Brand Partnerships & Growth Strategist

Wawa, Inc.; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Wawa, Inc. is seeking a Brand Partnerships Manager to lead partnerships, sponsorships, activations, influencer marketing, and talent engagement.

This role will translate strategy into partnerships and experiences that deepen customer connection and support business priorities, while guiding cross-functional teams to deliver cohesive programs. The position oversees the Influencer Marketing Lead and the Sponsorships & Activations Lead, ensuring authentic brand storytelling and measurable impact

Qualifications

• BA or BS degree in Marketing preferred; MBA/MS a plus.
• Ten or more years of experience in brand partnerships, sponsorships, experiential marketing, influencer marketing, or entertainment marketing.
• Strong digital background with experience in social media and content platforms.
• Prior supervisory experience.
• Prior experience leading an influencer marketing, partnerships, and/or social media team.
• Computer skills include MS Excel, Word, PowerPoint.
• Proficiency in social media tools such as Sprout, Captiv8, etc.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead over-arching strategy across brand partnerships, sponsorships, activations, influencer marketing, and talent relationships.
• Define how Wawa should show up in key customer passion points and fandoms, including sports, music, entertainment, food, fashion, family, and community.
• Identify the cultural spaces where Wawa has the greatest opportunity to participate credibly, create value for fans, and strengthen brand affinity.
• Lead business development for third-party brand, entertainment, celebrity, athlete, talent, and property partnerships supporting Wawa’s brand and business priorities.
• Identify and pursue new opportunities with brands, entertainment properties, sports organizations, celebrities, athletes, creators, and other culturally relevant partners.
• Develop and pitch compelling partnership concepts that clearly articulate the shared vision, consumer opportunity, and value for both Wawa and the partner.
• Lead partnership negotiations and deal development in collaboration with Legal, Finance, Procurement, and other internal stakeholders.
• Shape the consumer story, creative vision, and activation strategy for partnerships, ensuring each program feels authentic to Wawa and meaningful to the partner’s audience.
• Oversee the Influencer Marketing Lead, providing strategic direction for creator relationships, talent engagement, gifting and seeding, campaign amplification, and real-time cultural opportunities.
• Oversee the Sponsorships and Activations Lead, guiding Wawa’s sponsorship portfolio and the development of distinctive experiences that bring the brand to life.
• Connect Wawa’s partnership, sponsorship, activation, and influencer efforts into cohesive programs rather than individual or disconnected executions.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and development to direct reports while establishing clear priorities, roles, expectations, and measures of success.

Skills

Brand partnerships

Sponsorships

Influencer marketing

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Education

Marketing degree

MBA/MS

Tools

MS Excel

MS Word

PowerPoint

Sprout Social

Captiv8

Job description

Wawa, Inc. is seeking a Brand Partnerships Manager to lead partnerships, sponsorships, activations, influencer marketing, and talent engagement.

This role will translate strategy into partnerships and experiences that deepen customer connection and support business priorities, while guiding cross-functional teams to deliver cohesive programs. The position oversees the Influencer Marketing Lead and the Sponsorships & Activations Lead, ensuring authentic brand storytelling and measurable impact