Senior Manager, Sports Marketing Strategy

ABOUT ONBOARD SPORTS ADVISORY (OSA)

Onboard Sports Advisory (OSA) is a strategic sports marketing consultancy advising global brands, rights-holders, and sports properties on commercial strategy, sponsorship valuation, activation frameworks, and performance measurement. Operating on the agency/advisory side, OSA provides objective, insight-driven advisement that helps senior leadership teams navigate complex decisions across sport, culture, and entertainment. Our work blends analytical rigor, creativity, and global experience to unlock growth and long-term partnership value.

ROLE SUMMARY

The Senior Manager, Sports Marketing Strategy, is a senior advisory leader responsible for shaping and delivering high-impact sports partnership strategies for OSA clients. This role combines strategic consulting, executive client leadership, and internal team oversight. The Director serves as a trusted advisor to C-suite and senior stakeholders, guiding investment decisions across global sports partnerships while ensuring clarity, alignment, and measurable business outcomes.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Advisory & Client Leadership

• Act as a senior strategic advisor to clients across global sports and entertainment partnerships.

• Lead the development of partnership strategies, valuation models, and executivelevel roadmaps rooted in insight, data, and brand objectives.

• Craft and deliver compelling, brand-centric presentations that translate complex analysis into clear recommendations.

• Support clients in analyzing, negotiating, and managing partnership contracts and rights-holder relationships.

• Proactively identify client challenges, develop solutions, and align recommendations with OSA senior leadership. Partnership Strategy & Portfolio Oversight

• Evaluate sponsorship and partnership opportunities across global properties, including mega-events such as the Olympic & Paralympic Games and FIFA World Cup.

• Oversee the full partnership lifecycle, from opportunity assessment through activation frameworks and performance measurement.

• Collaborate with analytics and insights teams on rights-holder valuations, sponsorship ROI, and effectiveness measurement.

• Advise on the creation and optimization of sponsorship toolkits, databases, and internal governance models.

Agency & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Lead and mentor internal consulting teams, fostering a collaborative and high performance culture.

• Manage multiple work streams and ensure timely, high-quality delivery across concurrent client engagements.

• Coordinate with client-side and external agency partners (creative, media, PR, activation) to ensure integrated execution.

• Provide guidance, coaching, and performance feedback to direct reports and project team members.

Business Development & Thought Leadership

• Contribute to new business development through proposal strategy, pitch development, and client presentations.

• Support OSA thought leadership initiatives, including white papers, industry insights, and conference participation.

• Maintain a strong point of view on trends shaping global sport, sponsorship, media,
and entertainment.

Agency Operations & Growth

• Develop the business processes and systems necessary to strengthen the Sports Marketing Strategy unit and contribute to overall OSA growth, together with President and COO.

• Support business operations across all client work, coordinating with other functional areas including Operations, Finance, Legal, Technology, and HR/People.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 5+ years of experience in sports marketing, sponsorship strategy, consulting, or agency leadership.

• Demonstrated success advising brands or rights-holders on complex, multi-market partnership portfolios.

• Experience working across global sports and entertainment ecosystems; mega-event experience a strong plus.

• Strong strategic, analytical, and commercial acumen, including P&L awareness.

• Exceptional writing, presentation, and executive communication skills.

• Ability to navigate complex organizational structures and build trusted senior relationships.

• Global experience and cultural fluency strongly preferred.

EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.

KEY COMPETENCIES

• Strategic consulting and advisory leadership

• Deep understanding of sports and sponsorship ecosystems

• Client relationship and stakeholder management

• Cross-functional and team leadership

• Commercial judgment, measurement mindset, and analytical rigor

• Curiosity, creativity, and a collaborative working style

• Deep professionalism, coupled with an entrepreneurial, roll-up-your-sleeves approach

Compensation Range: $95,000 - $110,000 annually. This is the pay range OSA believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on level of experience, relevant skills, professional certifications, market pay, and demand for the role. OSA reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. For this role, Benefits include: medical/dental/vision insurance, employer paid basic life and personal accident insurance. Also included: Annual Profit Sharing/Bonus Plan based on the company’s performance and your individual performance, 401(k), Healthcare Flexible Spending Account, Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account, PTO, STD/LTD insurance benefits.

OSA is An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status, age or any other federally protected class.