Brand Partnerships Manager

Reporting to the Head of Brand Strategy & Governance, this is an exciting opportunity for a proactive, commercially minded and creatively astute individual to join the Global Brand & Client Department at McLaren Automotive. The Brand Partnerships Manager shapes and delivers high-impact partnerships that enhance McLaren’s brand desirability, create distinctive client experiences and support measurable commercial outcomes. Operating within the Brand Strategy & Governance team, the role builds and manages a considered pipeline of alliance partners across select ultra-luxury adjacencies, and oversees co-created experiences that blend McLaren’s racing pedigree with its evolving luxury proposition.

Acting as a connector across Product, MSO, Racing, Brand Marketing & Communications and Regions, the role ensures partnerships are strategically aligned, brand‑right and consistently executed, sharpening relevance with UHNW audiences while supporting long‑term growth.

Please note this is a 24 month fixed term contract

Partnership strategy and pipeline – define priority categories and target partners; set selection criteria (equity stretch, cultural credibility, audience synergy, ESG alignment) and maintain a 12–24 month roadmap aligned to brand and product narratives.

• Deal architecture and governance – develop partnership term sheets (rights, content, hospitality, data, exclusivity), coordinate approvals with Legal and Brand Governance, and ensure clear co‑branding and usage principles are upheld.
• Measurement and impact – set KPIs for awareness, luxury association, demand lift and advocacy; run post‑event/product readouts with Regions and Communications; feed learnings into the Desirability Index.
• UHNWI engagement – elevate concierge‑level experiences with privacy, discretion and service ritual; coordinate invitation strategy and bespoke access working with Markets and Client Experience.
• Internal orchestration – align with Brand Strategy on narrative fit, with Brand Marketing & Communications on content and amplification, and with MLP where a partnership includes licensed product work streams.
• Budget and risk management – manage partnership budgets and value‑in‑kind; assess reputational and operational risk with clear mitigations and exit clauses.
• Market enablement – create repeatable playbooks and toolkits for regions/retailers to activate partnerships locally without diluting exclusivity or standards.

• Experience in building and managing brand alliances within luxury or ultra‑luxury environments, with a strong global network across relevant categories and a track record of delivering partnerships that positively impact brand perception and commercial performance.
• Cultural fluency and taste: sharp editorial sense for what feels authentically McLaren; understands scarcity and craft at the very top of luxury.
• Strategic negotiator – comfortable structuring complex rights, exclusivity and data‑sharing agreements; crisp, respectful challenger in senior forums.
• Program leader – end‑to‑end planning and delivery across multiple stakeholders and markets; meticulous on detail and guest experience.
• Tools – Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 (CRM, events and client lists), Power BI/Fabric, Azure OpenAI/Copilot; DAM/content collaboration; e‑signature/contract tools.
• Ways of working – inclusive, discreet and highly collaborative; excellent written and verbal communication skills, with confidence operating in senior stakeholder environments.

• Creative & operational in equal measure, can operate under pressure, strong negotiator
• Comfortable handling communication with all levels of the organization, written and verbal
• Extremely high level of attention to detail
• Out‑of‑the‑box thinking to bring the McLaren Brand to life
• Confident in dealing with challenging situations and relationships
• Able to adapt in a fast‑paced, high‑pressured, ever‑changing environment
• Ability to manage own workload with ownership, be proactive in seeking support and guidance where needed
• Resilient, energetic, passionate and enthusiastic
  
  A natural implementer and highly focused, process‑oriented
• Effective at working and…