Sr. Director, Sports Marketing

About This Role

This Senior Director role is a key client leader for a SPORTFIVE LA 2028 Global Brand Solutions client, serving in an integration role across multiple client workstreams. The Senior Director acts as an external-facing representative of SPORTFIVE to client business units in the Americas and within the Olympic & Paralympic Movement, extending the client's U.S.-based partnership center of excellence.

Responsibilities

• Lead account and provide day-to-day program support
• Facilitate engagement with activating markets and centralize oversight of all engagement for the global client team
• Lead the team as a center of excellence "one stop shop" on the specifics of the partnership (commercial activation guidelines, contract/category rights, industry trends and developments)
• Create, evolve, and update partnership strategy, overview resources, and tools for client activating stakeholders
• Develop approach to partnership education tools and ongoing training of new activating stakeholders, client, and agency partners
• Present strategy recommendations, education, and training tools to client teams
• Identify and manage scope of work process, tracking against current agreements and creating project agreements for new opportunities
• Support oversight of Olympic and Paralympic rights activation process on behalf of the client
• Build ongoing expertise in Olympic & Paralympic activation guidelines, aiming to be a foremost expert within the agency
• Define best practices in support of stakeholder activation from concept to approval; creating, aligning, and managing the education, training, tools, processes, and management of the rights activation discipline
• Create, build, and grow strong mutually beneficial working relationships with partner rightsholders (US Olympic & Paralympic Properties, the IOC and IPC)
• Manage and streamline ongoing communications model internally to ensure new learnings are tracked and applied universally
• Advise on client activation submissions and identify alternate paths for activations stakeholders as necessary
• Lead and/or support ongoing training sessions
• Deliver ongoing partnership consulting to activating stakeholders in key markets
• Serve as point of contact for select markets/activating stakeholders and/or provide senior support to junior team members serving as day-to-day contacts
• Develop, refine, and evolve global athlete strategy that guides activating stakeholders on athlete partnership best practices
• Create model for integration that drives efficiency amongst team members and tangible value to clients
• Support activation plan strategy, development, and execution via partnership, athlete, and rights activation expertise
• Collaborate with existing agency teams across all stakeholders, respecting current responsibilities and identifying ways to amplify agency support
• Serve as a resource for direct reports and colleagues serving in similar roles from multiple locations
• Build, manage, mentor, and motivate a team of both direct reports and colleagues
• Contribute to/help define and grow team and agency culture, creating strategies to "go beyond the screen" to help solve for gaps in working with colleagues remotely
• Ensure team compliance to client mandatories
• Build relationships, collaborate, and support international SPORTFIVE colleagues in future Games Host Markets, as well as contributing to new business prospects as relevant
• Travel for site visits to client headquarters and/or alternate locations as client meetings require
• Develop executive-ready presentations, reports, and documentation using Microsoft Office applications, including PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams
• Organize, maintain, and manage SharePoint content and team resources
• Update and maintain templates, tools, and operational documentation as needed
• Attend meetings, capture key discussions, document action items, and track follow-up activities
• Participate in brainstorming sessions, conducting research, and providing creative ideas and solutions
• Perform additional administrative and operational duties as required

Requirements

• 10-12+ years in sports marketing and agency side client servicing
• Proven experience leading teams in support of high-profile sports partnerships (Olympic and Paralympic and/or global partnership experience is preferred)
• Experience working in complex, highly matrixed organizations
• Demonstrated success working simultaneously with numerous client business units; managing competing priorities
• Exceptional executive presence, calm demeanor under high-pressure Games-time environments, and strong cross-functional leadership
• Trusted relationship management

Benefits

• Comprehensive suite of benefits including medical, dental, vision, and retirement savings
• Affordable employee medical premiums starting at $30.90 per month (highest deductible) to $165.77 per month (lowest deductible)
• 10 vacation days per year (increasing with seniority) plus 20 paid holidays
• 401(k) with matching up to $4,000 per year

Important Details

• Primary Work Location: New York, NY strongly preferred. Remote candidates (EST) may be considered for the right experience.
• Support of stakeholders in multiple time zones may require work beyond traditional EST hours
• Travel for business meetings and/or client execution may require nights/weekends
• An extended on-site role in Los Angeles for the Olympic and/or Paralympic Games is expected in July/August of 2028

About the Company

SPORTFIVE utilizes the unique emotional power of sports to create and enable pioneering partnerships. It is one of the largest global sports marketing agencies, with 1,200 local experts based in 15 countries active in football, golf, e-sports, motorsport, handball, tennis, American football, World Cup, Olympics, and many more. As a market leader with customer centricity and vast data intelligence at its core, SPORTFIVE leads the sports business into the future through its digital solutions and aims to be the most progressive and respected partner in sports.