Director, Partnership Marketing

UNITED STATES SOCCER FEDERATION 1•Atlanta, GA

About The Position

U.S. Soccer is seeking a Director of Partnership Marketing to join our industry-leading team and help drive the growth of soccer in the United States. This individual will be a leader within U.S. Soccer’s growing commercial team and an important driver in the relationship between the Federation and its largest strategic partners. The Director will be keenly focused on driving partner-specific commercial value among its roster of blue-chip partners while building, leading and developing a team. The Director will also work across the organization and with the balance of the Federation’s commercial team to build the U.S. Soccer brand, engage fans, and deliver results.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field of expertise
8+ years of experience in strategic brand and partnership marketing
Able and willing to travel up to 35% of the time to all domestic U.S. Soccer controlled matches
Able and willing to work non-traditional hours including evenings, weekends & holidays
General knowledge of soccer
Capable of working in fast-paced and demanding environments
Must be able to connect “micro” details to the “macro” vision and mission
Proficient experience with Microsoft Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook)

Nice To Haves

Pro-active and curious with a bias for action to maximize partner value
Proven organizational, leadership and project management skills are required. Must be able to lead a team, think strategically, and handle multiple projects.
Strong analytical skills and experience understanding and interpreting quantitative and qualitative research
Creative strategist with the ability to open doors
Relationships with senior level marketing executives at agency and client level
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Exceptional attention to detail
Ability to manage multiple concurrent events through multi-tasking and managing priorities efficiently
Ability to work independently and as a part of a multidisciplinary team
Excellent computer skills, including Outlook, MS Word, PowerPoint and advanced Microsoft Excel capabilities
Experience with Adobe suite or a similar program is preferred
A background in, and passion for, soccer, sports and entertainment is preferred
Experience in sports marketing
Desire to be part of a team
"Student of the Game" mentality and desire for continual growth
Accountable for actions/decisions and does not make excuses
Multi-lingual a plus

Responsibilities

Leading a dynamic team: direct, develop and inspire a team that is driven to deliver on both our partners’ and U.S. Soccer business objectives while demonstrating a consistent level of intellectual curiosity.
Owning day-to-day relationships: lead U.S. Soccer’s relationships with a number of strategic partners; develop and implement creative and high-impact activations that help all parties achieve their goals, including integration with our media partners to build and strengthen long-term strategic relationships.
Establishing new platforms and opportunities: work collaboratively with U.S. Soccer colleagues across all departments to help create and implement sellable programming and identify ways that current partners can be authentically integrated to help accomplish their goals, and support U.S. Soccer’s bullish growth projections.
Renewing existing relationships: lean on industry trends, deep category knowledge, evolving partner objectives and meaningful relationships to drive long-term partner extensions
Securing new partners: assist business development initiatives and the growth of U.S. Soccer by reviewing proposals and developing innovative concepts that support prospective partner objectives.