as a key driver of the organization's unified, brand-first commercial strategy, representing Corporate Partnerships.

Key Responsibilities :
  • Long-Term Revenue Planning: Develop and lead a long-term revenue plan for the Chicago Blackhawks and Blackhawks Ice Center and work cross functionally to maximize revenue for the United Center, 1901 Project, and future development opportunities.


  • Own Corporate Partnerships strategy: Build and execute the strategic direction for a high-performing Corporate Partnerships team, including annual planning, budgeting, reporting, process optimization, performance management, and talent development. Evolve key functional drivers including prospecting, category analysis, market approach, proposal creation, asset development, deal structuring, sales, negotiation, relationship management, and retention. Ensure alignment with and advance the CRO's enterprise-wide commercial strategy with a brand-first, revenue-always mindset.


  • Drive results for partners and the Blackhawks: Lead a process to thoroughly understand partner needs and objectives to create and deploy compelling packages that align with mutual goals. Ideate and create unique activations that maximize engagement and return while benefitting the fan experience.


  • Lead and manage a high-performing team: Lead and inspire a high-performing team within Corporate Partnership Sales, Account Management, Strategy and Operations to ensure continuous alignment, engagement, and performance. Set clear expectations, provide ongoing feedback, and foster development. Encourage collaboration, innovation, and accountability within the team to achieve peak results and maintain a positive work environment.


  • Leverage Data and Uphold Governance Standards: Utilize data, analytics, and emerging technologies (including AI) to inform partnership strategy, pricing, and performance tracking. Establish and enforce commercial governance, contract negotiation standards, and compliance with league, legal, and internal policy requirements.


  • Represent the Company's Interests Across a Matrixed Organization: Build and maintain strong working relationships across Wirtz Corporation, United Center, 1901 Project, Chicago Bulls, CHSN, affiliate teams, and other key partners to align Corporate Partnerships strategy with enterprise-wide commercial and campus-wide objectives.

Required Qualifications, Experience, and Abilities:
  • Bachelor's degree from accredited university in a relevant or complementary field.
  • 10-12+ years of professional sports and entertainment experience, including demonstrated success in a leadership corporate partnership sales role
  • Proven track record of driving outsized revenue growth, profitability, and brand results on a global scale with experience managing multi-million-dollar budgets, P&Ls, annual plans, forecasting, and accurate financial projections
  • Minimum 5+ years leading, coaching, and developing high-performing sales and service teams with demonstrated success evolving the structure, process, and culture to drive business growth
  • Strong business acumen, analytical and problem-solving skills, and the ability to leverage data, analytics, and AI-driven tools to inform strategy and performance
  • Exceptional polish and effectiveness in communication, negotiation, relationship-building, and collaboration across diverse stakeholders
  • Creative, strategic, and solution-oriented leader with an org-first mentality who can develop partnerships that benefit the team, brand, partners, and fans
  • A willingness to embrace adversity and maintain positive culture through periods of organizational transformation; ability to lead others through change, manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, high-performance environment
  • Ability to build and maintain strong relationships across all levels of a dynamic, matrixed organization and the broader sports and entertainment industry; leveraging and expanding external networks to collaboratively develop programs that drive incremental revenue
  • Demonstrates our organizational values: integrity, curiosity, empathy, collaboration, and originality

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 through memorable, inclusive experiences.

Perks and Benefits:

Competitive total rewards package, full benefits (medical, dental, vision, 401k matching, paid life insurance), employee assistance program (EAP), comprehensive PTO package, social events, volunteer opportunities, and learning and development. Employer-paid breakfast, lunch, parking, on-site gym and training classes, employee ticket program, and more.

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 - now Blackhawks Ice Center (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.

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at Ottawa Senators

More Business Services Jobs

  • Vice President, Sales & Service
    $150K — $250K + $30K bonus + equity, medical, dental, vision, life, std/ltd *
    Southern Dock Products / DuraServ
    Memphis, TN 38109 (Shelby County)
  • Vice President, Sales & Service
    $150K — $250K + $30K bonus + equity, medical, dental, vision, life, std/ltd, auto allowance, *
    Just Rite Equipment / DuraServ
    South Windsor, CT 06074 (Capitol County)
  • Vice President, Service & Sales
    $200K — $500K++ $30K bonus + equity, medical, dental, vision, life, std/ltd, auto allowance, *
    Casco Dock & Door / DuraServ
    West Sacramento, CA 95691 (Yolo County)
  • Director of Business Development
    $130K — $150K *
    Warren Whitney
    Richmond, VA 23226 (Henrico County)
  • Risk Manager
    $130K — $140K *
    Cal State Long Beach
    Long Beach, CA 90802 (Los Angeles County)

Find similar Vice President, Corporate Partnerships jobs: