Partnerships Manager

About the role

Canadian Blood Services is looking for an experienced Partnership Manager to help build and grow a new national sport-based donor recruitment initiative. 

Canadian Blood Services is excited to launch a community-based recruitment program designed to harness the reach, influence and culture of sport to inspire participation, strengthen connections with younger and more diverse audiences, and build a sustainable pipeline of new donors.

The initiative will come to life through collaborations with athletes, teams, leagues, sport organizations, clubs, schools, community partners and grassroots networks across Canada. Basketball and hockey will be the initial areas of focus, with opportunities to support and expand into other sports over time. 

This is a unique opportunity to help build a national movement from the ground up. The successful candidate will understand the Canadian sport ecosystem, possess strong relationship-building and partnership development skills, and have the ability to bring together diverse stakeholders around a shared purpose. 

By building meaningful partnerships across all levels of sport, this individual will play a critical role in helping weave blood donation into the fabric of Canadian sport and creating lasting connections between sport communities and Canada's Lifeline. 

Formula for success

• Develop and implement a partnership engagement strategy that leverages the reach and influence of the Canadian sport ecosystem to support donor recruitment and community participation. 
• Identify, cultivate and manage relationships with national and provincial sport organizations, leagues, teams, clubs, schools, athletes, community groups and other key stakeholders. 
• Establish and grow a network of sport partners that can mobilize participants, volunteers, families and fans around Canada's Lifeline. 
• Develop and deliver partnership proposals, presentations and impact reports that secure partner commitment, demonstrate measurable value and foster long-term engagement. 
• Collaborate with regional recruitment, marketing, communications, and program design teams to help shape the strategic direction of Canadian Blood Services’ sport recruitment strategy, leveraging knowledge of the sport ecosystem and partner feedback to direction and decision making.   
• Work directly with sport organizations to integrate blood and plasma donation into their culture, programming, events and community initiatives. 
• Identify opportunities to engage athletes, coaches, officials and sport leaders as advocates and ambassadors for Canada's Lifeline. 
• Collaborate with internal and external partners to activate national, regional and local opportunities across basketball, hockey and other priority sports. 
• Build strong relationships with community leaders and diverse audiences to ensure the initiative resonates authentically within different communities across Canada. 
• Monitor partnership performance and establish measurement frameworks tied to partner participation and engagement, biological donations and long-term engagement. 
• Maintain a strong understanding of the sport landscape and identify emerging opportunities, trends and organizations that can contribute to program growth. 
• Help shape a scalable sport engagement model that can expand across additional sports and communities over time.  

Desired education and skills

• Significant experience in partnership development, sponsorship, business development, community engagement, sport management or a related field.  
• A strong understanding of the Canadian sport landscape and how athletes, teams, governing bodies, clubs, schools and community organizations work together.  
• Direct experience working within the sport ecosystem is a significant asset. Experience across basketball and/ or hockey would be particularly valuable.  
• Demonstrated success building, managing and growing strategic partnerships that drive measurable organizational outcomes.  
• Experience working with sport organizations, leagues, rights holders, athletes, agents, teams or community-based organizations.  
• Strong relationship management and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to build trust and credibility across diverse audiences.  
• Experience leading complex initiatives involving multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.  
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence and engage senior leaders and external partners.  
• Experience developing partnership strategies that create shared value and long-term engagement.  
• Experience engaging diverse communities in an authentic and culturally relevant manner.  
• A genuine passion for sport and its ability to create belonging, strengthen communities and inspire people to take action.

What will make someone successful in this role

• The strongest candidate will be comfortable building while delivering. They will be energized by creating something new and capable of moving between long-term relationship development and day-to-day execution.  
• They will understand that meaningful partnerships are not built through transactional sponsorships or one-time activations. Success will come from building authentic relationships across the sport ecosystem and creating opportunities for organizations, athletes, teams and fans to see blood and plasma donation as a natural extension of their commitment to Canadian communities.   
• This person will bring the credibility to operate within the sport ecosystem, the partnership expertise to unite diverse stakeholders around a common purpose, and the collaborative leadership style required to build something lasting across Canadian Blood Services and its partners.  
• By helping embed Canadian Blood Services within sport communities across the country, they will contribute to a national movement that inspires participation, strengthens communities and directly supports Canadian Blood Services in achieving the goal of recruiting 1 million new donors to Canada’s Lifeline.   

What we offer you

• Payment in lieu of vacation.
• Payment in lieu of benefits.  
• Defined benefit pension plan. 
• Employee discounts, wellness program, professional resources. 

What you can expect

• This role requires a minimum of 40% on-site presence. Additional on-site work may be required based on business needs. On-site expectations are subject to change and may be adjusted on a temporary or permanent basis. The successful candidate will work at our Toronto (67 College Street) major site office. 
• You may be required to travel nationally sub monthly, and as required.