Associate Director- Business Affairs

GALE•New York, NY

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

GALE is the world’s first and only Business Agency. We bring business strategy to brand storytelling to drive enterprise value. With expertise in strategy, media, CRM, creative, performance marketing, and technology, GALE creates integrated marketing systems and campaigns that grow businesses in significant ways. Founded in 2014, the agency has since been named AdAge’s Business Transformation Agency of the Year and Adweek’s U.S. Media Agency of the Year and has been recognized for its innovative creative at the Cannes Lions. We work with brands such as Delta, Uber, Starbucks, Chili’s, Hard Rock, MilkPEP, Diageo, Cotton, IHG and more. If you’re driven by a passion to build something great, a desire to innovate, and a commitment to achieve excellence in your craft, GALE is a great place for you! GALE has eight offices around the world, including New York, Toronto, Los Angeles, Austin, Denver, Kansas City, London, and Bengaluru. GALE embraces a hybrid, flexible workplace. We are seeking a results driven, goal oriented Associate Director, Business Affairs. This role is a crucial component in the procurement of Influencer & Creator programming, as well as agency Creative Production. You will use your deep experience and industry knowledge of negotiating and contracting deals to support strategic campaigns. Your strong understanding of social media, content creators and the larger influencer and production ecosystems will enable you to help assess and manage risk associated with programs across all mediums.

Requirements

At least 6 years’ experience in the advertising, entertainment, and/or lifestyle marketing-related fields including working directly with Influencers, talent management
Proven ability to manage and maintain a high volume of contracts and contract negotiations based on the needs of the clients
Strong understanding of legal terms and negotiating strategy
Strong network of relationships within the entertainment community (talent agencies, content creators, managers, etc.)
Demonstrate a strong understanding of social media, influencers, content creators, and the larger marketing ecosystem
Knowledgeable and experienced in working across all tiers of Influencers (micro, mid, top tier, celebrity, and traditional experts such as RD’s/KOL’s) and nuances of working with each
Experienced drafting long-form agreements, and overall business affairs-related practices
Exceptional collaboration skills to work across practices and domains to handle a high volume of procurement
Proven track record of seeking, sharing, and adopting ideas and best practices within an agency setting
Proven ability to ensure project deadlines are met
Strong interpersonal, organizational, and written and oral communication skills
Strong work ethic with the ability to deliver on a heavy volume of correspondence

Responsibilities

Reviewing offers and drafting contracts for talent and Influencer procurement with little oversight
Supporting the full lifecycle of a project from a business affairs perspective including assisting on influencer, creator, and talent procurement strategy, contract execution and language
Leading the navigation of external contractual redlines with talent agency lawyers
Working closely with all members of the legal practice as needed including internal counsel, risk management, and outside counsel
Helping the team mitigate risk within the procurement process of particularly highly regulated clients
Providing guidance to internal account teams and clients on efficient talent and influencer procurement processes
Preparing and maintaining procurement documentation, including bid exemption memos, agreement trackers, to ensure compliance with internal and client procurement policies
Assisting with talent invoicing, including confirming contractual deliverables are met and resolving discrepancies between talent agreements and billed amounts
Serving as a liaison between client legal teams and influencer/talent agencies