VP, Business Development & Brand Partnerships

Description

Backed by Callaway Golf and Danny Meyer’s Enlightened Hospitality Investments, Five Iron blends world-class technology with hospitality-driven service across its sports bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues. With 35 locations open and more than 50 in the pipeline worldwide, the brand is expanding its reach while remaining rooted in innovation, inclusivity, and community connection. 

Five Iron is seeking a VP of Business Development & Brand Partnerships to build and scale a best-in-class partnerships engine that drives meaningful revenue and elevates our brand. This role owns partnerships across corporate and franchise locations, spanning enterprise-scale national relationships as well as high-impact local programs, and ranging from cash sponsorships to strategic brand collaborations that deepen cultural relevance.

This role requires an executive who has personally sold partnerships, built revenue, and can leverage a meaningful existing network to generate near-term momentum. We are looking for someone who can walk in with relationships, open doors, and close deals, then build the systems and team to scale that success into an eight-figure annual revenue channel over time. You will inherit and lead a team of 2–3 contributors who built the foundation of Five Iron’s partnerships function, with the opportunity to expand the team as the business scales.

Key Responsibilities:

1) Revenue Growth Through Partnerships (Corporate + Franchise)

• Develop and execute a partnerships strategy that drives revenue across Five Iron’s footprint, corporate and franchise.
• Originate, negotiate, and grow enterprise-scale national partnerships across priority categories (e.g., beverage, travel, gaming, credit cards, apparel, consumer technology).
• Architect a scalable local partnerships model that franchisees and corporate teams can deploy consistently while maintaining brand standards.
• Create and continuously refine packaged offerings (inventory, pricing, tiers, case studies) across leagues, events, tournaments, and in-venue activations.

2) Brand Collaborations That Elevate Five Iron

• Lead collaborations that expand cultural relevance: limited-edition product drops, co-branded capsules, influencer partnerships, and content-led activations.
• Ensure partnerships are executed with a premium aesthetic and consistent storytelling, aligned with Five Iron’s creative identity.
• Identify partners that expand Five Iron into new communities and customer segments, not simply sponsors seeking traditional media placement.

3) Partnership Operations + Execution Excellence

• Own deal structure and negotiation across cash, value-in-kind, rights, deliverables, usage, measurement, and renewal terms.
• Build a repeatable activation and servicing playbook to ensure partner commitments are delivered consistently across locations.
• Establish cross-functional operating rhythms with Marketing, Ops, Events, Leagues/Tournaments, Tech, and Franchise leadership to integrate partnerships into the Five Iron experience.
• Track and report partnership performance, including revenue, margin, sell-through, brand lift proxies, retention, and renewals.

4) Team Leadership + Functional Buildout

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of 2–3, and scale headcount thoughtfully as revenue grows.
• Build a hiring roadmap (e.g., national partnerships, partner success/activation, local/franchise partnerships, collaborations/content).
• Implement pipeline discipline, forecasting, KPI dashboards, and a weekly operating cadence.

What Success Looks Like (12–24 months):

• Near-term wins driven by existing relationships and a disciplined pipeline of new partners, renewals, and upsells.
• A repeatable partnerships “product”: inventory, tiers, pricing, and packages that consistently convert.
• A partnership model that works for both corporate and franchise locations that is consistent, scalable, and brand-protected.
• A portfolio of collaborations that elevate brand perception and expand Five Iron’s cultural footprint.
• Operational excellence: strong renewal rates, predictable activation delivery, and partners who see measurable value.
• Performance-based incentives tied to partnership revenue closed, renewals/expansions, and key strategic collaboration milestones.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in partnerships, sponsorships, brand partnerships, or strategic revenue roles, with a track record of personally closing deals.
• A strong, relevant network and the ability to source and close opportunities quickly through existing relationships.
• Demonstrated success selling multi-location or scaled partnerships (sports, experiential, hospitality, media, consumer brands, or entertainment).
• Comfortable structuring complex agreements: cash sponsorships, revenue share, multi-location programs, and value-in-kind/media trades.
• Brand-forward and commercially rigorous: you can protect brand equity while monetizing thoughtfully and at scale.
• Highly execution-oriented. Able to manage multiple deals, stakeholders, and activations simultaneously.
• Experience leading and developing teams (or ready to step into a true team leadership mandate).
• Golf industry experience is helpful but not required; we care most about your ability to sell partnerships and build a partnerships business.

Why Join Five Iron?

• Lead a high-impact growth function at a category-defining brand reshaping golf culture.
• Own partnerships across a rapidly growing footprint. Corporate + franchise stores. 
• Build an eight-figure partnerships engine and the team behind it.
• Work on high-visibility collaborations and sponsorships with real cultural and commercial impact.
• Competitive compensation with meaningful performance upside.

Benefits:

• Health, Dental, and Vision insurance
• Long and Short Term Disability 
• Accident and Critical Illness Insurance
• 401K 

Job Type: Full-Time, Exempt

Pay: $130,000 - $150,000 + performance based incentives 

Location: NYC preferred (open to remote with travel) 

Five Iron Golf is committed to celebrating diversity and creating an inclusive environment for employees of all backgrounds. Five Iron Golf provides Equal Employment Opportunity to everyone and complies with all applicable Federal, State and Local laws governing nondiscrimination in all locations. Five Iron Golf will consider all requests for reasonable accommodations as required.