The Director of Sponsorship will work directly with our VP of Sponsorships to maximize the company’s sponsorship strategy and execution across activation and relationship management. The position will be responsible for prospecting, presenting and closing relationships with new clients and organically growing existing partners. This is a key account management function of our Sponsorship team, helping us maximize ROI, acquire new rights, develop digital marketing and partnership activations.
The ideal candidate will have 5+ years in the sports and entertainment sponsorship space and experience working with top-tier teams, leagues, universities, venues and properties. In particular, ideal candidate will have strong understanding of priorities, constraints, and capabilities of target partners, as well as proven expertise in understanding and quantifying the value of a broad array of sponsor assets.
Overall, this is a high-impact opportunity to directly contribute to the company’s fast-growing efforts in establishing greater presence and deeper integration with the nation’s leading sports and entertainment programs as an important and collaborative corporate sponsor.
Responsibilities:
Generate new opportunities via relationships, networking, research, and cold-call prospecting
Assess strategic fit and quantify financial value/ROI of sponsorship assets (traditional and digital)
Build impactful partnerships that raise brand awareness and drive customer transactions
Collaborate with departmental colleagues to activate and monetize full value of sponsorships
Identify and prioritize high potential partners in the professional, collegiate, venue, promoter and special event space to increase distribution
Develop go-to-market plan and acquisition strategy for maximizing various business channels (sports, concerts, theater, etc.)
Manage the partnership renewal process in tandem with our Vice President
Ensure efficient and smooth contracting process across all stakeholders
Lead and mentor staff to successfully capture additional partnership revenue opportunities
Bachelor’s degree from a top tier university; MBA preferred
Minimum 3 years in business development or managing sports sponsorship and ticketing assets with a broad knowledge of the sports and entertainment ticketing industry
Expertise assessing both traditional and digital sponsor assets, including quantifying impact to deal value from company and partner perspective (website/link integration, CRM cross-promotion, tickets/event access, and hospitality programs)
Experience in dealing with, and presenting to, senior-level personnel from major brands
Proven relationship-building skills with partners’ and senior personnel
Ability and confidence to prioritize and source prospects with little direction
Diligent organization, strong communication skills (written and oral) and impeccable attention to detail
Creativity and resourcefulness in identifying unique collaboration/cross-promotion programs
Experience working with CRM/Salesforce, PowerPoint, Excel & Word and keeping precise records of conversations with all clients
This role may require up to 25% travel
