Associate Director, Sports Marketing

Omnicom Media US•New York, NY

3h•Hybrid

About The Position

Omnicom Media (OM) is the media services division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC), focused on delivering transformational experiences for consumers, clients, and talent through its Omni marketing orchestration system. OM connects best-in-class capabilities enabling its media agencies (OMD, PHD, and Hearts & Science) to provide relevant and actionable consumer experiences, productive and proactive client experiences, and collaborative and rewarding talent experiences for its global workforce. Optimum Sports, the dedicated sports marketing agency within Omnicom Media, operates in both the Sports Sponsorship and Sports Media landscapes. By integrating these disciplines, Optimum Sports offers clients unique marketplace leverage and delivers cohesive, multi-platform sports marketing strategies. The agency utilizes the latest research and ROI tools to manage everything from Ideation to Execution to Actualization, integrating media, investment, property, and insights to develop strategy, manage negotiation and execution, and evaluate partnership performance. Established in 2003, Optimum Sports continues to innovate in the sports marketplace. This role is for an experienced Associate Director who will serve as the client-facing sports marketing lead, providing both internal and external strategic leadership. The individual will work across the Integrated Agency Team (IAT) and liaise directly with leagues and publishers to plan, present, and execute client sports marketing strategies. Key responsibilities include overseeing a team of direct reports, managing client requests, and achieving client business goals through new opportunities, critical thinking, and problem-solving. A passion for sports is essential, along with experience in the sports marketing and/or media landscape, emphasizing multimedia strategy, KPI performance, and partnership planning.

Requirements

Undergraduate degree required (preferably Marketing, Business, Sports Management or Communications).
7+ years of relevant experience in sports, preferably working in an integrated strategy role and/or sponsorship marketing position with direct client-facing access.
Expertise in partnership (rights holder) marketing.
Extensive league, network, and rights holder marketplace contacts network.
Extremely strong communicator and presenter, both written and verbal – in person and on conference calls.
Creative thinker who has the ability to develop unique ideas, solutions, and programs.
Highly organized, with the ability to manage and prioritize many simultaneous deliverables.
Strong ability to effectively communicate ideas in both a written and verbal setting.
Expert in industry knowledge and understanding of sports marketing and media vernacular and trends.
Ability to work well under pressure and deliver assignments under deadline.
Strong management skills and the ability to be a team leader.
High level of proficiency in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and online research.
Solution-oriented mindset with strong problem-solving skills.
Efficient, organized, and ability to handle multiple tasks.
Self-sufficient, enthusiastic, and proactively pursues assignments.

Nice To Haves

Experience working on sports sponsorships and 360 activations is a plus.
Experience across mainstream media channels (national TV, local, digital, social, etc.).

Responsibilities

Support direct reports in developing overarching strategy across multiple media channels.
Co-lead broader sports strategy development for client education.
Design materials (PPT presentations, POVs, etc.) that convey strategy supported with appropriate research.
Interpret relevant research from third-party data, industry trades, and additional sources.
Primarily manage day-to-day communications with client POCs and across internal teams.
Develop a broad understanding of clients’ business needs, KPIs, goals, and objectives.
Ability to work seamlessly across internal and external groups.
Work directly and daily with planning and investment teams to develop holistic client strategy.
Promote the use of data and other insight tools to build strategic recommendations (e.g., Target analysis, competitive, marketplace intelligence).
Collaborate with external agency partners on IAT deliverables, including but not limited to annual business planning, brand/master brand communications strategy, and tactical media recommendations.
Responsible for budget tracking across a portfolio, where funding may be sourced from various LOBs.
Detailed knowledge of all working budgets; accountability to address internal and client-based budget allocation questions and responsible for any budget reporting.
Familiar with and staying up-to-speed on the evolving digital landscape, both related to sports-specific properties as well as social channels and content strategies.
Have base knowledge of the sports marketplace to identify new opportunities, areas of white space, vacant ownership positions, etc., that fit within the overarching client strategy and work in conjunction with internal planning and investment teams to bring these to life.
Oversee direct reports by managing workload, delegating responsibilities, checking work for accuracy, and being their lead POC in terms of mentorship and growth development.
Recognize and solve tactical problems; participate in the development of strategic solutions.
Familiar with digital world both related to sports-specific sites as well as social channels and content strategies.
Familiar with traditional sports media assets, strategy, trends, and general terminology.
Supportive in business development and growing Optimum Sports.
Contributes to company initiatives: business pitches and internal projects.