Commercial Lead - Culture

Commercial Lead - Culture

Manchester City Council Closing date: Mon, 30 Mar 2026

Role: Fundraising
Contract: Temporary
North West

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 "> published -

Job Summary

This is a two-year time-limited role based in the Culture Team, which plays a pivotal role in supporting Manchester’s diverse and vibrant cultural sector, and leads the implementation of the city’s ambitious cultural strategy.

Job Description

This is a two-year time-limited role based in the Culture Team, which plays a pivotal role in supporting Manchester's diverse and vibrant cultural sector, and leads the implementation of the city's ambitious cultural strategy.

Culture is at the heart of the life of the city in Manchester. The cultural offer brings joy, vibrancy and civic identity to our residents, communities and neighbourhoods. It creates jobs, training and participation opportunities, and benefits health and wellbeing. The cultural sector also attracts investment, businesses and visitors, and helps to put Manchester on a global stage.

Always, Everywhere: Manchester's Cultural Ambition was launched in 2024, setting out a vision and strategy for culture and creativity for the next 10 years. The delivery of the strategy is framed around three themes:
Everyone - widening access to culture for all, recognising the people that make culture happen and creating a "cultural welcome" to the city.
Everything - rethinking our scope for culture to take in much more of everyday Mancunian cultural and creative life, and making sure culture really does connect with the issues that matter.
Everywhere - creating more spaces and places where culture happens and delivering a distributed and equitable cultural life for everyone, everywhere.
You will work in partnership with internal and external partners and stakeholders to negotiate and secure commercial income through sponsorship, naming rights and other fundraising mechanisms, to develop new and innovative business and funding models, and to contract and manage all commercial arrangements for the team.

Job Requirements

We would love to hear from you if you have:
Experience in leading commercial functions for at least 5 years in a culture or creative industries environment
A proven track record of success in commercial deals including sponsorship, fundraising and other income generation
A passion for culture, its value and its impact
Strengths in strategic and creative thinking
Excellent communication skills including negotiation and advocacy
Ability to manage complex priorities and oversee multiple projects to achieve ambitious outcomes
Strong financial planning and management skills
A commitment to diversity, inclusion, and continuous improvement
Understanding and demonstration of the Our Manchester behaviours
Minimum 5 years' experience leading commercial functions in a culture or creative industries environment, with an evidenced track record of success.

Job Responsibilities

A full list of responsibilities can be found on the role profile - please follow the application link to view it.

Useful Links

Job Overview

  • Job Title: Commercial Lead - Culture
  • Salary: £50k+
  • Hours: Full time
  • Role: Fundraising
  • Contract: Temporary
  • Closing date: Mon, 30 Mar 2026
  • Location:
    North West
    | view on Google Maps

Job: Commercial Lead - Culture

Job: Commercial Lead - Culture

Organisation: Manchester City Council

Postcode: M2 5DB

How to Apply

To apply, please visit our website and submit an online application. Full instructions and tips are available.