Partnership Manager

Toronto Region Board of Trade / World Trade Centre Toronto  (The Board) (Toronto) (March 2019 – August 2021)

 

The Toronto Region Board of Trade is one of the largest and most influential chambers of commerce in North America. The constant flow of ideas, people and introductions to city-builders and government officials firmly roots The Board as connectors for and with the business community. The Board acts as catalysts for the region’s growth agenda, at home and on a global scale with our World Trade Centre Toronto franchise. Backed by more than 13,500 members, The Board advocates on  for policy change that drives the growth and competitiveness of the Toronto region. 

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Working with the Vice President of Membership and Sponsor Engagement and the Chief Commercial Officer this is a Mid-Senior Level  management seniority level position, I represented the sole sponsorship manager for the organization. 

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Leading The Boards corporate partnerships, fundraising, and stewardship activities to achieve financial growth and sustainability, some of my key areas of responsibilities were; 

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• Lead The Boards corporate sponsorship/partnership strategy

• Increased partnership sales revenue: Leverage The Boards partnership capabilities, experience and industry knowledge by providing strategic direction and effectively overseeing the development of new corporate and promotional business opportunities. 

• Responsible for building, managing and deploying The Board’s complete inventory of partnership opportunities ranging from policy products, programming, member programs, summits, podium events and marquee events.

• Continually updated and managed the partnership asset portfolio by working in close collaboration with all the Board's departments (policy, membership, finance, events, World Trade Center and others) ensuring that sponsorship opportunities are continually identified and added to the portfolio while having strong a market differentiation.

• Built on collaborative partnerships both within and external to The Board, leveraging The Board’s extensive global network to deliver on our fundraising potential.

• Worked in partnership with the membership sales team (development and engagement) to build prospect lists of potential partners tracking partnership sales activities to ensure budget objectives are met and exceeded.

• Possessed finely tuned client management skills, strong team building abilities, flawless communication skills and ability to navigate a room of executives, government officials and other dignitaries with grace and confidence.

• Supported the Chief Operating Officer in the contracting process for partnerships including negotiating terms and securing funding. 

• Utilized market research to assess existing partnership assets, values, new assets, and market trends.

• Developed analyses of potential opportunities in order to make recommendations around priority growth opportunities for partnership sales.

• Developed presentations for President, CCO, COO and VP’s to obtain support.

• Coordinated with key stakeholders across The Board to drive prioritization on what opportunities should be pursued by membership sales team.

• Developed business cases to support decision-making and obtain approval to execute new partnerships.

• Developed and oversee the management of revenue tracking tools and sales pipeline process for sponsorship and ticket sales functions. 

• Identified, prioritized and maintained strong working relationships with key corporate stakeholders and prospects across provinces, and in collaboration with the World Trade Centre Toronto.

• Developed, participated in, and hosted unique networking events or experiences to support the development of securing prospective partners.

• Maintained a high level of involvement with corporate partners through regular participation in client meetings; focusing on building relationships with key accounts.

• Collaborated with key external stakeholders to generate strategically aligned ideas that will be developed into compelling pitches to prospective partners.

• Lead monitoring and analysis of contractual and financial performance.

• Acted as a resource for management and staff with respect to partnership opportunities and issues.

• Recommended strategies and sales target updates to meet revenue projections for partnerships and ticket sales.

• Worked with the Membership team as advisory on Member Engagement strategy, including impact storytelling and up-selling opportunity.

 

Additional responsibilities:

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• Developed a robust portfolio of creative and attractive sponsorship opportunities for the Board’s assets

• Helped to plan and oversee sponsorship activations—ensuring seamless executions

• Developed and maintain relationships with the Board’s sponsors, acting as a relationship manager during activations

• Worked with internal teams and external vendors to develop sponsorship assets including signage, advertising, promotional items, etc.

• Attended The Boards events to support strong sponsor relationships

• Managed contractual obligations of sponsors to ensure they are fulfilled, including management of exclusivity rights

• Worked closely with all internal Board teams to ensure the highest level of product and policy knowledge, to enhance the sponsor experience and develop innovative sponsor packages

• Managed a large volume of activities, often with conflicting deadlines, while maintaining attention to detail, and sensitivity to sponsor needs

 

Featured skills:

• Experience in sponsorship marketing, corporate partnerships, in a B2B environment

• Experience in a CRM-driven environment, including generation and implementation of data analytics

• Experience in data-driven sales marketing

• Business focused individual, with a strong financial aptitude and business case development

• Demonstrated experience building client relationships

• Knowledge and expertise to manage a large profile of corporate clients, with complex contractual agreements
  involving multiple stakeholders

• Expertise in managing and monitoring marketing or business contracts and agreements to ensure that the
  outcomes are delivered and executed

• Strong communication and collaboration skills to facilitate the achievement of partners’ goals and objectives by
  providing expert marketing advice and guidance

• Interpersonal and presentation skills to manage a broad range of stakeholders and develop presentations,
  memos and briefs for senior management audiences

• Building and managing a sales pipeline that consistently delivers on personal and team sales targets

• Strong problem-solving, analytical and negotiation skills

• Confident, clear communications and interpersonal skills

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Toronto Region Board of Trade Sponsorship Properties

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• Major Marquee Events

  • 175 Annual Dinner​

  • Business Excellence Awards

  • Annual Lunch / Annual General Meeting 

  • Annual Boat Cruise 

  • Police Officer of the Year Awards

• Summits 

  • Smart Cities Summit, Partnership with Elevate Tech Festival ​

  • Transportation Summit

  • Innovation Corridor Summit, Partnership with Hamilton Chamber of Commerce 

• Political and Distinguished Speaker Podium Events 

• Young Professionals Network

• Small Business Network 

• RBC Business Advice Series

• Policy Reports 

• Economic Blueprint Institute

  • Launch & Programming  

• Power Breakfast Series 

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World Trade Centre Toronto Sponsorship Properties

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• Scale Up Institute Toronto

  • Launch & Programming 

• Trade Accelerator Program (Local and National) 

• Market Activation Program

• Trade Institute Service Office 

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Committee Participation: Police Officer of the Year Awards Committee 

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Major Corporate Partners I work with at The Board: 

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Bruce Power

Canada Post

Canadian National Railway 

SNC-Lavalin Group

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Deloitte

Bombardier 

Royal Bank of Canada 

Scotiabank 

The Globe & Mail 

Air Canada

West Jet 

Turkish Airlines 

Nieuport Aviation

Accenture

Ontario Chartered Professional Accountants

Ted Rogers School of Management 

Ryerson University 

Odgers Berndtson

LiUNA

GOWLING WLG

AECOM 

MARSH

PricewaterhouseCoopers 

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Connecting Canadians to Retail's Future with

Canada Post President & CEO Doug Ettinger

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Sponsor: Scotiabank 

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