Vice President, Corporate Partnerships

Vice President, Corporate Partnerships

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 its 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.

The Chicago Blackhawks is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity at all levels. All individuals, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply. All qualified applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender, race, religion or religious creed, color, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, registered domestic partner status, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state, local law, ordinance, or regulation and will not be discriminated against on these bases. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities.