Partnerships Accounts Manager - Skywards

Job description / Role

About the role:

Source, nurture, and develop relationships with partners and platform solution providers to maximize business benefits, deliver data-driven results, and high-margin revenue to improve customer experience and build lifetime customer value. The job holder will manage a portfolio of strategic and non-strategic Skywards Partnerships ensuring effective execution to achieve these objectives.

What you will do:

General:
- Lead the negotiations with prospective partners to secure additional ancillary revenue for Skywards in line with the endorsed 5-Year Skywards Partnerships business case annual KPIs. Build and develop Business Cases to demonstrate partnership value and ROI with endorsement from the Business Finance Manager (Skywards).
- Lead complex work streams with external and internal stakeholders across legal, commercial, systems/IT, finance, product development, and CCMB teams to launch new partnerships and manage existing partners following the Skywards Partnerships Business Process.
- Monitor all partnerships through agreed project milestones, monthly revenue targets, and quarterly/monthly review meetings to create strong, successful partnerships and control costs.
- Collaborate with partners to manage the combined member portfolio through data analysis and reporting to increase partnership awareness and effectiveness.
- Contribute to commercial airline revenue through strategic partnerships by increasing brand exposure to new customers in collaboration with Commercial, Partnership Activations, and CCMB teams.
- Manage, coach, develop, and motivate direct reporting staff. Conduct regular performance management reviews ensuring that objectives and development plans are set out and provide regular feedback to team members and management.

Business Development:
- Work with the Manager Partnerships (Skywards) to source and explore new strategic and non-strategic partnership opportunities aligned with Skywards Partnerships' key strategic priorities.
- Manage new opportunities following the Skywards Department PMO process.

Skywards Retail & Lifestyle portfolio:
- Source new B2B and B2C partnerships for Skywards retail and lifestyle partnership portfolio, embedding Skywards Miles as a currency in the UAE, strategic markets, and beyond across the Emirates route network.
- Explore new and develop existing loyalty solution platforms that allow partners to seamlessly connect to earn and redeem Miles via third-party digital platforms. Seek solutions that support real-time engagement that are built to scale quickly across new markets and evolving technology.
- Collaborate with various departments such as Procurement & Logistics, IT, CCMB, etc. to source and deliver best-in-class platform solutions offering a seamless member experience.
- Manage the mutual end-to-end user journey, delivering a seamless earn/burn experience to members to increase member engagement and program effectiveness. Work with the Partnerships Activation Team to increase personalization and relevance to Members through data-driven campaigns.

This job might be for you if you have:

Qualifications:
- Degree or Honours (12+3 or equivalent).

Experience:
- 8+ Years of Experience in Commercial/Sales preferably or similar.
- Proven experience specifically in the field of Product and New Business Development or Digital loyalty solutions.

Knowledge/Skills:
- A proven ability to identify, implement, and support partnership agreements.
- Managerial experience in areas such as Commercial, Sales, or Contract Negotiation.
- Demonstrated proficiency in analytical and numerical skills with the ability to create financial, and business cases.
- Proven experience with legal contracting with partners/clients.
- Marketing expertise, including Client communications experience.
- Strong interpersonal skills and business acumen, with the ability to assertively manage internal and external stakeholders.
- Experience in developing digital platforms an advantage.

About the Company

A fast-growing international airline with one of the youngest fleets in the sky and more than 400 awards for excellence worldwide.