Job Title

Pentland Brands•Cypress, CA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Sports Marketing Manager leads Speedo’s athlete and partnership strategy across North America. This role owns the development, execution, and performance of Speedo’s athlete, NIL, federation, university partnerships, ensuring investments drive brand leadership, cultural relevance, and measurable commercial impact. As a “player-coach,” this role combines strategic leadership with hands-on partnership management, working closely with internal teams, external partners, and athletes to elevate Speedo’s presence from grassroots to elite levels.

Requirements

Deep understanding of NIL, collegiate sports, and partnership marketing.
Proven experience managing or supporting partnerships with federations, athletic programs, or sports organizations.
Excellent relationship management and communication skills with athletes, agents, and sports partners.
Demonstrated ability to execute strategic programs and measure performance.
Collaborative, proactive, and passionate about Speedo’s mission and competitive heritage.
Positive, energetic, and fun - able to inspire athletes, partners, and teammates while representing Speedo’s competitive heritage.
Adaptability and resilience in a dynamic, fast-paced market environment, with a proactive approach to identifying opportunities and addressing challenges.
Strong understanding of culture-driven marketing and the evolving role athletes play in brand storytelling, community influence, and consumer engagement.
Demonstrated ability to identify talent with both competitive credibility and cultural relevance, leveraging athlete partnerships to build meaningful brand connection.
Thrives in a fast‑paced, team‑first, high‑energy environment, with a positive, can‑do, customer‑focused attitude.

Responsibilities

Co-create and execute the North America athlete and partnership strategy in alignment with Global athlete strategy, with ownership of Premier, National, NIL, and regional partnerships.
Own relationship strategy for Team Speedo athletes, alumni, legends, coaches, agents, and key partners.
Manage day-to-day relationships with North America–based Team Speedo athletes and partners, and coordinate with Global teams on in-market activation of Global athletes.
Support athlete contract negotiations, renewals, and onboarding in partnership with Legal, Finance, and Global teams.
Build and maintain a robust pipeline of emerging and established athletes.
Lead Speedo’s NIL strategy, ensuring athletes align with brand values and long-term growth ambitions.
Identify and cultivate athletes with the potential to drive cultural influence and brand affinity, developing them into authentic storytellers and ambassadors for Speedo across sport, lifestyle, and social platforms.
Partner closely with Brand Marketing and Social teams to ensure athlete partnerships support broader brand storytelling objectives, cultural relevance, and consumer engagement opportunities.
Own Speedo’s highest-impact partnerships with federations, universities, and teams.
Partner closely with Team Sales to ensure partnerships drive brand visibility, product adoption, and wholesale ROI.
Oversee partnerships with organizations such as USA Swimming.
Ensure contractual obligations are met and partnerships are activated consistently and effectively.
Lead the planning and strategic direction for athlete appearances, content, and key event activations across North America.
Partner with Brand Marketing to shape campaigns and athlete storytelling frameworks, ensuring alignment with Speedo’s brand voice and Global narratives.
Oversee athlete activation plans for major moments including Olympic Trails, collegiate championships, national meets, and federation gatherings.
Directly manage and develop the Sports Marketing Specialist, providing strategic direction, clear priorities, and performance feedback.
Set activation standards and ensure high-quality execution across athlete, partnership and event initiatives.
Foster strong collaboration between Sports Marketing, Brand, Social, Product and Sales teams through clear role definition and communication.