Senior Manager, Brand Marketing

About the position

Excel Sports Management is seeking an experienced Senior Manager, Brand Marketing to advise a key corporate client on their sponsorship and sports marketing investments by providing end-to-end solutions, including strategy, negotiation, activation, implementation, and partnership execution. This person will help create meaningful partnership strategies and support with the development of inspiring activation concepts, ideas, stories, and experiences for our clients.

Responsibilities

• Manage the day-to-day progress of Excel’s Brand Marketing clients’ sponsorship activation and marketing initiatives with a focus on the fashion industry, managing women’s professional basketball portfolio inclusive of league, team and talent management
• Build and maintain positive client relationships that result in enhanced partnerships and increased opportunities for Excel
• Lead relationships with the team partnership and activation teams and talent portfolio ensuring seamless integration and brand alignment
• Interact daily with clients and all appropriate agencies/properties to manage sponsorship programming initiatives
• Provide portfolio analysis, identifying relevant opportunities that yield strategic recommendations for clients
• Manage client-vendor relationships and coordinate necessary activation deliverables on behalf of clients
• Create activation briefs, recaps, event itineraries and staff plans
• Plan and lead client status calls which include scheduling and preparing agendas or status documents
• Work with the team to develop integrated marketing and activation recommendations (social, digital, traditional media, experiential, PR, events, etc.)
• Manage the creation and implementation of materials that support individual sponsorship initiatives, including the development of creative elements, preparing marketing activation presentations and other materials to be distributed to clients
• Coordinate the acquisition of relevant results to be used in generating sponsorship recap reports
• Build, sustain, manage, and reconcile budgets, along with providing client budget updates along each step of the process
• Manage internal resources and vendors to ensure the highest standard of work product is consistently delivered
• Conduct desk research and analysis to gain a greater knowledge of businesses and industries in order to create the best opportunities for our clients
• Attend and participate in staff events which may include some nights and weekends
• Travel to client events as necessary
• All other duties as assigned

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required
• 6+ years of direct experience in sponsorship marketing or brand marketing strategy at a brand, property or agency
• Experience in basketball, women’s sports, and/or fashion industry is preferred
• Experience developing and implementing sponsorship marketing strategies and activations on behalf of clients or companies
• Account management expertise, managing day-to-day relationships and deliverables for clients

Nice-to-haves

• Deep understanding of sports marketing (women’s sports is a plus) and account management with brands that have investments across sports
• Background and/or a passion for fashion, with an eye for cultural moments, styling, and storytelling
• Passionate about creative ideation including bringing fresh ideas and collaborative energy to the table, developing, and finishing the job all the way through
• Willing and eager to go above and beyond, help his/her teammates, coachable, curious, inquisitive, flexible, and multi-faceted
• Curious brand marketer that has multi-channel experience across a variety of different disciplines
• Ability to self-start and work within a small team and dynamic organization
• Exceptional communicator (written and oral) who overdelivers and strives to impress everyone around him/her with work ethic and willingness to go above and beyond
• Experience managing day-to-day relationships with clients, agencies, and vendors
• Strong sense of ownership, ensuring goals are met and high-level standards are upheld
• Able to think strategically, creatively, and problem-solve independently (and in groups)
• Excellent time management and ability to multitask effectively in fast-paced environments
• Proficient in PowerPoint, Excel, and Word and the technical/computer skills to create and deliver client presentations
• Goal-oriented, results-driven and able to maintain composure under pressure
• Able to communicate and connect effectively and personably, recognizing the need to adjust communication style according to the audience
• Proactive and productive, recognizing opportunity and implementing procedures to achieve better job efficiencies
• Driven to increase industry knowledge and work to stay ahead of the curve
• Uncompromised ethics, integrity, and discretion with company and client information
• Engages in internal activities (team building, events, off-sites, etc.) and embraces internal culture
• Ability to travel frequently and work nights, weekends, and holidays

Benefits

• The pay range for this position is $95,000 - $115,000 per year
• This position is also eligible for benefits and discretionary bonus