England Rugby
Regional Partnerships Manager
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Regional Partnerships Manager
Regional Partnerships Manager – England Rugby
Working at the RFU means being part of the ‘bigger picture’ at England Rugby: to be rooted in our purpose of enriching lives, introducing more people to rugby union, and developing the sport for future generations. If our purpose resonates with you and you recognise the value that sport can bring to people’s lives, we’d love to work with you.
Job Information
- Job Title: Regional Partnerships Manager
- Department: Rugby Development
- Reports to: Head of Regional Partnerships
- Direct report(s): Regional Fundraising Manager
- Salary: c.£60,000 per annum
- Job Level: Guide
- Location: Homebased, covering a region (South East & London, South Central, Midlands West)
- Travel Requirements: Regular travel within region, and occasional travel to Allianz Stadium as required.
- Employment Type: 3-year Fixed Term Contract
- Working Hours: Full-time, covering 35hrs per week on any five of the seven days (Monday to Sunday inclusive)
Application Information
- Submit an anonymised CV (remove all personal details). No cover letter required.
- Vacancy closing date: 6th July at 12 noon
- Interviews: 14th and 15th July
- Note: This role may close earlier than advertised due to high interest. Apply early to avoid disappointment.
About the Role
The RFU has recently launched Plan 2030: More Than A Game, our five-year strategy to grow rugby across England, built around four core goals: Play, Perform, Follow and Fund.
Under Play, we aim to increase participation by 50,000 registered players and get more people playing rugby for longer. A key initiative involves Regional Growth Partnership Boards designed to drive participation, partnership-building, and funding opportunities within each region.
As part of this transformation, the RFU is restructuring regions to focus on:
- Expanding playing opportunities,
- Managing growth funding,
- Strengthening community relationships,
- Strengthening partnerships (e.g., clubs, County Boards, professional game, and organisations).
As Regional Partnerships Manager, you’ll partner with the Regional Chair and Board to shape regional engagement, manage the Regional Fundraising Manager (who secures essential income for growth), and align resources to drive participation.
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You’ll lead the development of a data-driven regional growth plan, blending local insight and collateral engagement to deliver on the RFU’s mission: “more people playing, for longer”.
What the Role Involves
- Strategic Leadership
- Develop a clear regional growth plan tailored to local needs and opportunities.
- Stakeholder Engagement & Relationships
- Build and mentor relationships with clubs, County Boards, schools, charities, councils, businesses, and other stakeholders.
- Lead fundraising initiatives alongside the Regional Fundraising Manager to secure external investment.
- Funding & Resource Direction
- Allocate and manage both RFU and external funding for community rugby projects.
- Collaboration
- Work with the Regional Chair, Board, and RFU colleagues to increase participation and resource allocation.
- Stewardship & Reporting
- Monitor regional activity and reporting (both operational and financial), tracking progress against KPIs.
- Representational Leadership
- Act as an ambassador for RFU’s core values (Put The Team First • Shape The Future • Respect Each Other).
- Practice a start-up mindset—creative thinking to grow rugby creatively within your region.
Key Responsibilities
- Supporting the Regional Chair and Board to build partnerships with regional stakeholders including councils, charities, education providers, and businesses.
- Acting as deputy to the Regional Chair where necessary.
- Driving engagement with clubs, County Boards, and professional rugby to cultivate and implement the Regional Plan.
- Securing collaboration across clubs, Count Bodies (CBB), player welfare departments (RFU Collegiateosomes), RFU staff and regional partners.
- Budget & funding management, ensuring effective and measurable outcomes.
- Line-managing the Regional Fundraising Manager to optimise funding streams across RFU’s various growth initiatives.
- Setting an inclusive and accountable organisational tone to support team culture and outcomes.
- Providing operational and financial reporting to RFU leadership, Board members, and region-wide stakeholders.
- Ensuring a creative contribution to rugby growth, leveraging data-driven insight, regional knowledge, and trend-spotting.
- Expanding learning and benchmarking across RFU regions for best practice sharing.
- Participation in, and adherence to, all organisational policies and corporate governance requirements.
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What We’re Looking For
Essential Skills & Experience
- Proven ability to develop, implement, monitor and refine strategic and operational plans that deliver measurable targets.
- Comprehensive understanding of grassroots and community sport experience—including impact on, and value to, local communities.
- Exceptional partnership skills—collaboration, consensus-building, and constructive influence at multiple levels.
- Experience bringing diverse stakeholder groups together to set and achieve shared goals.
- Hands-on fundraising or allied commercial experience.
- Strong grasp of budgeting, performance tracking and risk management—including cost efficiency and creative resource allocation.
- History of leading high-performing teams that achieve results under pressure.
- Strong creative problem-solving propensities and lean, independent initiative.
- Exceptional interpersonal skills and relationship management.
- Confident written and verbal communication—clarity, impact and eloquence.
- Ability to work independently, prioritise effectively, and juggle multiple priorities simultaneously.
- Self-aware with a commitment to continuous professional development.
- Familiarity with Microsoft Office tools: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Smartsheet.
- Alignment with, and ** embodiment of, RFU’s core values** (Put The Team First • Shape The Future • Respect Each Other), applying them daily.
- Ability to actively contribute to and support an inclusive culture within your teams and behaviours.
Desirable Qualities
- Experience in marketing and/or communications.
- Additional qualifications beyond commonsense, especially degree level or equivalent.
Additional Support
We aim to provide every opportunity for candidates to demonstrate skill, ability, and potential. If you require assistance or adjustments during your application process or interviews, please contact the recruiting team directly.
During application, we will ask optional identity-based questions for representation cohesion and planning purposes. Responses remain confidential and are used strictly for statistical analysis only. Details can be found here.
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