Head of Partner Operations - 50 Best

The 50 Best brand is the leading authority in global gastronomy, international drinks and premium travel space, showcasing worldwide trends and highlighting great restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards around the world.

For more than 20 years, 50 Best has provided unrivalled guidance through its lists and events to gourmets, cocktail lovers and discerning travellers, inspiring consumers to discover and explore diverse establishments, cultures and destinations. The organisation remains steadfast in its commitment to unveiling up-and-coming chefs, bartenders and hoteliers, exploring trends, and highlighting the subtlety and complexity of various cuisines and drinks cultures from around the world.

Its portfolio includes The World's 50 Best Restaurants, The World's 50 Best Bars and their regional lists, as well as The World's 50 Best Hotels, The World's 50 Best Vineyards and the 50 Best Discovery platform.

We have offices in Gatwick, Brighton and London, UK; Montpellier, France; Singapore and Chicago, US. In line with the Company's current Agile Working Policy, the successful candidate would be eligible to work part of the week from our London & Gatwick offices and to work remotely for the rest of the week.

Position

Position: Full time - permanent

Location: London & Gatwick / Hybrid

50 Best is seeking a highly organised and proactive Head of Partner Operations to lead our partner operations and logistics function within our event programme. This role is central to ensuring that our sponsors' visibility is delivered seamlessly and to the highest standard across all events. You will manage a team of four, providing direction, leadership, and operational excellence in planning and executing sponsor logistics on the ground - All whilst ensuring we give our Partners the best experience.

This is a role for someone who thrives on delivering operational excellence in a dynamic, high profile environment. You'll combine strategic oversight with a proactive approach, ensuring that our partner' brand visibility is executed flawlessly at every event

What you'll be doing:

Strategic Partner Delivery

• Oversee end-to-end delivery of sponsor visibility and assets at events, ensuring contractual obligations are delivered on time, in full and to brand standard
• Ensure all sponsor/partner contractual rights and benefits are delivered on time, in full, and to brand standards.
• Oversee all partner logistics at events linked to partner activations - installations, product integration, brand visibility
• Act as the bridge between account management and operations to execute contractual obligations.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Work closely with logistics, production, marketing, and creative teams to deliver partner activations to the highest standard.
• Liaise with venues, agencies, and suppliers to align resources.

Contract Oversight & Compliance

• Review partner agreements and translate obligations into project plans.
• Ensure compliance with health & safety, sustainability and regulatory requirements in all logistics operations.
• Lead resolution when partners raise concerns and implement escalation frameworks.
• Protect sponsor relationships while managing operational realities.

Reporting & Evaluation

• Collect partner feedback to inform future planning.
• Implement efficient processes, tools, and reporting to track progress, manage budgets and deliver consistent sponsor experiences.
• Drive continuous improvement by reviewing post event feedback and identifying opportunities for innovation

Team Development

• Lead and develop the Partner Logistics team, fostering a high-performance culture
• Work closely with the Operations Director to shape and execute logistics strategy across the event calendar
• Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders (Partnerships, Marketing, Events, PR and content team) to align logistics with wider business objectives.

Requirements

What you'll need:

• Proven experience in logistics, event operations or sponsorship delivery, ideally within a live events environment
• Strong leadership skills with experience managing and developing teams
• Excellent organisational and project management abilities, with attention to detail and the ability to work to competing deadlines
• Effective communicator and relationship builder, comfortable engaging with senior stakeholders and external partners
• Ability to adapt to fast changing environments and problem solve in real time.
• Account management experience considered beneficial

Other information

Company Benefits and Initiatives Include:

• 25 days annual leave in addition to bank holidays - increasing by one additional day after 6 years, up to a maximum of 30 days.
• An additional day of leave for you to take on a cultural celebration day or on your birthday if you like. A day for you! At William Reed, we call this our "MeDay".
• A volunteer day to take for supporting a chosen charity and giving back to the community.
• Opportunity for hybrid working
• Contributory Pension
• Life Assurance Scheme
• Group Income Protection
• Enhanced family friendly leave pay entitlements
• Wellbeing benefits, including: A health care cash plan, Employee assistance programme, Virtual GP service and Access to health & wellbeing resources and tools.
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Electric Car Scheme

Why work for us:

We provide a supportive work environment and are committed to maintaining a healthy work/life balance for all of our employees. Working for William Reed means that you will be joining a stable organisation that is committed to developing its employees and brands.

We warmly welcome and encourage applications from talented individuals of all backgrounds and characteristics.

If you need any support in accessing this opportunity, please do not hesitate to discuss this with us.