Sr. Marketing Specialist (Events & Partner Activations)

Location: hybrid (1 day/week onsite preferred); must be available for onsite event activations. Duration: approximately 22 weeks. Start date: as soon as August 17th. Hours: up to 40 hours/week. Work environment: primarily remote, with flexibility; candidates should be located in the Minneapolis area or able to travel to local events and activations as needed.

About the Opportunity

We're looking for a highly organized and energetic marketing professional to join our Brand & Marketing team in a contract role supporting some of our client's most visible partnerships and community activations.

This is a unique opportunity to step into an established portfolio of partnerships, including relationships with the Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Gophers, community organizations, and high-profile local events like the Minnesota State Fair. You'll serve as the day-to-day contact for partners, agencies, and internal stakeholders while helping bring memorable brand experiences to life.

We're looking for someone who enjoys balancing strategy and execution. One day you may be coordinating with a partner on an upcoming activation, and the next you may be onsite ensuring a brand experience runs smoothly. If you're a "player-coach" who thrives in fast-paced environments and loves experiential marketing, we'd love to hear from you.

Responsibilities

• Manage Partnership Relationships
  • Serve as the primary day-to-day contact for key partnership accounts and activation partners.
  • Maintain strong relationships with external partners, agencies, vendors, and community organizations.
  • Coordinate sponsorship deliverables, promotions, activation schedules, and partner communications.
  • Monitor partnership obligations and ensure all commitments are fulfilled on time and on brand.
• Lead Event & Activation Execution
  • Plan and execute partnership activations, community programs, and branded experiences.
  • Oversee activation logistics including timelines, inventory coordination, staffing needs, giveaways, signage, and promotional materials.
  • Serve as onsite lead for key events and activations, including select evenings and weekends.
  • Support several major seasonal activations.
  • Partner closely with field operations, inventory, brand marketing, agencies, and cross-functional teams to bring programs to life.
  • Coordinate internally to ensure products, staffing, materials, and promotional elements are available for activation events.
  • Manage project timelines, status updates, and event calendars.
  • Track initiatives and maintain organized reporting through Excel and other planning tools.
• Drive Day-to-Day Program Success
  • Keep multiple projects moving simultaneously while managing shifting priorities and deadlines.
  • Troubleshoot issues quickly and proactively during planning and execution phases.
  • Provide recommendations and insights that help improve future partnership and activation programs.

Requirements

• 3-5+ years of experience in partnership marketing, experiential marketing, event marketing, sponsorships, or related fields.
• Proven experience coordinating and executing events, activations, promotions, or community marketing programs.
• Strong project management skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Comfortable managing multiple stakeholders and priorities simultaneously.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• Proficiency with Excel and general project tracking tools.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively across teams.
• Willingness to attend occasional onsite events, including select evenings and weekends.
• Experience with sports partnerships, sponsorship marketing, retail marketing, or consumer brands is a plus.

Benefits

This position may have access to client or customer systems, confidential and/or proprietary information or data.