Media & Sponsorship Strategy Director

ROBERT W. BAIRD & CO. INCORPORATED; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 102,000 - 157,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus up to 25% of base salary

Total Rewards program

Job summary

ROBERT W. BAIRD & CO. INCORPORATED seeks a Media & Sponsorship Manager to lead strategy, planning, and execution of media and sponsorship investments across the firm.

You’ll connect business priorities with media strategies, manage a small team, and partner across Marketing & Communications, business units, and external vendors. You will guide media mix, oversee budgets, evaluate opportunities, and translate investments into measurable outcomes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience in advertising, marketing, or business.
• 15 years of relevant professional experience with 7–10+ years in media planning, buying, and sponsorship strategy.
• Financial services experience is preferred.
• Experience connecting marketing investments to business outcomes across multiple units.
• Strong negotiation and stakeholder influence skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute media and sponsorship strategies aligned to brand and business objectives.
• Guide mix of media investments across channels, overseeing budgets and campaign timing.
• Identify opportunities and recommend innovative approaches while balancing stakeholder priorities.
• Evaluate, negotiate, and manage sponsorships and naming rights investments.
• Build and manage sponsorship portfolios aligned to priorities.
• Translate investments into measurable business and marketing outcomes.
• Serve as trusted advisor to Marketing & Communications and stakeholders.
• Partner with marketing to translate objectives into actionable strategies.
• Maintain strong vendor relationships and cross-team collaboration.
• Monitor performance and leverage data to optimize outcomes.
• Manage budgets with discipline, accountability, and transparency.
• Ensure high-quality, consistent execution across initiatives and lead the function.

Skills

Media planning

Media buying

Sponsorship strategy

Budget management

Negotiation

Team leadership

Analytics

Vendor management

AI tools usage

Salesforce familiarity

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Advertising, Marketing, Business

Tools

Salesforce

RFP processes

Media planning software

Sponsorship software tools

Job description

ROBERT W. BAIRD & CO. INCORPORATED seeks a Media & Sponsorship Manager to lead strategy, planning, and execution of media and sponsorship investments across the firm.

You’ll connect business priorities with media strategies, manage a small team, and partner across Marketing & Communications, business units, and external vendors. You will guide media mix, oversee budgets, evaluate opportunities, and translate investments into measurable outcomes.