Global Head of Partnerships in Basel

Art Basel stages the world's premier art shows for modern and contemporary works, connecting leading galleries, collectors, curators, and art enthusiasts. As a global leader in the art world, Art Basel fosters the intersection of culture, creativity, and commerce, shaping conversations and experiences that drive the future of the arts.

Global Head of Sponsor Partnerships

The Global Head of Sponsor Partnerships leads Art Basel's global strategy to drive revenue through the full lifecycle of high-value marketing sponsor partnerships. This role focuses on sourcing, closing, and retaining strategic sponsors to ensure sustainable commercial growth and world-class partnership experiences across all shows and year-round platforms.

Your Responsibilities

Sponsorship Revenue & Business Development

• Drive global sponsorship revenue performance, overseeing in-house teams and external agencies to maximize market penetration and conversion rates.
• Lead the sourcing, cultivation, and closing of Art Basel's most significant global sponsorship opportunities, personally engaging with C-suite executives at multinational organizations.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive sponsorship growth strategy that optimizes pipeline management and forecasting for predictable revenue.
• Establish clear objectives, performance metrics, governance frameworks, and incentive structures across all sales channels to ensure alignment with Art Basel's commercial priorities, brand standards, and growth targets.
• Evaluate, appoint, and manage external business development partners, consultants, and agencies, ensuring they effectively represent Art Basel in key markets, industry sectors, and strategic growth areas.
• Lead forecasting, pipeline management, and performance tracking to ensure predictable and sustainable revenue growth globally.

Lifecycle Management & Client Retention

• Own the end-to-end sponsorship lifecycle, ensuring a seamless transition from sales to high-impact activation and long-term account management.
• Drive strategic account growth and high renewal rates by identifying upsell and cross-sell opportunities within the existing portfolio.
• Establish rigorous performance reporting and business reviews to demonstrate ROI to sponsors and continuously improve service delivery.
• Serve as the executive sponsor for key global partners, maintaining senior-level relationships and ensuring Art Basel consistently exceeds client expectations.
• Design innovative sponsorship models that align global brand needs with Art Basel's cultural reach and digital/physical platforms.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to package and price market-leading propositions that create measurable value for partners and Art Basel.
• Establish a structured proposition development process that transforms market insights, client feedback, audience intelligence, and industry trends into commercially viable partnership offerings.

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead and mentor a high-performing global team focused on sponsorship excellence and revenue growth.
• Establish governance frameworks that drive consistency and commercial excellence across all regional sales and management functions.
• Champion cross-functional collaboration with Marketing, Show Management, VIP Client Development, Digital, Content, and other business functions to maximize partnership value creation.

Your Profile

• 15+ years of success in global sponsorship sales, with a proven track record of closing and retaining enterprise-level accounts or brand partnerships, ideally within art, culture, luxury, media, entertainment, sport, live events, or other premium global platforms.
• Exceptional executive presence and negotiation skills, with extensive experience influencing C-suite stakeholders.
• Highly commercial mindset with proficiency in Salesforce and data-driven pipeline management.
• Strong understanding of brand marketing, audience engagement, experiential activation, content partnerships, and the evolving needs of global sponsors seeking cultural relevance and measurable impact.
• Entrepreneurial, proactive, and solutions-oriented, with the ability to identify new revenue opportunities, shape innovative partnership models, and bring commercially compelling ideas to market.
• Genuine passion for contemporary culture, creativity, innovation, and global cultural platforms.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and negotiation skills, with the ability to translate Art Basel's cultural authority, audience reach, and brand equity into distinctive value propositions for partners.
• International outlook and cultural fluency, with the ability to operate effectively across key markets and build trusted relationships with diverse stakeholders around the world.
• Collaborative leadership style, with the ability to work across regions, functions, and cultures.
• Willing and happy to travel internationally as part of the role.

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