Manager, Games Partnerships & Activations

Team: Games Partnerships & Activations

Activity: Full-time

Role grade: Manager (6)

Direct reports: 0

Indirect reports: 0

Reporting to: Senior Manager Games Partnerships & Activations

Role location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Job Purpose: As Manager Games Partnerships & Activations, you'll join the Games team, where the Esports Foundation connects with the publishers behind the world’s biggest titles. We work alongside game studios to bring their games to life across the Esports World Cup and Esports Nations Cup, from the first conversation through to what fans experience on the ground. This role sits at the heart of that work, managing day-to-day partnerships with a set of publishers and helping shape how the team delivers for them.

You will own the partner workstream end-to-end across all our events, making sure commitments turn into action and that publisher activities across marketing, in-game, fan engagement, broadcast, and festival land on time, on spec, and on brand. You need to understand what matters to your publishers, identify opportunities to deepen the partnership, and bring those opportunities back into the organization.

Duties and Responsibilities

• The relationship with your assigned publishers. Building trust, understanding their priorities, and becoming a credible first point of contact who can move the partnership forward without needing to be chased.

• Turning publisher commitments into delivery, knowing what has been agreed, who owes what, when it is due, and driving it through to completion across both sides

• Routing publisher needs to the right people internally and closing the loop, so requests don’t sit unanswered.

• Activation concepts, bringing your own ideas for how each publisher shows up rather than waiting to be handed them.

• The calendar of publisher announcements and key beats across blog, social, and trailers, keeping every date on track.

• Co-marketing alignment with Corporate Marketing and Fan Marketing, helping drive it forward rather than waiting for the meeting.

• The operating backbone: asset specs, lockup guides, QA checklists, and post-mortems that make each cycle sharper than the last.

• Publisher-side creative reviews, for both compliance and strategic fit, with a view on why an asset works and not only whether it passes.

• Driving insights and market research to fuel campaigns that connect publisher initiatives to how fans discover and engage with the brand.

• Delivery proof and engagement metrics, gathered proactively to be populated in first-draft mini-reports for publishers and internal leads, written in your own words and analysis

• Spotting new partnership and co-marketing opportunities and bringing them forward.

• Publisher comms and creative lined up against the on-site Festival footprint at EWC and ENC.

• The on-ground role at EWC and ENC: connecting stakeholders, clearing bottlenecks, running last-mile fixes, and escalating early when something is at risk.

• Structure and continuously improve the cross-functional workstreams connecting publishers with Corporate Marketing, Fan Marketing, and Festival, ensuring clear alignment, ownership, and effective delivery across teams.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, or a related field.

• 5+ years in IP collaborations, marketing, brand or partnership management, account management, or a related role.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong and demonstrated knowledge of the gaming and esports industry, including major titles, publishers, competitive ecosystems, industry trends, and current developments, with the ability to discuss them credibly and confidently. This is an essential requirement for the role.

• Proven experience working with pop-culture IP such as global brands and AAA video game publishers.

• Strong grasp of marketing principles and community engagement.

• Proven experience building and managing strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, with clear ownership of

  communication, coordination, and follow-through.

• Proven ability to work proactively and independently, with experience prioritizing work and taking initiative without close supervision.

  Strong track record of reliability and accountability, including meeting deadlines and communicating risks, delays, or changes early.\

• Experience using AI tools effectively in a professional environment, combined with strong independent research, critical thinking, and judgment.

• Prior experience working in KSA and understanding of local nuances.

• Fluent in written and verbal English and Arabic.

• International agency experience is a plus.

Benefits

• Relocation support

• Transportation allowance

• Competitive compensation

• Housing allowance

• VIP medical insurance

• Opportunity to work on a new exciting project with a group of passionate professionals. You will get the freedom to excel and make a real impact

Diversity disclaimer

Our mission is to build a diverse organization where our members, regardless of background or identity, have a sense of belonging. We genuinely believe that thanks to creating a collaborative environment where different perspectives are valued, we can achieve more. Together, we want to reshape the boundaries of what is achievable in the esports domain.