Account Manager, Partnership Marketing

Chicago Fire Football Club is a Major League Soccer team that was founded in 1997. Under new ownership, the Club recently returned to Chicago’s iconic Soldier Field, opened a new 50,000-square foot office in the heart of the city, and will unveil a premium state-of-the-art Performance Center in January 2025. With tremendous growth and expansion, the Club is laying the foundation for an audacious and ambitious vision that will transform the brand and the company in the coming years.

At Chicago Fire Football Club, we’re on a mission to entertain, serve, and unite Chicago by delivering excellence on and off the pitch to ensure a world-class experience. As a club we let our values guide everything we do: we uphold uncompromising integrity, show respect for all at all times, never settle for less, constantly innovate, and hold ourselves relentlessly accountable.

Position Overview:

The Club’s Partnership Team is responsible for creating and driving comprehensive soccer marketing platforms to reach the objectives and drive ROI for corporate partners. The Partnership Marketing team is responsible for deepening relationships with current partners, activating all contractual elements, and renewing and upselling partners. The Account Manager will manage relationships with local and national brands who are corporate partners of the Chicago Fire FC.

Position Responsibilities:

• Book of Business Management
  • Management of a book of business from the team’s corporate partnership portfolio
  • Lead day-to-day client communication, outline and secure deliverables, execute agreement details
  • Meet partner objectives and deliver superior results through the execution of partner contractual elements
  • Build and develop specific activation concepts for each respective partner as needed according to contract definition and/or growth opportunities
  • Understand budgets for partners activations, ensuring cost-effectiveness
  • Build and deepen relationships with partner accounts and regularly identify and pursue opportunities that deliver mutual growth for the partner and the Fire organization
  • Accountable for renewal and upsell of existing corporate partner deals within portfolio
  • Work closely with internal departments to develop and implement successful activations to ensure corporate partner goals and objectives are achieved
  • Collect, analyze, prepare and deliver proof of performance materials for partners throughout the year
• Department Support
  • Execute cross-functional processes between club partnerships team and other departments in order to fulfill partner commitments and elevate club deliverables
  • Provide department support to partnership marketing team to include but not limited to:
    • Responsible and oversight of partnership elements including digital, hospitality, partner events, signage, matchday elements, etc.
    • Capturing proof of performance photos and digital tracking for partner recaps
    • Oversight of partner lists and communication
    • Oversight of partner merchandise and gifting
  • Manage any sponsor-related projects as assigned by Vice President, Partnership Marketing & Strategy

Qualifications:

• Minimum 4 years relevant work, industry and partnership experience
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Willingness to learn in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to work flexible hours, including but not limited to evenings, weekends and holidays
• Strong computer proficiency – MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint)
• Bachelor’s degree

Please note:

• Chicago Fire FC is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion. Our diversity initiatives start with the recruitment and selection process; therefore, we’d like to welcome all diverse candidates to apply to opportunities within our Club.
• CFFC is committed to providing equal employment opportunity and maintaining a workplace for employees and applicants for employment that is free from discrimination. The Company does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, citizenship, age, veteran or military status, disability, sexual orientation, sexual orientation or expression, marital status or any other characteristic protected by law. This policy governs all aspects of employment, including hiring, promotion, compensation, discipline, termination, and access to benefits and training.
  • If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, please contact the People and Culture Department at [email protected] to let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.

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