Director, Strategy & Growth

TKO Group Holdings, Inc•New York, NY

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

TKO Group Holdings, Inc. is a premium sports and entertainment company that owns iconic properties like UFC, WWE, and PBR. The Director, Strategy & Growth will be part of the Strategy & Growth team, focusing on developing frameworks, sector views, market intelligence, and intellectual capital to support the scaling of brand partnerships. This role is strategic, not sales-oriented, and aims to enhance the business's strategic capabilities and lead consulting work. The role involves developing strategic infrastructure for brand partnerships, including sponsorship valuation methodologies and sector frameworks. It also entails leading consulting mandates in sponsorship strategy, commercial model design, and brand portfolio strategy, drawing on internal intellectual capital for external client work. The position will collaborate with the brand partnerships team on complex commercial issues and work with the data and insights team to provide evidence for fan engagement and brand impact. Additionally, the role will contribute to understanding media and creative agencies and support broader Strategy & Growth projects.

Requirements

8–12 years in sports sponsorship, brand strategy, or commercial strategy.
Ideally a mix of advisory or consulting experience and operating experience on either the agency, brand, or rights-holder side.
Genuine understanding of how brands think about sport and can explain CMO investment decisions.
Experience building sponsorship valuations, activation strategies, or commercial propositions for major sports properties or brands.
Credibility with senior commercial people.
Breadth across multiple sports, geographies, or brand categories.
Ability to think about the bigger picture and see patterns across deals.
Comfort with numbers, including sponsorship valuations, market sizing, and ROI analysis.
Strong communication skills, including writing pitches, building decks, and presenting confidently to senior audiences.
Naturally collaborative, with the ability to build good relationships across teams.
Genuine interest in brands and sport, with informed views on industry trends.
Ability to juggle multiple tasks, including supporting live consulting work, building frameworks, and handling ad hoc projects.

Nice To Haves

Time at a sponsorship agency or in a brand sponsorship function.
Understanding of media rights and how sponsorship and media strategies overlap.
Experience with sponsorship measurement tools (e.g., Nielsen Sports, GumGum, Relo Metrics).
Understanding of digital and social activation in sport.
MBA preferred.

Responsibilities

Build the strategic infrastructure brand partnerships needs to scale, including sponsorship valuation methodologies, sector frameworks, market intelligence, and repeatable approaches for pitches, renewals, and new business.
Develop sector views (e.g., automotive, financial services, tech, luxury) that explain how brands in each category think about sport and identify opportunities.
Lead consulting mandates in sponsorship strategy, commercial model design, and brand portfolio strategy, managing engagements from scoping to delivery.
Win new consulting work by leading proposals, developing hypotheses and investment recommendations, and contributing to business development.
Work alongside the brand partnerships team on complex commercial questions, providing an outside-in perspective and analytical depth.
Collaborate with the data and insights team to build evidence around fan engagement, reach, and brand impact.
Develop IMG's understanding of media and creative agencies and their decision-making processes.
Contribute to broader Strategy & Growth projects when brand or sponsorship expertise is beneficial.