Director of Partnership Development

Houston Texans•Houston, TX

11d•Onsite

About The Position

Responsible for developing and closing World-Class, league-leading, high-value, long-term partnerships that drive significant revenue and align with the Texans’ brand values and innovative strategic vision.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree from a four-year accredited college or university preferred, Advanced degree a plus.
Minimum 8+ years of experience in corporate partnerships, sponsorship sales, and / or another lead revenue development role within sports, media, or entertainment.
Proven success in structuring, negotiating, and securing complex, significant, multi-year sponsorship deals with major brands.
Proven record of closing seven & eight figures of new business annually while renewing at a high rate and demonstrating an ability to grow existing accounts.
Pristine reputation in the industry across prior organizations and portfolio of clients.
Deep network of senior brand marketers, agency executives, and decision-makers.
Strong understanding of revenue development, sports marketing nuances and the evolving commercial landscape in live events, content, and fan engagement.
Strategic mindset grounded by a proactive and entrepreneurial approach to business.
Exceptional communicator with outstanding presentation and negotiation skills.
Strong organizational and time management skills with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks in a high-energy environment.
Must be high-energy, self-motivated, service-oriented, and highly competitive.
Ability to maintain confidential and/or proprietary information.
Strong desire to “win” yet humble with a collaborative, team-first attitude and a strong work ethic in the performance of all job responsibilities.
Proficiency in CRM systems, PowerPoint, Excel, and other key sales tools.
Ability to work non-traditional hours as needed, including evenings, weekends, and game days.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree a plus.

Responsibilities

Identify, develop, pitch and secure new major corporate partnerships with global, national and regional “blue-chip” brands.
Lead while constantly collaborating and communicating across the department, as well as the entire organization, throughout the full sales cycle - from prospecting and team-ideation process to collaborative proposal development, negotiations, and contract execution.
Invest the time required to fully understand the organization’s multi-venue and multi-property landscape in order to successfully execute the company’s strategy that will drive scalable revenue growth and expand category coverage.
Mentor and support the growth of other sales & activation teammates, fostering our genuine culture of shared learning, collaboration, innovation, excellence, and accountability.
Directly partner with business solutions, and other mission critical internal teams across revenue, marketing, media, operations, finance, legal, and business intelligence to deliver customized, best-in-class partnership solutions and activations.
Design and pitch strategic, values-aligned marketing platforms that transcend traditional sponsorships and create industry-leading activations and measurable business outcomes for partners.
Act as a senior representative of the Texans in meetings with executives at Fortune 500 companies, other marquee brands, and marketing agencies.
Maintain and expand relationships with key stakeholders and decision-makers across currently “open” & upcoming categories and industries.
Stay attuned to industry trades & trends, innovation in sponsorship activation, and evolving brand objectives to inform sales strategies.
Represent the organization at major events, conferences, and brand-facing functions, serving as a thought leader and ambassador for the Texans’ future vision.
Contribute to the long-term growth and direction of the Corporate Partnerships department, and the Revenue Division writ-large, by being additive to culture and performing at the highest level in the industry, meaningful contributing to department goals and all other KPIs.
Assist Club and Club staff in a professional manner on all Texans gamedays, LSSE Events, LOVB Volleyball Houston Events and duties within the Business operations offices.
Perform various other tasks that may be assigned from time to time by the Vice President, Partnership Development and CRO.
Subject to reasonable accommodations, position requires routine face-to-face personal interaction with other Club personnel; therefore, job responsibilities must be physically performed in the Club offices and not in a telecommuting manner.