Director, Partnerships

About the role

The Director, Partnerships will serve as a subject-matter expert in evaluating, developing, and executing partnership opportunities with a dedicated focus on Sports & Entertainment media, platforms, and ecosystems. This role supports the creation and execution of partnership strategy across sports leagues, teams, talent, live events, content owners, and entertainment platforms.

Responsibilities

• Build and guide senior-level relationships with Sports & Entertainment partners, including leagues, teams, talent networks, streaming platforms, content owners, and live event properties; share relevant insights and updates with dentsu stakeholders.
• Support the SVP, Partnerships in executing Sports & Entertainment partnership strategy by identifying opportunities aligned to client needs, media trends, and evolving fan behaviors.
• Act as a recognized leader and subject-matter expert in Sports & Entertainment partnerships, representing dentsu internally and externally.
• Partner closely with Investment & Activation teams and Amplifi to ensure partnership approaches drive client value, innovation, and effective media integration.
• Manage day-to-day deal structures, negotiations, and partner communications to ensure best-in-class execution across agreements.
• Educate Investment & Activation teams on partner deal terms while identifying new testing, sponsorship, and media value opportunities.
• Serve as an integrator and problem solver, aligning internal teams and external partners to maintain momentum and on-time delivery across complex, multi-party engagements.
• Help develop key Sports & Entertainment partnership narratives and themes, supporting external communications such as industry panels, PR, and thought-leadership content.
• Maintain clear, organized documentation of partnership agreements to ensure accurate distribution of commercial details and ongoing deal progression.
• Support client-specific needs by developing custom partnership plans and providing expertise on the evolving partner landscape.
• Participate in new business efforts as a Sports & Entertainment partnerships expert, contributing to value propositions and partnership strategy for prospective clients.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in the digital media industry, with experience across sports and entertainment partnerships, investment, or media strategy.
• 3+ years of people management experience.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to prioritize effectively and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills, with experience presenting data and performance insights to senior leaders.
• A professional, collaborative approach when navigating complex negotiations and stakeholder relationships.
• Demonstrated passion for problem-solving and cross-functional collaboration.
• Ability to translate complex partnership structures and media concepts into clear, actionable recommendations.