Commercial Director

Commercial Director
Berlin-Hoppegarten Racecourse
Hoppegarten Racecourse is a 207 ha large estate comprising Germany’s largest racecourse and
training centre. Located on the outskirts of Berlin, Germany’s vibrant and growing capital with a
catchment area of 5.5 million people, the 147 year old track has thrived since being privatised in
2008. Following significant investment in the facilities, Hoppegarten has seen continued growth in
the quality of its racing, visitor number, betting turnover and sponsorship partners including blue
chip companies.
Hoppegarten is now looking for a Commercial Director to move the business to the next level of
success. The successful candidate is expected to generate sustained growth in all race day revenue
streams and to grow profits from establishing Hoppegarten as a leading event location in the Berlin
region outside race days. Working closely with the private owner of the track, the Commercial
Director will be instrumental in restoring Hoppegarten’s historic position as a leading European
Racecourse and Training Centre as well as establishing the track as a leading event location in the
Berlin region.
Reporting to:
Responsible for:
Liaison with:
Racecourse Shareholder
All Commercial activity, to include Sponsorship, Hospitality and Ticketing
Sales, Non-Racing Events, Marketing, Catering
Racing Director, Finance Manager, Racecourse Team, all outside stakeholders
Key Responsibilities
The successful candidate will be responsible for:
 Growing Sponsorship and Hospitality Sales to regional, national and international partners,
ensuring good relationship management, contract fulfilment and activation
 Strong emphasis on new business development as well as nurturing/growing existing portfolio
of partners
 Leading, developing and coaching a high performing sales team
 Increasing admission/visitor numbers through targeted and measurable marketing initiatives
with a variety of partners and other venues
 Management/activation/development of both new and existing partnerships with local media
and customer loyalty programmes to help drive footfall to events at the Racecourse
 Developing the number of non-racing events, overseeing their organisation and operation
 Managing strong and mutually beneficial relationships with our Caterers and other key
suppliers/service providers
 Overseeing/Managing the Racecourse website and ticketing partner
 Producing sales forecasts and budgets and ensuring they are met
 Working alongside the Racing Manager to ensure the smooth running of a race meeting and the
successful delivery all Sponsor benefits
 Liaising with the Finance Manager of the Racecourse to ensure revenue is maximised, costs are
well managed and budget targets are achieved
Skills and Experience Required
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Highly motivated and driven to work in a sales environment with a proven track record of
business development and generating revenue
Must have experience of and enjoy managing a Commercial Team
Strong leadership and communication skills
Understanding of financial budgets and P&L’s
Ability to develop a wide variety of marketing initiatives and to tailor sponsor benefits flexibly
to a partner’s needs
Must enjoy building a strong network of potential sponsors/partner in and outside office hours
Your personal characteristics: independent thinker, not a “Yes”-man/woman, results and
success oriented, well organised, hands on, creative, cost conscious, pragmatic, resilient
Fluent in English and German (or willingness to achieve fluency in German quickly)
The position is based in Hoppegarten, 20 km from the centre of Berlin
Candidates from outside racing will be considered. They must have commercial, sales and
management experience in relevant areas such as (sports) venues/clubs, theme parks, hotels.
Please send your application via email to [email protected], stating your salary expectation and
earliest starting date.
Rennbahn Hoppegarten GmbH & Co. KG
Goetheallee 1, 15366 Hoppegarten
Tel: +49(0)3342 – 3893 - 0
Fax: +49(0)3342 – 3893 – 40
www.hoppegarten.com