Brand Partnerships Lead – Marketing (R6260)

Shield AI•Los Angeles, CA

About The Position

Shield AI is seeking a Brand Partnerships Lead to own and grow its partnership and sponsorship portfolio, from identifying opportunities through renewal. The role leads cross-functional programs that strengthen the company’s brand through sports, military community, and industry partnerships, ensuring agreements, activations, and deliverables are executed with rigor and accountability. The position manages partnerships throughout their contract lifecycle, leads activation planning and execution, oversees budgets and performance reporting, and coordinates with internal teams and external partners. It also works with the creative studio to deliver partnership assets and ensures public-facing work aligns with Shield AI brand standards and applicable data handling and export control requirements.

Requirements

At least 10 years of marketing experience, including 4 to 6 years 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 external partners and internal stakeholders.
Ability to hold external partners and internal teams accountable to timelines as an individual contributor.
Ability to manage complex programs end to end, keep stakeholders informed, maintain clear and current trackers, timelines, and files, and adapt as priorities shift.

Nice To Haves

Experience in defense, aerospace, advanced hardware, or another regulated industry.
Experience managing sports, military community, or other large-scale sponsorship and activation programs.
Existing relationships with sports properties, military and veteran organizations, or industry event organizers.
Experience working with an in-house creative studio or agency to produce partnership assets.
Experience managing agencies, production vendors, and venues for activations.
Familiarity with procurement, contracting, and vendor onboarding processes.
Familiarity with brand, legal, data handling, and export control reviews for public-facing work.
Experience supporting programs involving physical products, technical subject matter, or sensitive information.

Responsibilities

Source partnership and sponsorship opportunities, lead outreach, define deal terms and deliverables, and work with Legal and Finance to move agreements through signature.
Manage active partnerships throughout the contract lifecycle as the primary day-to-day contact, track contracted rights and deliverables, and ensure both Shield AI and partners meet their obligations.
Build program plans, workback schedules, and deliverable trackers in Asana; coordinate with Creative, Communications, Events, Legal, Finance, and external stakeholders.
Lead partnership activations from planning through execution, managing logistics such as shipping, installation, on-site production, talent coordination, and partner schedules.
Travel to key events, oversee on-site execution, and close out assets, invoices, and recaps.
Ensure public-facing partnership work aligns with Shield AI brand standards and applicable data handling and export control requirements.
Own the partnership budget; forecast and track committed and actual spend in Excel, reconcile purchase orders and invoices with Finance, and flag risks or overruns with a recommended path forward.
Define success metrics for partnerships, gather results after activations, and report spend, deliverables, and outcomes to the Director of Brand and Creative to inform renewals and future investment.
Partner with the creative studio by providing clear briefs with scope, partner specifications, and deadlines, and help prioritize work so assets are delivered on time and to standard.
Manage multiple concurrent programs with fixed public-facing deadlines and hold external partners and internal teams accountable to timelines.