Business Events Partnership and Commercial Lead - Waverley Court

Business Events Partnership and Commercial Lead - Waverley Court Be the First to Apply

Job Description Business Events Partnership and Commercial Lead
Waverley Court
Salary: £46,023 - £54,476
Hours: 36 per week, 52 weeks
The Edinburgh Convention Bureau (CVB) is entering an exciting new phase, building on its achievements while setting a bold vision for the future. This newly created role offers the opportunity to shape how the CVB engages with members and partners, driving sustainable growth and lasting impact for the city.

Help shape the future of Edinburgh's business events sector. In this senior, commercially focused role, you'll lead the development and delivery of a high-value Convention Bureau membership and partnership programme that generates sustainable income and tangible value for members. Working with senior partners across the public, private and third sectors, you'll strengthen Edinburgh's position as a leading international business events destination while driving an inclusive, sustainable and forward-looking events ecosystem.

The Business Events Partnership and Commercial Lead is a senior, commercially astute partnership professional with a strong track record of developing and managing successful membership, partnership or commercial programmes within complex, stakeholder-led environments.

You will take ownership of the design, delivery and ongoing evolution of Edinburgh's Convention Bureau membership and partnership offer, ensuring it delivers sustainable private-sector income and tangible value for members, while supporting the wider ambitions of the city's business events sector.

As the lead point of contact for members and partners, you will build and maintain high-profile, trusted relationships across the public, private and third sectors. You will use strong influencing, negotiation and relationship management skills to drive engagement, retention and growth, underpinned by confident income forecasting, budget management and performance reporting. You will balance commercial ambition with public-sector governance, ethical standards and reputational responsibility.

Working collaboratively across teams, you will identify opportunities to diversify income, strengthen partnerships and improve the member offer. You will embed fair work, Net Zero, sustainability and accessibility principles into partnership design and delivery, ensuring commercial success aligns with the city's wider values and priorities. Organised, analytical and credible, you will represent the Edinburgh Convention Bureau externally and play a visible role in positioning Edinburgh as a responsible, competitive and internationally respected business events destination.

If you're a commercially minded partnership professional ready to lead, influence and deliver real impact, we'd welcome your application.

We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce where everyone feels valued and able to be their best. We particularly encourage applications from women for senior roles, as well as people from minority ethnic backgrounds, people with disabilities or neurodivergent people, care experienced people, carers and LGBT+ people across all levels of the organisation, all of whom are currently underrepresented. All applicants will be considered fairly based on skills and experience. Disabled and care-experienced applicants who meet the minimum job criteria will be guaranteed an interview.

As part of our goal to improve organisational culture and create a great place to work together for the people of Edinburgh, we want to make sure we're recruiting the best people. We're interested not only in your skills and experience but also in your approach to work. Therefore, part of our interview process will be an assessment of how you would bring Our Behaviours of Respect, Integrity and Flexibility into your ways of working.

Our salary range typically reflects the initial starting salary and annually increases until it reaches the top of the range.

Happy to talk flexible working.

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To find out more about the essential and desirable requirements for the role click apply

• Significant experience in partnership management, membership organisations, commercial partnerships or income generation roles
• Proven experience of developing, managing and growing membership or partnership programmes
• Demonstrable experience of managing membership or commercial budgets, forecasting income, and delivering against agreed financial targets
• Experience of managing member or partner relationships, including retention, engagement and value demonstration
• Experience of working collaboratively across teams and with external stakeholders to deliver shared commercial or strategic objectives
• Experience of developing or implementing new commercial income streams (e.g. sponsorship, advertising, campaigns or products) (Desirable)
• Experience of working within a destination organisation, tourism, events, membership body or public-sector environment (Desirable)
• Experience of line managing staff and supporting team development (Desirable)

Knowledge, skills and understanding:

• Strong understanding of partnership and membership models and how to design propositions that deliver clear value and sustainable income
• Excellent relationship-building, influencing and negotiation skills, with the ability to establish credibility with senior stakeholders
• Strong commercial awareness, with the ability to balance income generation, member value, reputational risk and public-sector accountability
• Ability to analyse data, track performance, manage budgets, forecast income, and provide clear, evidence-based reports and insights
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate propositions, benefits, ROI and performance updates clearly and persuasively
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple member relationships, priorities and deadlines simultaneously
• Competence in using CRM or membership management systems and Microsoft Office, including Excel and PowerPoint, to manage budgets, forecast income and produce accurate financial and performance reports
• Understanding of public-sector governance, financial regulations, ethical standards and compliance requirements (Desirable)
• Ability to operate confidently within policy frameworks while maintaining a proactive and innovative
• Knowledge or experience of Fair Work, sustainability and/or accessibility principles within a business or partnership context (Desirable)

Qualifications and training:

• Degree-level qualification or equivalent professional qualification or experience in a relevant field such as business, marketing, partnerships, events or tourism
• Professional training or accreditation related to partnership management, commercial development, marketing or income generation (Desirable)
• Evidence of ongoing professional development relevant to commercial, partnership or membership roles (Desirable)
• Health and Safety training appropriate to the role (Desirable)
• Training related to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Fair Work or Sustainability (Desirable)

Job specific requirements:

• Willingness and ability to travel nationally as required to attend meetings, events and networking opportunities
• Flexibility to work evenings and weekends to meet business and stakeholder needs
• Ability to manage own workload, prioritise effectively and meet deadlines in a target-driven environment
• Ability to represent the Edinburgh Convention Bureau professionally at industry events and partner forums
• Commitment to embedding Fair Work, sustainability and accessibility principles across partnership activity and member engagement
• Responsibility for managing allocated partnership, membership and commercial budgets, including monitoring performance against forecast and taking corrective action where required
• Ability to line manage staff, share best practice and contribute to a collaborative team culture

About Us THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL

About Us:

Are you keen to shape the future of Scotland's capital city? The City of Edinburgh Council is looking for dedicated and enthusiastic individuals to work with us and deliver key services across our capital city. We're the second largest local authority in Scotland with a workforce of over 19,000 who all play a crucial role in maintaining and supporting vital services to over 500,000 residents. We offer an incredible variety of career opportunities across a broad range of sectors. Join us and you'll find a role where you can make a difference and grow your career.

Our Culture:

Our Behaviours, respect, integrity, and flexibility guide everything that we do, and we strive to make sure all colleagues feel valued and have a sense of belonging in the workplace. We want to make sure that we bring people into our roles who demonstrate Our Behaviours and are dedicated and committed to our purpose of serving our community. We are focused on delivering excellent customer service to meet citizens needs and make the city a better place.

We recognise the benefits that diverse perspectives, experiences and backgrounds bring to our organisation, and we're committed to employing a workforce that represents the population of the city we serve. We particularly encourage applicants from under-represented groups including women, LGBT+ people . click apply for full job details