Brand Partnerships Manager

Zenni Optical

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Zenni is seeking a Brand Partnerships Manager to drive growth through integrated campaigns, strategic partnerships, and cultural engagement. This role is responsible for executing initiatives that strengthen brand awareness and consumer connection across multiple channels, including IRL activations, PR moments, and community programs. This role sits at the intersection of partnerships, cultural marketing, and experiential brand activation using external collaborators as a core driver of brand growth and business impact. This role reports to the Senior Manager of Brand Partnerships and is part of a growing partnerships function supporting initiatives across celebrity ambassadors, sports, the arts, and cultural platforms. This position will play a key role in translating business and product priorities into partnership strategies that drive awareness, acquisition, and cultural relevance. The role will own select partnerships and activations end-to-end, while collaborating closely with the Senior Manager and cross-functional teams to execute larger, integrated initiatives. The ideal candidate is a proactive professional comfortable moving between high-level planning and hands-on execution. You will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to bring cohesive brand experiences to life while balancing long-term brand building with performance accountability. By translating brand strategy into programs with measurable impact, this position ensures Zenni shows up consistently and creatively where culture and commerce intersect. Please note, there is a preference for candidates in the SF Bay or Los Angeles, CA area.

Requirements

4-6 years of professional experience in brand marketing, event activations, partnerships, or integrated marketing.
Proven ability to connect partnership marketing to measurable performance outcomes and business growth.
Strong operational skills with experience managing complex timelines, external vendors, agencies, and cross-functional partners.
A data-driven mindset with comfort analyzing performance metrics to derive actionable insights.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a talent for building relationships and storytelling.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading end-to-end partnerships, including deal structuring, execution, and performance measurement.
Experience with contracts, rights management, and deliverable negotiation.
Proven ability to develop culturally relevant activations that drive both brand and business impact.
Experience working across IRL activations, events, and experiential marketing.
Ability to translate ambiguous ideas into clear, executable plans.
Experience working with talent, athletes, creators, or cultural partners.
Strong cross-functional collaboration skills across creative, social, media, and e-commerce teams.
Demonstrated ability to balance brand storytelling with performance outcomes (traffic, conversion, ROI).
Comfort operating in fast-paced, highly iterative environments.

Responsibilities

Manage the strategic development and day-to-day operations of brand partnerships, including sports, ambassadors, and other organizations, to create integrated storytelling opportunities that reflect Zenni’s purpose and drive customer acquisition.
Manage partnership deal development in tandem with Head of Brand Partnerships including sourcing opportunities, evaluating fit, and supporting negotiation of key terms, rights, and deliverables
Develop and concept breakthrough brand-forward activation ideas that bring partnerships to life across IRL, content, PR, and commerce channels.
Own day-to-day partner relationships, ensuring alignment on strategy, deliverables, and long-term value creation.
Assist in managing daily communications, timelines, and deliverables with brand partners, ambassadors, NIL/college talent, and cultural collaborators.
Support onsite and brand partnership activations, including EyeQ events, CSR initiatives, sports partnerships, museum/arts collaborations, and university engagements.
Coordinate partner content production—tracking deadlines, gathering assets, routing approvals, and ensuring quality brand alignment.
Help maintain and optimize deliverable trackers, calendars, and partnership documentation.
Support the end-to-end execution of integrated partnership marketing programs across owned, earned, and paid channels, working with cross-functional leads and external partnership teams, ensuring all initiatives align with commercial KPIs and maintain brand consistency across all touch points.
Partner with Creative, Social, Media, and E-commerce teams to develop comprehensive toolkits and amplification plans that ensure seamless execution and aligned messaging across all consumer touchpoints.
Consistently maintain a standardized measurement framework to track, analyze, and report on performance metrics such as ROI, reach, and sales impact, utilizing post-activation insights to continuously refine brand strategy.
Oversee financial workflows, including budget tracking, invoicing, and vendor management, to ensure all brand activations are delivered on time, on strategy, and within financial parameters.

Benefits

Annual Bonus Program
Healthcare: 100% premiums covered for medical, dental, and vision for employees (50% for dependents)
Basic Life and AD&D with option for additional voluntary coverage
Short and long term disability coverage
401k with up to 4% match
EAP and Spring Health that gives you and dependents access to free therapy and coaching
Lifestyle Spending Account
Free access for you and your family to our digital wellness platform - Wellness Coach
Generous PTO in addition to our Week of Zen - the time between Christmas and New Year’s to relax and recuperate
Fully Paid Parental Leave - 16 weeks for birthing and non-birthing parents
Family forming & fertility support and services through Maven
Annual Zenni Gift Card - to use towards our products!