Partnership Development, Director

Charlotte Hornets•Charlotte, NC

About The Position

The Partnership Development, Director is a sales role on Hornets Sports & Entertainment’s Partnerships team, focused on developing and selling marketing partnerships across HSE brands: the Charlotte Hornets, Greensboro Swarm, and Spectrum Center. The role is expected to use a strong national, regional, and local contact network to grow partnership opportunities in the Charlotte market. The Director manages the full new-business development cycle, from prospect identification and research through outreach, needs analysis, proposal development, negotiation, and closing. They work with internal stakeholders to build customized partnership programs and business cases that meet prospective partners’ objectives, enhance the fan experience, and generate measurable results and revenue. The role also serves as a primary contact and event host for prospects, maintains accurate pipeline and account information, and supports HSE’s mission, vision, and purpose. This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position. HSE states that it is dedicated to creating and upholding a welcoming environment that celebrates diversity and is an equal opportunity employer.

Requirements

At least 5 years of sports partnership sales experience with a tangible track record of success.
Proven success meeting and exceeding revenue goals and selling and fostering sizable, long-term partnerships.
Proficiency or ability to learn corporate systems and CRM technologies used in the sports and entertainment industry, including Microsoft Office Suite and KORE.
Self-motivation, goal orientation, competitiveness, resilience, confidence, and a results-oriented approach.
Strong organizational and communication skills, interpersonal skills, and ability to handle sensitive situations and confidential information.
Ability to organize work, conceptualize and prioritize objectives, and exercise judgment based on an understanding of policies and activities.
Independent judgment to plan, prioritize, and organize a diversified workload.
Ability to coordinate multiple tasks and projects.
Poise, tact, diplomacy, and strong teamwork skills.
Professional manner and ability to interact with all organizational levels and outside contacts.
Ability to sit, stand, walk, and reach.
Ability to occasionally lift, carry, or drag up to 25 pounds if necessary.
Flexibility to work necessary hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays for games and events.
Ability to travel occasionally.

Nice To Haves

College degree in Business Administration, Marketing, or a related field from an accredited college or university (preferred).
Ongoing pursuit of training and professional development, including strengthening partnership sales expertise, refining negotiation and relationship-building skills, and keeping current with industry trends.

Responsibilities

Meet and exceed personal revenue goals through developing and selling marketing partnerships for all HSE brands.
Manage all phases of the new-business development process for the individual pipeline, including identification, research, outreach, qualification, needs analysis, brainstorming, proposal building, negotiation, and closing.
Identify potential partners in assigned business categories, maintain a prospect pipeline, conduct outreach and qualification, and assess prospects’ fit and capacity.
Conduct comprehensive needs analyses to identify marketing objectives and business goals.
Work across departments with internal stakeholders to create programming aligned with client objectives, brand attributes, and target markets.
Develop creative, customized proposals with a compelling narrative and value proposition aligned to prospective partners’ marketing objectives.
Build partnership business cases and lead or participate in presentation development and scripting.
Negotiate and close partnerships that deliver measurable results for partners, enhance the fan experience, and maximize company revenue.
Collaborate with business intelligence to use tools and resources such as CRM software, audience and fan segmentation, lead-generation and prospecting tools, sponsor impact studies, and social media reporting.
Serve as a primary point of contact for prospective partners and host prospects at events.
Compile, report, enter, collect, forecast, and track account elements, billing fulfillment, contract information, and reports related to proposals, contracts, budgets, and other account details in Tableau, KORE, and other HSE data resources.
Prepare documents as needed, including expense reports, account budgets, memos, letters, contracts, spreadsheets, and other business documents.
Support HSE’s mission, vision, and purpose.
Represent HSE and its affiliates professionally.
Perform other related tasks as assigned.