This role is the strategic and client-facing leader of our data practice. The Director turns sponsorship data into the stories our clients need to hear, builds lasting relationships with senior brand stakeholders, and proactively identifies new work before clients ask for it. The candidate will work on our analytics team, who build and maintain the models and dashboards, and will own the thinking, the narrative, and the recommendation that goes in front of the client. The ideal candidate deeply understands what a brand is trying to achieve, can analyze data well enough to pressure-test it and find the insight, and is a standout writer and presenter who can make a complex idea simple and persuasive.
• Build and maintain senior-level client relationships, serving as a trusted advisor on sponsorship measurement, data strategy, and partnership performance.
• Develop a deep understanding of each client’s business objectives and translate them into measurement frameworks, KPIs, and analytical priorities.
• Proactively create new workstreams by spotting opportunities, anticipating client needs, and bringing ideas before they are requested.
• Contribute to new business efforts, including RFP responses, pitches, and capabilities presentations.
• Lead the development of strategy decks, points of view, and client recommendations, owning the narrative from the first outline to the final slide.
• Use data to build the story: synthesize insights from multiple sources into a clear, defensible, and compelling recommendation.
• Define the audience and the “so what” for every deliverable, and make sure the work answers the question the client is actually asking.
• Present findings and recommendations to senior client stakeholders and leadership with confidence.
• Analyze data from sponsorship measurement, survey, audience, and media sources to uncover insights, pressure-test conclusions, and QA the numbers behind the story.
• Frame the analytical approach and scope the questions to be answered, then direct the analytics team on what to build and why.
• Partner with data and analytics leads to turn models, dashboards, and reporting into client-ready insight.
• Use AI tools (e.g., Claude) to accelerate research, synthesis, and drafting, and to find faster ways to deliver high-quality work.
• Guide, coach, and develop managers and analysts, with a focus on audience awareness, deck craft, and strategic thinking.
• Manage workstreams across multiple accounts, set priorities with account leads, and keep delivery on time and at a high standard.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Communications, Statistics, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in sports marketing, sponsorship, brand strategy, consulting, or marketing measurement and analytics.
• Proven track record of building and maintaining relationships with senior stakeholders at major brands.
• Exceptional writing, storytelling, and presentation skills, with strong deck-building craft.
• Strong analytical ability: comfortable working with data in Excel, reading Tableau dashboards, and turning numbers into clear insight and recommendations.
• Strong understanding of client and agency relationships and how to manage expectations.
• Experience leading, coaching, and developing team members.
• Practical, hands-on comfort using AI tools (e.g., Claude, ChatGPT) in day-to-day work.
• Familiarity with sponsorship measurement sources and vendors (e.g., Relo Metrics, Nielsen, fan and consumer survey platforms).
• Agency or consulting background, with experience originating new programs or workstreams for clients.
• Working knowledge of Tableau, SQL, or Python.
