Partnerships Manager & Content Ops

Contrarian Thinking•Austin, TX

1d•Onsite

About The Position

This role is for a Partnerships Manager & Content Operations lead at Contrarian Thinking. The ideal candidate will be responsible for closing large brand deals and managing the data that supports these deals. They will sell story-driven partnerships that are authentic to the company and appealing to brands, focusing on category partners like travel, auto, finance, luggage, and lifestyle. The role involves moving beyond traditional #ad reads and #sponsored posts to integrate brand stories as a natural arc alongside the company's own narrative, engaging with Fortune 1000 CMOs. Additionally, the role will involve building an AI-powered system to identify content that resonates with the audience and serves as a bridge between content and all internal departments. This includes leveraging data from sales, finance, and marketing teams to inform content strategy. The candidate will be comfortable using a variety of analytical tools to answer key questions about content performance, such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and compounding formats. This is a high-autonomy, high-ownership, AI-forward role that requires strong emotional intelligence, creative judgment, and cross-team collaboration.

Requirements

5-7 years of experience in brand partnerships, ad agency account direction, brand management, or content ops at a creator-led media company.
Proven track record closing or managing brand deals, preferably category partnerships.
Ability to present creative pitches in a Fortune 500 boardroom and secure signed deals.
Fluency with AI tools as a thinking multiplier, including experience chaining LLMs for research and analysis.
Comfort with data analysis using tools like Google Analytics, HubSpot, and platform analytics.
Ability to read and interpret retention curves and understand their implications.
Demonstrated ability to be a reliable source of information and forward-thinking insights.
Diplomatic skills to provide constructive feedback to internal teams and brands.
Low ego and high standards.
Clear, concise writing skills for briefs.
Bias toward action and proactive problem-solving.

Nice To Haves

Blended background in partnerships and content operations.

Responsibilities

Pitch, close, and shepherd partnerships from first meeting through campaign execution.
Build relationships with brand-side VPs and their agencies.
Develop creative concepts for major brands that align with Contrarian Thinking's story-driven approach.
Sell partnership ideas internally before presenting them to brands.
Manage the follow-through loop with partners, ensuring creative integrity while protecting the company's voice.
Act as a conduit between content and all internal departments (Sales, Marketing, Advisory, Events, Finance).
Translate internal data into actionable content ideas.
Operate and refine the 'Content Brain' by managing data workflows from various sources (Google Analytics, HubSpot, Avoma, platform APIs, Bitly, transcripts, social data).
Analyze signals to determine which hooks retain audiences, which frameworks convert, and which formats compound.
Manage the customer-facing event calendar and ensure appropriate messaging and cadence across platforms.
Build and maintain content team dashboards tracking key metrics like views, watch time, CTR, retention, revenue per asset, and partnership ROI.
Map the full content lifecycle from idea to repurposing, building templates, checklists, and SLAs.
Prepare leadership for strategy changes with data-backed briefs.
Sit in on sales and advisor calls to gather insights for content teams.