Strategic Brand Partnerships Lead

Shield; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 155,000 - 233,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI seeks a Brand Partnership Lead to own and grow our sponsorship portfolio, from sourcing opportunities to renewal. You will lead cross-functional programs that strengthen Shield AI’s brand through sports, military community, and industry partnerships, ensuring every deal, activation, and deliverable is executed with rigor and accountability.

You’ll manage partnerships end-to-end, from term definition and budgeting to activation execution and post-event recaps, while partnering with

Qualifications

• 10+ years Marketing experience with 4 to 6 years of experience in brand partnerships, sponsorships, or partnership marketing, including year long programs
• Experience sourcing, negotiating, and closing partnership or sponsorship agreements in partnership with Legal
• Experience managing partner relationships and contracted deliverables across a full program year
• Experience owning a partnership or marketing budget, including forecasting, actuals, and closeout
• Strong Excel skills and experience managing purchase orders, invoices, and reconciliation with Finance
• Strong working knowledge of Asana for planning, assigning, and tracking work
• Experience managing event or activation logistics, including shipping, installation, or on site production
• Experience defining partnership metrics and delivering post activation recaps
• Experience managing multiple concurrent programs with fixed public facing deadlines
• Clear written and verbal communication skills with both external partners and internal stakeholders
• Ability to hold external partners and internal teams accountable to timelines as an individual contributor

Responsibilities

• Lead outreach, define deal terms and deliverables, and partner closely with Legal and Finance to move agreements through signature.
• Manage active partnerships throughout the full contract lifecycle, serving as the primary day to day contact for partners, track contracted rights and deliverables, and ensure both Shield AI and external partners meet their obligations.
• Build program plans, workback schedules, and deliverable trackers in Asana, coordinating across Creative, Communications, Events, Legal, Finance, and external stakeholders to keep work on track and aligned to public facing deadlines.
• Lead partnership activations from planning through execution navigating logistics including shipping, installation, on site production, talent coordination, and partner schedules.
• Travel to key events, oversee day of execution, and close out assets, invoices, and recaps.
• Ensure all public facing partnership work aligns with Shield AI brand standards and applicable data handling and export control requirements.
• Own the partnership budget and build forecasts in Excel to track committed and actual spend, reconcile purchase orders and invoices with Finance, and proactively flag risks or overruns with a recommended path forward.
• Measure and report on partnership performance to define success metrics for each partnership, gathering results after activations, and provide the Director of Brand and Creative with regular visibility into spend, deliverables, and outcomes to inform renewals and future investments.
• Partner with the creative studio to deliver partnership assets to submit clear briefs with scope, partner specifications, and deadlines, and help prioritize work so assets are delivered on time and to standard.

Skills

Project management

Budgeting

Stakeholder communication

Negotiation

Forecasting

Cross-functional leadership

Brand partnerships

Sponsorships

Contract management

Event logistics

Tools

Excel

Asana

Job description

Shield AI seeks a Brand Partnership Lead to own and grow our sponsorship portfolio, from sourcing opportunities to renewal. You will lead cross-functional programs that strengthen Shield AI’s brand through sports, military community, and industry partnerships, ensuring every deal, activation, and deliverable is executed with rigor and accountability.

You’ll manage partnerships end-to-end, from term definition and budgeting to activation execution and post-event recaps, while partnering with