CASE STUDY
BRAND & CULTURAL PARTNERSHIPS
Restructuring a major festival's partnership pipeline during a critical funding cycle.
Delivered continuity across a live partnerships portfolio through a critical funding acquittal period, and used the engagement to leave behind a structured, repeatable partnerships process for the festival’s ongoing seasons.
Client: Perth Festival (Australia’s longest running arts festival).
Engagement: Embedded Interim Role Cover
Services: Embedded Leadership
Region: Perth, Australia
Date of Completion: July 2026
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A structured partnerships pipeline
and process handover built for the organisation’s next permanent hire.
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Continuity maintained across an active portfolio
of corporate, state, and government partnerships through a critical funding cycle.
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Grant acquittals and funding applications delivered
on schedule, thereby protecting existing government and corporate revenue.
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New partnership prospects identified
and progressed for the following festival season.
Even a well-run partnerships function can hit a critical gap in team resourcing.
In those circumstances, continuity matters more than reinvention. The priority is to maintain momentum and minimise disruption.
This might look like building greater sophistication into the business development pipeline.
THE OPPORTUNITY
To provide interim partnerships leadership through a critical operational period, without losing momentum on an active development pipeline.
Perth Festival’s Development team relies on a broad partnerships base — corporate partners, alongside local, state, federal, and international government funding — to support its artistic and cultural program. With a gap in the Partnerships Manager role ahead of a permanent appointment, and a critical funding acquittal period approaching, the organisation needed continuity. That is, someone who could directly step into an active portfolio, deliver on existing obligations, and leave the function in a stronger position than they found it.
CONTEXT OF BUSINESS & CONDITIONS
Australia’s longest-running arts festival, founded in 1953.
Active portfolio of corporate partnerships and local, state, federal, and international government funding relationships.
Engagement timed against a critical funding acquittal period, with grant applications, contracts, and reporting obligations due across multiple partners.
No permanent Partnerships Manager in place at the time of engagement.
A small development team, requiring the interim role to integrate directly into existing rhythms, meetings, and reporting structures.
An interim role is truly efficacious when they leave a stronger foundation than one they originally stepped into.
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Before intervention
An active, multi-stakeholder partnerships portfolio with a critical funding cycle approaching, and no dedicated Partnerships Manager in place.
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After intervention
Funding obligations met on schedule, partner relationships maintained without disruption, and a structured, documented pipeline ready to hand to a permanent hire.
THE INTERVENTION
Took direct ownership of an active partnerships portfolio, managing relationships and administering obligations across corporate partners and government funders spanning local, state, federal, and international levels.
Delivered grant acquittals and funding applications through a critical cycle, ensuring existing government and corporate revenue was protected and reporting obligations were met without disruption.
Maintained continuity as the primary liaison between the partnerships portfolio and the organisation’s internal departments, embedding directly into the Development team’s existing meetings and reporting rhythms.
Proactively identified and progressed new partnership prospects for the following festival season, extending the value of the engagement beyond simple continuity.
Restructured the partnerships pipeline and supporting documentation, going beyond the role’s core scope to leave behind a clearer, more structured process — including partner status, pipeline stage, and workflow documentation — for the organisation’s next permanent hire.
THE IMPACT
Zero disruption to funding continuity through a critical acquittal period, protecting existing government and corporate revenue during a vulnerable operational gap.
A stronger, more structured partnerships pipeline left in place than existed prior to the engagement— reducing ramp-up time and risk for the incoming permanent hire.
New partnership prospects identified and progressed, giving the organisation forward momentum into its next season.
Demonstrated that interim, embedded leadership can deliver more than continuity. The engagement’s structural contributions outlived the two-month term itself.
If the problem is still taking shape,
that’s a good time to talk.
Partnerships, brand strategy, and place-based projects rarely take a clear shape from the outset. If yours feels more tangled than it first appeared, let’s work it through together.