Networks & Partnerships Manager

Who We Are

We Are Futures is unique agency with a powerful mission: to transform the futures of brands and young people, by tackling the issues that matter to both.

Over twenty years ago, we saw the potential for brands to connect deeply with young people, parents, families, teachers, and communities. We pioneered the idea that brands could positively shape young people's futures. In return, we championed the role that young people could play to help brands thrive, growing together in a positive relationship.

Since 2004, we've positively impacted over 40 million young people and 150 businesses. Today, we're the go-to agency for transforming the futures of brands and young people.

Role Overview

We Are Futures is building a market-leading set of audience networks that connect brands with young people and their key influencers across education, home, campus and community environments. [FY26-27 Ne...s proposal | PowerPoint]

To accelerate this opportunity, we are seeking a Networks & Partnerships Manager. Reporting to the Commercial Director, the Networks & Partnerships Manager will create, curate, grow and commercialise our audience networks, transforming them into scalable, revenue-generating products.

This role will sit at the intersection of commercial, strategy, marketing and client service, ensuring our networks:

• Delivers value for client campaigns
• Strengthens new business propositions and proposals
• Generates independent revenue streams

The successful candidate will lead both inbound (product and proposition development) and outbound (partnership and network growth) activity.

Key Responsibilities

1. Network Strategy, Development & Commercialisation

• Define clear vision, positioning and growth plans for each network:
• National Schools Partnership (NSP)
• National Student Network
• National Parent Network
• Youth Partnerships Network
• Build networks into scalable commercial products, with:
• Defined propositions
• Tiered access models (direct, affiliate, partner)
• Clear pricing and revenue streams
• Identify and develop new revenue opportunities, including:
• Campaign activation revenue
• Insight and research products
• Co-creation opportunities
• Create repeatable commercial models that the business can sell into campaigns and independently.

2. Partnerships & Network Growth (Outbound Leadership)

• Lead the identification, outreach and onboarding of strategic partners across:
• Education institutions and school groups
• Student unions and university networks
• Parent organisations and family platforms
• Youth organisations, charities and community groups
• Build and manage high-value partnerships that extend reach, credibility and capability.
• Develop consistent partnership frameworks and ways of working that scale across networks.
• Establish international partnership opportunities and routes to market.

3. Commercial Integration & Business Growth

• Work closely with Commercial, Client Services and New Business teams to:
• Embed networks into campaign strategies
• Create compelling sales narratives and materials
• Support pitches and proposals
• Ensure networks are seen internally as core products that drive revenue and differentiation.
• Help define targets, engagement benchmarks and revenue contribution for each network

4. Product Development & Innovation

• Translate network access into market-ready products and experiences, including:
• Campaign distribution mechanics
• Insight communities and research panels
• Ambassador programmes and co-creation formats
• Lead pilot activations, capturing performance data and building case studies.
• Iterate and refine propositions based on performance and commercial viability.

5. Collaboration Across the Business

• Partner with:
• Strategy team to align networks with audience insight and planning
• Marketing & Communications to build visibility, engagement and partner value
• Content teams to ensure output resonates with each audience
• Align with Data & Intelligence to strengthen audience segmentation, insight and measurement.

6. Network Performance & Management

• Drive growth across key metrics:
• Network size and reach
• Quality and engagement of partners
• Work with Marketing and Communications assess campaign performance and participation
• Revenue generated from networks
• Build and maintain strong senior stakeholder relationships across all network partners
• Potentially manage and guide roles responsible for relationship management and delivery.

Key Role Deliverables

• Delivering the network strategies and roadmaps
• Established partnership ecosystems in place and being used across all audience groups
• Fully developed and sellable network offers
• Demonstrable revenue contribution from networks
• Develop a fully articulated and budgeted set of products/opportunities for each network or partnership. Working with the Commercial Director and Finance Director.

Skills & Experience

• Proven experience in partnerships, networks and business development
• Strong commercial mindset with experience building monetisable products or propositions
• Track record of developing and managing strategic partnerships
• Ability to operate across strategy, sales and delivery
• Experience working with multi-stakeholder ecosystems (e.g. education, youth, media, community sectors)
• Excellent communication and influencing skills
• Highly proactive, entrepreneurial and comfortable building from the ground up
• Built or scaled a network / audience / community
• Developed partnerships that unlock reach
• Turned something into a sellable commercial product
• Worked across sales + strategy + delivery

Someone who has “owned the growth and monetisation of an audience or ecosystem”

Our values

Ambitious

• Always thinking of ways to take the ordinary to the extraordinary;
• Pushing ourselves and clients to go for brilliant;
• Always looking at ways to build our agency and business;
• Being ambitious for our colleagues;
• Pushing boundaries in our work;
• Never being satisfied with ‘ok' so we produce exceptional quality work

Creative

• It is normal practice to think of different and exciting ways to do things;
• Being encouraged to take risks and be brave with big ideas;
• Pushing ourselves to wow clients and colleagues;
• Being creative in actions, thoughts and words to produce exceptional quality work.

Supportive

• Being committed to looking out for each other and helping in whatever way we can;
• Supporting each other's development; enjoying the rewards of being part of a great team;
• Treating everyone fairly and with respect;
• Championing fairness and belonging