Head of Partnerships (Business Development)
LEGO Digital Play will bring the LEGO brand into the world of first-party digital entertainment and gaming. Our mission is to ensure the LEGO Brand remains as powerfully a part of children’s lives in the coming decades as it has ever been – as more and more of those lives take part in digital.
We are in the formative stages of building this company, offering a rare opportunity to shape the strategy, partnerships, and creative collaborations for one of the world’s most trusted and inspiring brands. Our culture is open, collaborative, intellectually rigorous, and creatively vibrant.
Role Summary
The Head of Partnerships will lead LEGO Digital Play’s global studio and developer relationship strategy. This role sits on the Strategy team and is responsible for identifying, mapping, and cultivating relationships across the interactive entertainment landscape—from emerging innovators to world-class development studios. The ideal candidate will act as a connector, evaluator, and strategist across multiple partnership models, supporting work-for-hire production, long-term co-development, and majority-stake investment or acquisition opportunities. This role will be instrumental in shaping how LEGO Digital Play engages with external development talent to scale high-quality digital experiences.
Key Responsibilities
- Industry Mapping & Relationship Development: Build and maintain a detailed, living map of high-potential studios and development partners across platforms, genres, and business models.
- Studio Scouting & Evaluation: Identify and assess prospective partners for work-for-hire, co-development, and investment. Evaluate creative quality, technical capability, operating model, and cultural alignment.
- Strategic Fit & Deal Structuring: Help define criteria for when to pursue work-for-hire engagements versus investments or acquisitions. Help to structure deal or partnership and assist in the development of transition and implementation plans..
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with the CEO, COO/CFO, Strategy team, Product team, and other stakeholders to connect external opportunities to internal needs—feeding insights into slating, resource planning and budgeting, and long-term strategic goals.
- External Representation: Represent LEGO Digital Play in the global games industry as a thoughtful, credible partner and future-focused brand. This includes presence at game conferences around the world.
- Trend & Market Insight: Monitor emerging trends in independent development, UGC ecosystems, platform economics, and creator tech—providing perspective that informs company planning.
Required Qualifications
- Experience in partnerships, business development, studio leadership or corporate development within the games industry
- Deep and current relationships across the global development landscape
- Experience evaluating and closing work-for-hire, co-development, or investment deals
- Strategic mindset with the ability to navigate creative, technical, and financial considerations
- Exceptional relationship-building, communication, and negotiation skills
- Highly collaborative, with a strong sense of integrity and trust
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience participating in or leading M&A and/or investment processes in the games or adjacent industries
- Familiarity with investment structures, post-deal integration, and partner governance
- Passion for the LEGO Brand and the role of games in its future
- Locations
- LEGO Digital Play London Office
- Remote status
- Hybrid