Senior Sponsoring & Partnerships Manager

• Thirteenth month's salary and 8% holiday allowance

• 10% Employee Benefit Budget

• EUR 1,400 development budget per year

• Hybrid working: balance between home and office work (possible for most roles)

• A pension, for which you can set the maximum amount of your personal contribution

View all our benefits.

In this role within the global Communications and Corporate Affairs (CCA) department, you will be responsible for managing and activating Rabobank’s key sport sponsorships, including high-profile contracts such as TeamNL, KNHB and cycling (Team Visma | Lease a Bike). You are passionate about sponsorships and partnerships, and bring at least 8 years of experience in senior roles within the sponsorship domain, preferably in large organizations or multinationals.

We are looking for someone who sees sponsoring as a strategic discipline, but also thrives on execution. Someone who knows how to translate sponsorships into consistent brand value and campaigns, business opportunities and client engagement and who takes ownership in delivering tangible results. You are comfortable managing complex contracts, collaborating with external partners and agencies, and activating sponsorships through impactful campaigns and events. You’re not afraid to challenge stakeholders and keep partners on their toes. You understand how to use data and insights to maximize return on investment and reputation impact.

As Senior Sponsoring & Partnerships Manager, you will play a key role in executing Rabobank’s sponsorship strategy. You will report directly to the Lead Sponsoring & Partnerships (part of MT CCA). You will be part of the Sponsoring & Partnerships Team, which falls under the Communications & Corporate Affairs (CCA) department.

‘With this new role, we’re strengthening the foundation of our sponsorship strategy. We’re looking for someone who not only brings experience with major sports contracts, but also has the drive to help our team take Rabobank’s sponsorship impact to the next level.’ - Thomas Metz, Lead Sponsoring & Partnerships

• Help implement and activate Rabobank’s sponsorship strategy

• Help leverage and activate the sponsorships to drive tangible return for brand, business and society

• Help build a strong communications community from local to worldwide to leverage impact

• First focus will be our home market Netherlands. However, our sponsoring portfolio also includes international partnerships and exclusive relationship events in other geographies.  

• Department of +/- 60 experienced colleagues

• 40,000+ Employees world-wide

• Business activities in 37 countries

• 9+ Million customers around the world

• Manage and activate key sport sponsorships, including contract execution and stakeholder alignment
• Develop yearly activation plans (e.g. 2026) based on strategic objectives and data-driven insights
• Collaborate with internal teams and external partners to ensure impactful execution
• Monitor and report on sponsorship performance, ROI and business contribution
• Contribute to the development and optimization of Rabobank’s sponsorship strategy and policy

You’ve probably come across our new brand campaign already: Our Bank. We have launched this new brand campaign September 2024 and it is essential the sponsorship strategy seamlessly integrates with the brand campaign strategy. We believe our cooperative mentality is the answer to the needs of today’s society: We address the growing need for connection and communities because Rabobank believes in the power of togetherness. We meet the need for genuine attention and involvement because Rabobank cares about society. And we respond to the need to be heard because Rabobank listens to the voice of our clients and members. Our sponsoring strategy is designed to enhance the impact of this campaign and elevate the power of our brand.

The CCA department consists of the following sub-teams: Sponsoring & Partnerships, Communications Advice and Project Management, Public Affairs, Media Relations, Content Hub, Branding. Given a new ambition and course change in sponsoring, your role is a new one. For this new role to be successful, collaboration with other teams across the bank is incremental. This includes the marketing teams as well as the corporate events teams of Retail NL, Wholesale & Rural and RGO staff, as well as the many directors and marketing & comms colleagues of the international regions (including US, Australia, Brazil) and the local banks in the Netherlands. 

Professional collaboration, Customer focus, Problem solving, Change agility and Storytelling are Rabobank skills that are clearly essential for this role.

You are a strong team player, with an international mindset. A strategic, data-driven thinker with a practical and hands-on mentality. Your organizational sensitivity is highly developed, and you are at ease when moving around in politically sensitive settings. In addition, it is important that you recognize yourself in the checklist below:

• Relevant university degree or equivalent;

• Relevant experience (8+ years) in a demanding communications environment within a large organization/sponsor, relevant experience with strategic Sponsoring/Partnerships in another large organization or multinational is a must;

• Ability to focus, make difficult decisions and ‘Think Big’ to maximize ROI.

• Knowledge of and experience with brand building, reputation management and the Reptrak model

• Excellent communications craftsmanship (writing, presenting, scripting, presentations, visualization, social etc.)

• Result and output oriented; self-starting.

• Great project management skills

• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to influence without authority.

• Team player and trusted advisor to senior management.

• Fluent in English and Dutch.

Reply to the vacancy for Senior Sponsoring & Partnerships Manager before 28 October, 2025.If we receive a sufficient number of high-quality applications, we reserve the right to close the vacancy earlier than the stated deadline.

• Any questions about the job content? Contact Thomas Metz via [email protected]

• Any questions about working at Rabobank and the process? Contact Kelly van Lijssel, Corporate Recruiter via [email protected].

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