Director of Partnership Activation

The Director, Partnership Activation will serve as part of the leadership team for the American Magic Commercial department, leading all partnership activation-related functions for the American Magic Sailing franchise. Experience with high-performance sailing or with America’s Cup teams is desired, but not necessary.

This role will require the willingness to relocate to, or be living in, Barcelona, Spain, before the end of summer 2023 and stay in Barcelona through November 2024.

Reporting to the Chief Commercial Officer, this individual will lead partnership activations for team sponsors. They will develop and implement a strategy, for the activation process. The Director, Partnership Activation will contribute to the team’s overall revenue strategies by developing cost-effective programming for sponsor fulfillment while maintaining clear delivery of sponsor objectives.

This individual should possess high-level marketing expertise in partnership activation, agency account management, or marketing/advertising, with a demonstrable record of success securing buy-in from multiple internal departments and leading external-facing campaigns.

Key Responsibilities

  • Lead the overarching activation strategy, which includes setting the activation vision for the team in conjunction with the sponsors objectives, managing all phases of the partner activation process (ideation, onboarding, activation, measurement, and renewal), and creating short- and long-term measurable plans.
  • Lead and foster cross-departmental collaboration with marketing, digital, social, content, donor and community engagement, hospitality, and America’s Cup Event Authority to assist in achieving team revenue goals and objectives.
  • Lead internal ideation to uncover innovative partnership opportunities for the department to exceed partner goals, generate upsell opportunities and increase renewal investments.
  • Supervise the fulfillment of plans supporting existing accounts and manage several high-value accounts.
  • Lead, coach, and develop any additional team/resources needed for activating marketing partnerships for American Magic and associated properties underneath the American Magic franchise umbrella.
  • Integrate into the sales process by sitting second-chair on sales meetings as needed and reviewing all proposals prior to pitch.
  • Establish and implement criteria for resource and personnel allocation, team reporting structure, and ongoing account management.
  • Assist in the creation and deployment of departmental revenue strategies, including but not limited to category, content development & monetization, national (US) & international (Spain) approaches.
  • Build a budget for the activation efforts and manage execution within this budget.
  • Generate and utilize a set of standard KPIs to measure partnership effectiveness and spearhead reporting process.
  • Assist American Magic leadership in identifying and providing meaningful, relevant data that measures partnership effectiveness with deeper insight and tells the story of how effective partnership can/is working.
  • Operate independently, demonstrate good judgment, and act with authority to establish a presence as a key department lead throughout the organization and business community.
  • Work closely with Chief Commercial Officer on department and team projects as needed.
  • Act as host to visiting marketing partners at a variety of events

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in marketing, advertising, or related discipline and/or equivalent work experience in the sports marketing, advertising, and/or events industries.
  • At least seven (7) years of relevant experience with a proven track record of managing high-value partnership accounts in sports/brand marketing.
  • Strong ability to work independently and prioritize objectives with the team and on various projects simultaneously.
  • Readiness to make key departmental decisions based on team objectives.
  • Demonstrated skill in synthesizing data into meaningful insights for persuasive storytelling purposes.
  • Strong presentation skills and experience creating and delivering executive-level presentations.
  • Demonstrated organizational and logistics management capabilities.
  • Capacity to work a varied schedule to include evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed, as well as multi-task in a fast-paced environment and willingness to travel.
  • Excellent communication skills (oral and written), relationship-building abilities, and attention to detail.

Nice To Have

  • Working with or for sports marketing agencies.
  • Experience leading mid-level leaders/managers is a plus.
  • Knowledge of sports and entertainment, specifically high-performance sailing and/or the America’s Cup

 

To submit your job application and cover letter, please send them via email to jobs@americanmagic.com or apply via Linkedin. Be sure to attach your documents in a standard file format such as PDF or Microsoft Word, and ensure that your email subject line includes the position you are applying for.