Sponsorship Programming Manager

About the Role

We are recruiting a Sponsorship Integration Manager to join a dedicated, full-time team embedded in our client’s Festival Programming function in Riyadh. The team will support two major events in Saudi Arabia: a multi-week flagship festival in summer 2027 (July to August) and a further event in November 2027.

Your job is to turn sponsor contracts into real activations. The client’s Commercial team sells the sponsorships and owns the sponsor relationships. You will take what each sponsor has been promised (their entitlements) and turn it into an activation that works on the ground. That means defining:

• What visitors do
• How many people can go through
• How much space and staff it needs
• Whether it fits the site layout and brand rules

You will then track every sponsor deliverable and approval through to delivery.

This is a hands-on delivery role, not a sponsorship sales role. We are looking for a professional who has personally turned sponsor entitlements into live activations.

Key Responsibilities

Sponsor Programme Integration

• Act as the single point of contact for integrating each sponsor stream into the festival programme.
• Work closely with the client’s Commercial team, which owns sponsor relationships and contracts, so that commercial commitments become deliverable programme elements.
• Make sure sponsor activations sit naturally within the wider festival programme and visitor experience.

Entitlement-to-Activation Planning

• Turn sponsor entitlements into programme-ready activation concepts.
• Define the full detail of each activation, including mechanics, throughput, space requirements and staffing.
• Design activations that deliver real value for sponsors and an engaging experience for visitors.

Delivery Tracking and Control

• Track all sponsor deliverables, approvals, dependencies and open decisions from concept through to delivery.
• Keep clear, up-to-date records so the client always has full visibility of sponsor integration status.
• Flag risks, delays and outstanding decisions early so they can be resolved before they affect delivery.

Compliance with Site, Brand and Operations

• Make sure every activation fits the site layouts, brand guidelines and operational constraints.
• Work with the Masterplan, Operations and Brand teams so that activations can be delivered safely and effectively.

Change and Request Management

• Raise sponsor space, design and build requests to the client through the correct channels.
• Manage sponsor-side changes, assessing their impact on space, programme and operations.

Experience

• At least 8 years of experience in sponsor activation planning or programming for large-scale live events or festivals, at Manager level.
• Experience across at least two live event seasons.
• A proven record of personally turning sponsor entitlements into activations. Only experience where you personally produced the work counts towards the requirement.

Ideal Background

• A sponsorship activation or brand experience professional who has delivered sponsor activations on the ground at large-scale live events or festivals.
• Experience delivering activations for global brand sponsors is a strong advantage.
• This is a delivery role. Candidates whose background is mainly in selling sponsorships will not be a fit.

Languages

• Professional English is required.
• Arabic is preferred.

Working Conditions

• Full-time and exclusive: you will be dedicated to the client for the full contract term, with no other clients or projects.
• Mobilisation: you must be able to mobilise within 48 hours of contract award, which is expected to be in October 2026.
• On site in Riyadh: you must be in Riyadh for the full operating periods of the summer 2027 festival (July to August) and the November 2027 event, whichever working option you choose.

• A competitive package for the duration of a 14-month contract, with the potential to extend by up to 3 months
• Flexible working, with a remote option during the planning phase
• The chance to deliver activations for leading global brands at a flagship, multi-week festival in Riyadh
• A senior, hands-on role in a dedicated specialist team embedded with a major client
• Close collaboration across commercial, programming, masterplan and operations teams
• Valuable experience on one of the region’s most high-profile live events programmes