Athlete Partnerships Manager

About the role

At Just Ingredients – a health and wellness e-commerce company – we believe that nourishing your body with real ingredients is essential for living a healthy and fulfilling life. That's why our products are made using carefully selected, whole-food ingredients. And our people are just as real as our ingredients – authentic, collaborative, and dedicated to fostering a workplace that inspires individuals and teams to reach their full potential.

The Partnerships team connects the Just Ingredients brand with athletes who live what we stand for – real ingredients, real performance, and real impact. We work closely with design, content, product, and events to turn athlete relationships into campaigns that build trust and drive growth.

We're looking for an experienced Athlete Partnerships Manager with 7+ years in sports marketing and talent partnerships to own and grow our athlete program. You know how to find the right athletes, manage partnerships that deliver, and execute campaigns that move the business. You're a strong project manager who can run multiple campaigns and sports projects at once, keep teams on schedule, and deliver on time. You're comfortable negotiating with agents, and just as strong at building relationships as you are at measuring results. If you're passionate about sports, health, and building a partnership program with real impact, we'd love to meet you.

Responsibilities

• Partnership Strategy & Growth: Own the strategy for JI's athlete partnership program, aligning the athlete roster with brand, product, and business goals; help identify, evaluate, and recruit new athletes whose values and audiences fit the JI brand; find opportunities to expand and renew existing partnerships based on performance and fit.
• Partnership Execution: Oversee the planning, execution, and delivery of athlete partnerships across all marketing channels; ensure every contract is fulfilled with 100% accuracy – deliverables, timelines, usage rights, and payments; collaborate with design, content, product, and events to develop partnership campaigns and launch schedules; manage content approvals with talent teams and make sure all assets meet brand guidelines; ensure athlete content follows FTC endorsement and disclosure guidelines and JI's approved product claims.
• Project Management: Project manage athlete-driven marketing campaigns from kickoff through launch, including timelines, milestones, resources, and deliverables; lead athlete-related projects beyond individual partnerships, such as sponsorships, activations, product launches, and content shoots; build and maintain project plans in Asana or Monday.com so every stakeholder knows what's due, who owns it, and when; run project kickoffs and status meetings, and track action items to make sure follow-ups happen on time; anticipate roadblocks, manage competing priorities, and adjust plans quickly when timelines or goals shift.
• Relationship Management: Serve as the main point of contact for athletes, agents, and third-party partners; build long-term relationships with talent and their teams, keeping everyone aligned on goals and expectations; keep internal stakeholders informed on partnership status, deliverables, and potential issues.
• Budget, Reporting & Analytics: Own the athlete partnership budget and make sure spend delivers measurable return; track and analyze campaign performance, and share insights and recommendations with leadership and talent; build post-campaign reports that show results and inform future partnership decisions; implement systems and processes that help the partnership program scale.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in sports marketing, athlete or influencer partnerships, or talent management.
• A proven track record of sourcing, negotiating, and managing athlete partnerships from start to finish.
• Strong negotiation skills and