Brand Partnerships - UK Business Director

About the Role

This is a pivotal leadership role, responsible for overseeing and evolving our UK brand partnerships sales function in close collaboration with the US team. You'll make sure we hit ambitious commercial targets while delivering world-class creativity, client service and operational excellence.

The role focuses on our UK creator slate: Begin Again with Davina McCall and We Need to Talk with Paul C. Brunson.

You won't be directly responsible for our US-based shows and creators (The Diary of a CEO and Hot Smart Rich), but you will work with the US sales team and your US counterpart to find and build cross-show partnerships for brands that want to reach all our audiences.

You'll lead and inspire a growing team across UK sales and global partner management. You'll own our commercial strategy across UK media and brand solutions, and keep Flight Story the category leader in creator-led partnerships.

Key Responsibilities

• Leadership & Team Development: Lead, coach, and support the brand partnerships sales and partner management teams, fostering a high-performance, collaborative culture.

• Sales & Revenue Ownership: Set and deliver FlightStory’s commercial partnership targets for We Need To Talk and Begin Again, driving growth across podcast sponsorship, branded content, social, product collaborations and new formats.

• Commercial Strategy: Develop and execute business plans to scale revenue; identify and capitalise on untapped market opportunities; ensure pricing, packaging, and value proposition are competitive globally.

• Business Planning & Forecasting: Own commercial partnership forecasts and revenue pacing; report on performance to senior leadership and FlightStory creators with recommendations for improvement.

• Operational Excellence: Develop our sales operations, processes, and reporting; champion best practices in CRM, pipeline management, and deal execution.

• Client Excellence: Ensure the delivery of exceptional client experiences, from pitch through post-sale, securing high-value renewals and long-term partnerships.

• Collaboration: Work closely with CRO, creative, production, and marketing teams to align partnership strategy with broader company objectives.

• Market Leadership: Stay ahead of media and creator economy trends; ensure FlightStory Studio remains at the forefront of innovation in brand partnerships.

• Drive commercial innovation: Lead the proactive development of new commercial formats and revenue opportunities, including go-to-market strategies, pricing structures, and scalable monetisation models to expand the studio’s partnership offering and accelerate revenue growth.

What You’ll Bring

• Proven success in scaling high-performing commercial teams in media, creator, or talent-led environments.

• Demonstrated track record of delivering and exceeding substantial sales targets (£multi-million).

• Strong leadership, mentoring, and people development skills.

• Commercially strategic with a hands-on approach to execution.

• Ability to build and optimise operational processes for scale.

• Excellent client-facing and negotiation skills, able to influence at C-level.

• Passion for creator economy, innovation, and entrepreneurial environments.

FlightStory Values

You are ambitious, resilient, and a life-long student of your craft. A collaborative communicator who leads with humility, urgency, and optimism. You take ownership, embrace experimentation, and are obsessed with continuous improvement.