Senior Partnership Manager

Location: Shanghai, China The Riot Commercial Partnerships (RCP) team is responsible for identifying, building, and executing world-class partnerships with leading global and regional brands. Our mission is to drive revenue and impact through strategic commercial collaborations that bring meaningful value to Riot’s fans—across Games, Entertainment, Esports, and Social Impact. For every product and event Riot creates, our partners help elevate the experience for millions of players and audiences around the world. We’re looking for a strategic, highly organized Senior Partnership Manager to help scale how Riot develops, manages, and activates brand partnerships in China.  As a Senior Partnership Manager on the Riot Commercial Partnerships (RCP) team in China, you  will oversee the end-to-end operating process for regional brand partnership opportunities, working closely with Regional Riot Publishing & Partnerships Leads (RPPLs), Consumer Products and Experiences (CPX), our publishing partner Tencent, and cross-functional stakeholders to move opportunities from identification and evaluation through deal development, execution, and reporting. You will serve as the central program leader connecting regional opportunities to Riot’s broader commercial strategy—creating clarity around priorities, establishing effective processes, driving accountability across teams, and providing leadership with visibility into the regional partnership pipeline and performance. You will report to the General Manager of Publishing and Esports of China. Because priorities shift quickly in our fast-paced environment, this role includes—but isn’t limited to—the responsibilities below. Responsibilities: Oversee the regional brand partnership operating process, working in close partnership with regional RPPLs and BD teams, acting as the program lead with this group of key stakeholders who will identify, evaluate, prioritize, develop, and execute local and regional brand partnership opportunities. Establish clear frameworks, workflows, milestones, and decision points that maintain alignment with Riot’s global partnership strategy and standards. Proactively identify, pursue, and secure high-impact IP licensing partnerships with globally recognized entertainment franchises to drive compelling in-game collaborations across our portfolio of games. Serve as the Partnership Manager across different business units, coordinating stakeholders, identifying dependencies, resolving blockers, and ensuring opportunities progress from initial concept through contracting, activation, and measurement. Build and maintain a consolidated view of the regional brand partnership pipeline, providing regular reporting, insights, risks, and recommendations to RCP and senior leadership. Use scalable tools, processes, and best practices that improve coordination between global and regional commercial teams and enable Riot to pursue local partnership opportunities more effectively. Advocate for partner objectives and contractual deliverables within internal workstreams while ensuring partnership activations remain aligned with Riot’s products, players, and brand. Coordinate complex cross-functional initiatives involving Publishing, Esports, Games, Marketing, Legal, Finance, Business Development, regional teams, and external partners. Anticipate and resolve partnership and program risks, escalating issues appropriately and driving stakeholders toward clear decisions and successful outcomes. Oversee partnership measurement and recap reporting, translating performance data into actionable insights, optimization opportunities, and recommendations for leadership and partners. Required Qualifications: 6-8 years of experience in partnership management with 3-4 years in Brand Partnership, Business Development, Sponsorship, Account Management, Strategic Partnerships, Program Management, or an equivalent field. Demonstrated experience leading complex, cross-functional brand partnership programs across multiple teams, regions, or business units. Proven ability to project manage multiple high-value partnership opportunities simultaneously, establishing clear workstreams, owners, milestones, dependencies, and decision points. Experience managing senior-level relationships with external brands, agencies, rights holders, or strategic partners. Strong executive communication skills, with experience synthesizing complex programs and commercial pipelines into clear reporting, insights, risks, and recommendations for senior leadership. Excellent stakeholder management skills and demonstrated ability to influence and drive alignment across teams without direct authority. Strong understanding of the partnership lifecycle, including opportunity development, deal evaluation, contracting, activation, measurement, renewal, and expansion. Strong analytical and strategic problem-solving skills with the ability to balance commercial objectives, partner needs, operational realities, and player value. Exceptional attention to detail, planning, organization, and follow-through. Ability to operate effectively amid ambiguity, changing priorities, and multiple simultaneous workstreams. Ability to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed to support major events and partner activations. Excellent communication skills in both English and Chinese Desired Qualifications: Experience working within gaming, esports, sports, entertainment, media, technology, or other IP-driven partnership businesses. Experience working across global and regional commercial organizations, including familiarity with the complexities of developing locally relevant partnerships within a global framework. Experience designing and implementing partnership processes, governance models, pipeline management systems, or operating frameworks across distributed teams. Strong understanding of integrated marketing and the ability to connect partner objectives to compelling fan and player experiences. Experience working with senior executives and providing leadership-level commercial reporting and recommendations. Bachelor’s Degree in a related field; MBA or related advanced degree is a plus. For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise, a collaborative spirit, and decision-making that prioritizes the delight of players. We will be looking at your past studies, experience, and your personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about players' experiences, this could be your role!