Director, Experiential Partnerships - Fanatics Events

JDS Sports; Jacksonville (FL); On-site; USD 145,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Fanatics Events seeks a Director of Experiential Partnerships to own major partner programs from concept through onsite execution at live events. You will work with partnerships, creative, and operations teams to turn ambitious ideas into deliverable fan experiences, with a track record of leading complex programs for blue-chip brands.

You will travel for major event weeks, manage budgets, and drive client-facing pitches, ensuring feasibility and financial discipline across programs.

Qualifications

• 8–12 years of experience in experiential marketing, integrated brand experiences, live events, sponsorship activation, or related disciplines.
• Demonstrated experience personally leading complex experiential programs from concept development through onsite execution.
• Experience delivering major tentpole events and programs for blue-chip brands.
• Experiential agency experience strongly preferred and will be prioritized.
• Strong event production fluency and an understanding of how creative concepts translate into operational and financial requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to take ambiguous or incomplete information and turn it into a clear recommendation and actionable plan.
• Proven ability to lead complex cross-functional teams, agencies, and vendors without direct reporting authority.
• Strong client-facing communication skills, financial discipline and comfort operating independently in fast-moving environments.
• Willingness to travel and work onsite during major event weeks, including weekends as needed.

Responsibilities

• Shape & Sell the Solution
• Support the development of pitch materials and partnership proposals, helping translate experiential concepts into clear, compelling client-facing recommendations.
• Lead and support partner pitches, bringing an experiential and operational point of view to new business conversations.
• Pressure-test concepts for feasibility, cost, timing, dependencies, and execution risk before commitments are made.
• Support management of the pipeline, including opportunity tracking, revenue forecasting, budgets, and financial projections.
• Engage the appropriate internal teams early to ensure partnership solutions are both ambitious and executable.
• Own assigned partnerships from kickoff through onsite execution and post-event wrap.
• Translate commercial commitments and creative concepts into clear work-streams, timelines, budgets, and decision points.
• Drive execution across Creative, Operations, Production, Talent, Marketing, Media, Legal, Finance, agencies, and vendors.
• Maintain command of the overall program while holding functional experts accountable for their respective workstreams.
• Anticipate operational challenges and dependencies before they become critical issues.
• Bring clear recommendations and solutions when navigating ambiguity or changing circumstances.
• Maintain financial discipline across assigned programs, identifying potential scope or budget exposure early.
• In collaboration with Operations, manage assigned partner programs onsite, making timely decisions and resolving issues in a fast-moving live environment.
• Lead the Partner & Operation
• Serve as the primary day-to-day lead for assigned brand partners and their agencies.
• Set clear expectations around scope, timelines, responsibilities, and decision-making.
• Navigate evolving partner requests while protecting program feasibility, economics, and the overall fan experience.
• Build trusted relationships across partner organizations and effectively engage senior Fanatics leadership when appropriate.

Skills

Experiential marketing

Live events

Sponsorship activation

Brand experiences

Cross-functional leadership

Client-facing communication

Travel readiness

Financial discipline

Vendor management

Job description

Director, Experiential Partnerships - Fanatics Events

The GIST

Administration, Sales & Business Development

About Fanatics Events

Fanatics Events creates large-scale consumer festivals and live experiences that bring fans, athletes, brands and partners together. Our flagship productions include Fanatics Fest, a multi-day fan festival combining sports, collectibles, athlete appearances, content, and immersive brand experiences; and WWE World, a multi-day consumer event produced in partnership with WWE. As we continue to scale our live events business, we are seeking an Experiential Partnerships Director to lead the development and execution of complex brand partnership programs across Fanatics Events.

The Role

The Director of Experiential Partnerships is a senior individual contributor responsible for turning ambitious brand partnership ideas into exceptional, executable fan experiences. The role owns major partner programs from early-stage concept development through onsite execution, working across partnerships, creative and operational teams to shape solutions, support new business development, pressure-test feasibility and lead delivery once sold. The ideal candidate has personally led complex experiential programs for brands at major tentpole events and combines strategic thinking with the operator judgment to anticipate challenges, mobilize teams and move programs from idea to execution.

What You'll Do

• Shape & Sell the Solution
• Support the development of pitch materials and partnership proposals, helping translate experiential concepts into clear, compelling client-facing recommendations.
• Lead and support partner pitches, bringing an experiential and operational point of view to new business conversations.
• Pressure-test concepts for feasibility, cost, timing, dependencies, and execution risk before commitments are made.
• Support management of the pipeline, including opportunity tracking, revenue forecasting, budgets, and financial projections.
• Engage the appropriate internal teams early to ensure partnership solutions are both ambitious and executable.

Own the Program

• Own assigned partnerships from kickoff through onsite execution and post-event wrap.
• Translate commercial commitments and creative concepts into clear work-streams, timelines, budgets, and decision points.
• Drive execution across Creative, Operations, Production, Talent, Marketing, Media, Legal, Finance, agencies, and vendors.
• Maintain command of the overall program while holding functional experts accountable for their respective workstreams.

Oversee Delivery

• Anticipate operational challenges and dependencies before they become critical issues.
• Bring clear recommendations and solutions when navigating ambiguity or changing circumstances.
• Maintain financial discipline across assigned programs, identifying potential scope or budget exposure early.
• In collaboration with Operations, manage assigned partner programs onsite, making timely decisions and resolving issues in a fast-moving live environment.

Lead the Partner & Operation

• Serve as the primary day-to-day lead for assigned brand partners and their agencies.
• Set clear expectations around scope, timelines, responsibilities, and decision-making.
• Navigate evolving partner requests while protecting program feasibility, economics, and the overall fan experience.
• Build trusted relationships across partner organizations and effectively engage senior Fanatics leadership when appropriate.

What We're Looking For

• 8–12 years of experience in experiential marketing, integrated brand experiences, live events, sponsorship activation, or related disciplines.
• Demonstrated experience personally leading complex experiential programs from concept development through onsite execution.
• Experience delivering major tentpole events and programs for blue-chip brands.
• Experiential agency experience strongly preferred and will be prioritized.
• Strong event production fluency and an understanding of how creative concepts translate into operational and financial requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to take ambiguous or incomplete information and turn it into a clear recommendation and actionable plan.
• Proven ability to lead complex cross-functional teams, agencies, and vendors without direct reporting authority.
• Strong client-facing communication skills, financial discipline and comfort operating independently in fast-moving environments.
• Willingness to travel and work onsite during major event weeks, including weekends as needed.

What Success Looks Like

Partnership concepts add value to the fan experience, are operationally feasible, and appropriately scoped before going to market.

Partner programs move from concept through execution with clear ownership, strong financial discipline, and minimal late-stage surprises.

Programs are delivered on time, on budget and at the quality expected by Fanatics and its partners.

Partners and internal teams view you as a trusted leader who can turn ambitious ideas into exceptional live experiences.

Salary Range

The salary range represents base pay only and does not include short-term or long-term incentive compensation. When determining base pay as part of a final compensation package, we consider several factors such as location, experience, qualifications, and training. For information about our benefits, please visit https://benefitsatfanatics.com/Salary Range$145,000 - $160,000 USD