We are looking for a Business Development & Partnerships Manager to develop and lead new opportunities and support our partnering efforts across Riot’s Middle East & Africa esports, gaming and entertainment business.
You will have experience in sourcing, negotiating, structuring and executing high value commercial approaches and closing complex lucrative sponsorship deals within Sports, Esports, Gaming and other entertainment related industries.
You will be based in our Dubai Office and this is a hybrid role. You will be a part of the Reading-based EMEA Riot Commercial Partnerships (RCP) team and will report to the Senior Manager, Business Development & Partnerships for EMEA, and work with a broad range of Riot functions and leaders across the globe.
Responsibilities:
- You will be our EMEA RCP lead representative in the MEA region working closely with our Regional/Country leads in the Dubai and Istanbul offices, and the RCP team for esports in Berlin
- You will work with our main sales agency to lead a healthy pipeline and acquisition of new Riot brand partners for headlining Riot products such as League of Legends and VALORANT
- Identify and evaluate appropriate partnering opportunities for the EMEA RCP business, conduct due diligence, and make recommendations with local and international esports, publishing, creative and gaming community teams
- Support and work on all phases of a deal process
- Source new business opportunities
- Develop business opportunities for internal consideration and approval
- Draft deal structure and provide financial analysis
- Work with other teams within Riot to accomplish the deals
- Monitor and report on deal KPIs to ensure credibility of our RCP prospects
- Take ownership and structure of our commercial conversations in MEA for mainstream esports products including the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) and VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT EMEA); along with local esports tournament operators of regional ERL and VRL tournaments across the MEA region
- Work with Tournament organizers, Broadcast partners and our Esports Partnership management team in Berlin to build Riot’s Esports partnership business
- Provide clear reporting to Riot and external stakeholders to the success of our partner programs feeding insights back into the EMEA team to level up the next deal
- Work with local publishing leads to support ongoing marketing partnership conversations, managing the approval process for identified marketing partners, ensuring these are aligned with EMEA RCP and not conflicting with existing sponsors.
Required Qualifications:
- Minimum 6+ years of experience in business development and sales with an established background in successfully structuring, negotiating and closing deals with industry partners
- 3+ years of Business development or Commercial in the Sport, Esports, Gaming or Entertainment
- Experienced in networking with contacts across agencies and major/ global consumer brands at a senior level within Europe Middle east and Africa or Globally,
- Experienced in entering sales negotiations and fully informed about internal considerations
- International travel circa 30% to other Riot offices, and with Riot Partners and prospects for international events
- Fluent in Spoken and Written Arabic and English
Desired Skills:
- 3+ years of experience in the Sport, Esports, Gaming or Entertainment industry in Business Development or commercial partnerships, and any experience in marketing is welcomed.
- Experience working independently and part of the broader teams that will be remotely structured in their different countries
For this role, you’ll find success through craft expertise, a collaborative spirit, and decision-making that prioritizes the delight of players. We will look at your past studies, experience, and your personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about the experiences of players, this could be the role for you!
Our Perks:
- Open paid time off
- Medical plans that cover you, your spouse/domestic partner, and children
- Life insurance allowance
- Family bonding leave
- Travel allowance
- Vision allowance
- Play funds so you can broaden and deepen your knowledge of our players and community through games
- Wellness/Gym allowance
- Daily lunch, snacks and fruit in the office
Let’s Thrive Together:
Because together we are better
It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunities for all applicants and members of Riot. We know that fresh and varied perspectives will make us better at what we do, so however you identify and whatever background you bring with you, we’re excited to hear from you. Don’t be discouraged if you feel you don’t fully meet every single one of the requirements for a particular role, there’s always room for growth at Riot. If you spot a role that will make you want to jump out of bed in the morning, we are waiting to hear from you! Don’t forget to include a resume. We receive many applications, but we’ll notice a fun, well-written intro that shows us you Dare to Dream and Execute with Excellence.
