Director, Sponsorship Consulting

Global Sports Jobs Limited; Cincinnati (OH); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, vision, and dental insurance

Life insurance

Disability insurance

401k

Flexible paid time off

15 paid holidays per year

Paid sick and safe leave

Paid parental leave

Job summary

Dentsu seeks a strategic Sponsorship Leader to oversee one of the agency's largest NFL portfolios. You will guide collaboration with clients, NFL stakeholders, and internal teams to plan activation, measure performance, and grow partnerships.

Reporting to the VP of Sponsorship Consulting, you will drive annual planning, rights evaluations, and value optimisation while mentoring junior staff and contributing to new business opportunities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Sports Management, Business, or a related field.
• Experience advising clients on sponsorship strategy and activation planning.
• Proven ability to manage complex sponsorship portfolios and multi-stakeholder projects.
• Strong leadership, mentoring, and talent development capabilities.
• Experience in agency environments is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute sponsorship strategies, activation plans, and account growth initiatives for key client partnerships across NFL properties.
• Serve as the primary strategic advisor and day-to-day client contact, providing counsel on partnership investments, activation performance, and business objectives.
• Drive annual planning cycles, rights evaluations, measurement frameworks, and optimisation recommendations to maximise sponsorship value.
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with NFL teams, league stakeholders, rightsholders, talent representatives, vendors, and agency partners.
• Oversee the development and execution of integrated sponsorship programmes spanning experiential, content, social, talent, hospitality, promotional, and digital activations.
• Partner cross-functionally with internal teams to ensure flawless programme delivery, budget stewardship, and alignment with client objectives.
• Mentor and develop junior team members, fostering collaboration, accountability, and professional growth.
• Support business development efforts through pitch development, strategic recommendations, and participation in agency growth initiatives.

Skills

Sponsorship strategy

Partnership marketing

Client relationships

Team leadership

Strategic planning

Budget management

Project management

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing/Communications/Sports Management

Job description

About the Role

This strategic, client-focused leadership role helps lead one of the agency's largest and most high-profile NFL sponsorship portfolios. It helps clients maximise the value of their sponsorship investments through strategic planning, partnership activation, and performance optimisation. Reporting to the VP, Sponsorship Consulting, the role collaborates closely with clients, NFL stakeholders, and internal agency teams to deliver innovative programmes, strengthen partner relationships, and drive measurable business results.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute sponsorship strategies, activation plans, and account growth initiatives for key client partnerships across NFL properties.
• Serve as the primary strategic advisor and day-to-day client contact, providing counsel on partnership investments, activation performance, and business objectives.
• Drive annual planning cycles, rights evaluations, measurement frameworks, and optimisation recommendations to maximise sponsorship value.
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with NFL teams, league stakeholders, rightsholders, talent representatives, vendors, and agency partners.
• Oversee the development and execution of integrated sponsorship programmes spanning experiential, content, social, talent, hospitality, promotional, and digital activations.
• Partner cross-functionally with internal teams to ensure flawless programme delivery, budget stewardship, and alignment with client objectives.
• Mentor and develop junior team members, fostering collaboration, accountability, and professional growth.
• Support business development efforts through pitch development, strategic recommendations, and participation in agency growth initiatives.

Required Experience & Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in sponsorship consulting, partnership marketing, sports marketing, or a related field.
• 4+ years of direct NFL sponsorship consulting, partnership marketing, or sponsorship management experience.
• Proven track record managing complex, high-profile sponsorship portfolios and integrated marketing programmes.
• Experience advising clients on sponsorship strategy, rights negotiations, activation planning, and partnership measurement.
• Demonstrated success managing multiple stakeholders, including clients, rightsholders, teams, leagues, and agency partners.
• Prior experience leading teams, mentoring colleagues, and contributing to talent development.
• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Sports Management, Business, or a related field.
• Sponsorship strategy and partnership marketing.
• Client relationship management.
• Team leadership and development.
• Strategic planning and problem solving.
• Project and budget management.

Preferred Skills

• Experience within an agency environment.

Workplace

Travel is expected for client meetings, sponsorship activations, league events, team meetings, and planning sessions as needed.

Employees who live within a commutable distance of a hub office (Chicago, metro Detroit, Los Angeles, or New York City) are required to work from the office three days per week; Los Angeles-based employees are required to work two days per week.

Dentsu may designate other hub offices at any time.

Employees who live outside a commutable range may be designated as remote, depending on the role and business needs.

Employees are expected to be flexible to meet company and client needs, which may include attendance in an office.

Dentsu's way of working combines flexibility with in-person collaboration to spark ideas and strengthen teams.

Salary

• Eligible for discretionary incentive compensation.

Benefits & Perks

• Medical, vision, and dental insurance
• Life insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance
• 401k
• Flexible paid time off
• At least 15 paid holidays per year
• Paid sick and safe leave
• Paid parental leave
• Employee leave benefits comply with applicable state and local laws, including the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act.

The Application Process

Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis, and qualified candidates will be contacted for next steps.