Director, Sponsorship and Partnerships

The Linchpin Co. is a people operations group offering custom recruitment and consulting services. At Linchpin, we know a company's most valuable resource is its people, and we are people experts

We will be the point of contact between you and Salt XC during the recruitment process, acting as your trusted advisor and coach. We look forward to your interest.

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Salt XC is an agency driven by the philosophy of Experiential Commerce™ - our unique framework for designing better consumer experiences that earn attention and drive action. We take an integrated approach that connects the consumer’s online and offline experiences through data, media, and the memorable moments that drive brand transactions.

ROLE OVERVIEW

We are looking for a seasoned Director, Sponsorship and Partnerships with a passion for measurement, asset review, evaluation, and management to lead sponsorship initiatives for our sports + entertainment-focused accounts. The Director will be responsible for leading the negotiation, consultation, and evaluation of property assets for our clients, and working closely with the cross-functional teams who bring the partnership programs to life. The Director will work closely with Salt’s Head of Connections and Account Directors supporting with business growth, day-to-day management of sponsorship + partnership programs, measurement and analytics of assets and agreement, in an effort to achieve the strategic brand/client objectives. You will be responsible for working directly with clients and key stakeholders to review, measure and report back on brand property assets and agreements – making sound, thoughtful and reasonable recommendations based on both data and insights. You are driven by data, understand how to analyze and report back on assets, and are passionate about mining incremental value using creative problem solving and analytics.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

Client

• Develop a keen understanding of client’s sponsorship objectives and priorities.
• Develop a comprehensive understanding of the client’s business strategy, objectives & brands.
• Support the client with strategic direction of the brand/company as required, specifically in regards to sponsorship and property alignment.
• Ability to kick-off the development of client programs in relation to properties and assets.
• Understand where there may be organic opportunities for business development & growth within client’s business; work to create and implement a plan to sell incremental programs and services.

Industry

• Deep knowledge of the sports and entertainment industry in Canada, including Tier-1, 2 + 3 properties and assets.
• Strong & positive relationships within the Sponsorship industry in Canada to support with gathering information, market assessment, and property evaluation and negotiation.
• Ability to think creatively about age-old problems, and proactively put forward unique and thoughtful data-backed solutions.

Measurement + Evaluation

• Ability to learn, contribute to and integrate into Salt’s proprietary measurement tool to analyze and report back on property asset value.
• Derive insights and considerations from the data, comparing against client/brand priorities and current/future market realities.
• Participation in, and leadership of, client and key stakeholder meetings acting as the expert in sponsorship measurement + evaluation for the integrated team.
• Ability to understand where there may be gaps in detail and information, and building a plan to gather more informed and data-driven information to report back on value and opportunity.
• Research and data analysis.
• Proprietary Sponsorship studies.

Strategy

• Strategic development of plans from the ground up as well as pivot/grow/divert plans in a thoughtful and data-driven way, as required.
• Knack for great story-telling, using data as the foundation to build and sell-in plans.
• Craft strategic storytelling narratives and presentations that unlock and support breakthrough work.
• Curious and critical mind, passionate about uncovering information that will drive unique and creative solutions.
• Holistic view of the consumer and, through distilling research and insights, identifies and maps key connection points and messaging that maximize a brand's ability to connect with consumers and trigger action via properties and assets.

Business

• Create collaborative working relationships and maintain effective + efficient ways of working within specialty, IMC teams and stakeholder teams.
• Work with Salt senior leadership team to assess and determine requirements for new hires as needed.
• Train & develop direct reports and their teams to provide best in class project management.
• Conduct performance evaluations, provide feedback and support with setting and driving your teams personal and professional goals, as necessary.
• Identifying new areas for business growth and development.
• Monitor the success of programs, providing options to optimize and pivot when required; and areas to excel and improve post-program.
• Manage all external stakeholders pertinent to the portfolio, including but not limited to: suppliers, partners, clients, agencies, contractors.
• Pitching. In, or leading, new or ongoing business initiatives for Salt XC – supporting with growth & development of the overall business.

Financial

• Responsibility for the sponsorship portfolio P+L, working closely with your team and finance to maintain a profitable business.
• Assessing recommendations to clients and ensuring all programs create value for both Salt and Salt’s clients.
• Ability to build small and large program budgets, that drive business profitability.
• Ability to reconcile budgets of all sizes, working both independently, with your team and with finance.
• Solid understanding of how the business makes money, where there are gaps that need to be filled, creating and implementing a plan to support with filling revenue and profit gaps.

EXPERIENCE & SKILLS

• At least 10 years of experience working in a dedicated sponsorship and partnership management role, with a focus on measurement + evaluation.
• Previous experience working with Tier 1 sports properties and athletes.
• Previous experience developing strategic sponsorship and partnership strategies including evaluation, negotiation, contract management and activation planning.
• Strong negotiation skills.
• Exceptional leadership and people management skills.
• Proven project management & production experience.
• Understanding of agency budgeting and reporting requirements.
• Proven strategic-thinker.
• Natural people person with exceptional interpersonal skills.
• Confident and experienced with presentation skills.
• Excellent organizational, negotiation and leadership skills.
• Outstanding critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to oversee, and deliver against, a large P+L.
• Proven ability to identify, pursue and sell business growth opportunities.

SALT’S VALUES

• Salt of the Earth: We aspire to be good people. People who are humble, hardworking, honest and kind to one another. People who are fun to work with, who trust and are respectful of each other.
• Do What's Right: We don’t believe in taking shortcuts. We believe in doing what is right, not what is easy or expected.
• Earn It: We believe in rolling up our sleeves and not being afraid of hard work. We want to earn the respect of others, the results we deliver and the praise we receive.
• Make things Better: We aspire to leave things better than we found them and are always looking for a better way. Great ideas come from anywhere, they come from being curious, passionate, solutions-oriented people who care deeply about what we do.
• Seek Different Perspectives: We believe in embracing difference; the perspective it brings, how it challenges us, how it spurs creativity, and its ability to make us better.

Salt XC is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and to attracting and retaining the most qualified employees regardless of race, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age or disability.