Marketing Partnerships Management

This position will be primarily responsible for managing local/regional marketing partners for BAL Africa. This position calls for someone with strong client-servicing, project management and relationship-building skills. The ideal candidate will be a problem-solver and someone who can identify and deliver value to marketing partners.

Major Responsibilities:

• Manage and service BAL Africa marketing partners with a focus on upsell opportunities.
• Serve as day-to-day contact on partnership matters ranging from contractual deliverables to activation strategy.
• Manage day-to-day partner activation processes including: activation planning and approvals, promotional development, media planning, financials, advertising creation and approval, event coordination and results tracking.
• Manage all requirements of the BAL Compliance Policy for all partner renewals.
• Regular follow up with global account teams in NY to pitch regional partnership opportunities.
• Generate and present marketing partner reports to assess partnership ROI. Execute against partnership goals and success metrics, implement a measurement plan, for monitoring effectiveness and providing regular partner reporting.
• Build effective working relationships and strong consensus with key BAL constituencies including: sub-departments within Global Partnerships, Events, Media (Broadcast and Digital), Content, Public Relations, Legal, Licensing, Social Responsibility, Team Marketing & Business Operations, Basketball Operations, Player Marketing, and BAL Entertainment.
• Develop and leverage strong relationships and build credibility with external partners and their lead agencies.
• Manage budgets and expenses for marketing partners including assisting in the annual budget planning process; this includes fluency in our financial reporting and pipeline management system.
• Develop an understanding of partners' marketing/business goals, objectives, target audience and integrate these into contractual delivery plans.
• Assist in global coordination of partner benefits at international events.
• Support in identification of areas of opportunity and develop upsell proposals for partners throughout the season.
• Has ownership of accounts with some autonomy.
• Responsible for the fulfillment of contract requirements.
• Develop and maintain favorable relationships with new and existing partners.
• Coordinate with cross functional groups/departments on project and client needs
• When applicable, coordinate and provide pre-event planning and provide on-site support or activation assistance for any partner events.
• Provide regular updates to senior staff concerning partnership matters, financial status, etc.
• Lead brainstorming sessions to deliver best in class benefits to partners.

Required Skills/Knowledge:

• Strong understanding of sponsorship activation including events, media, marketing rights, content, etc.
• Must be highly motivated, proactive, self-starter with high energy and team spirit.
• Strong business savvy.
• Excellent presentation skills, including the ability to lead discussions and interact with senior executives (internally and externally).
• Strong financial and analytical skills; ability to create internal and external reports.
• Ability to forecast issues in projects, troubleshoot, and problem solve with internal constituents and external partners.
• High level of proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• A minimum of conversational French language skills preferred.

Experience Needed:

• Minimum of 7 years of professional experience in relevant field (marketing, advertising, account management, or brand management).
• Proven negotiation/sales skills and experience.
• Prior experience supporting internal and external relationships, developing presentations and thinking creatively, a strong plus.

Educational Background Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing or related discipline