Strategy Director

Position: Strategy Director
Location: New York City
Division: Partnership Solutions
Reports to: Vice President, Brand Strategy

Company Summary

Allied Sports launched in 2019 with a singular mission – to lead modern marketers in the undeniable shift from Sponsor to Storyteller™. Today, we are an independent, full-service agency operating from the Allied Global Marketing network. Led by industry veterans with a rookie spirit, our award-winning team helps buyers and sellers in sports find, negotiate, and activate high-performing partnerships. Sports Business Journal named Allied Sports one of the Best Places to Work in Sports in 2023 and 2024, and Front Office Sports named the agency among the Best Employers in Sports for 2024.

At Allied Sports, we let our values speak louder than our value proposition.

• Driven – All grit, no quit. We love what we do and use that drive to help our clients win every day.
• Versatile – Built for change. We strive for continuous improvement; progress, not perfection.
• Meticulous – Do the corners because details matter. Little things done well make big things happen.
• Real – We lead with transparency and vulnerability to empower teammates who feel heard and seen.
• One – We, not me. We always put team first and find every opportunity to reward the assist.

Opportunity

Allied Sports is recruiting a Director-level strategist to join our growing Partnership Solutions team, an internal center of excellence that cross-functionally supports the agency’s Partnership Development and Partnership Marketing verticals with strategy, analytics, creative, and design. Reporting to the VP Brand Strategy, the person in this role will work as part of a highly collaborative team of storytellers based in NYC.

Responsibilities

We’re looking for someone whose favorite questions are “Why?” and “What if?”. Someone who has a passion for understanding human behavior and employs empathy at all stages of the process. Someone who is comfortable getting outside their comfort zones and who approaches every project with the goal of learning something new. Insights get you excited and crafting solutions gets you out of bed in the morning.

• Lead the creation and stewardship of sports strategies for client business, collaborating internally with account teams to identify brand goals and explore the art of the possible
• Prepare inspiring creative briefs and consise strategy documents that clearly guide the ideation and planning processes
• Contribute to the growth of the agency by playing an active role in all aspects of business development, including leading RFP responses and building capability demonstrations
• Develop and deliver high-quality presentations that masterfully communicate complex topics into terms that can be easily understand by various audiences
• Build case studies that showcase the agency’s impact on client business and how those experiences can help influence prospective clients
• Keep a strong pulse on fan engagement, media, and innovation trends across the sports landscape that can help inform strategic planning
• Work closely with our Data & Analytics team to ensure recommended plans are measurable, and creatively uncover data-driven insights that lead to effective solutions

Qualifications

• Natural curiosity and a determined ability to turn observed data into a compelling story about what behavior is driving it
• Effective use of superior writing skills to influence and persuade others to take action, with the keen ability to shape a document elegantly using all available tools and tricks
• Comfort level taking an independent “first pass” at authoring pitch materials, strategic frameworks, process documents (with or without existing examples)
• Strong presentation skills with a demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and with confidence, whether pitching ideas on a white board or presenting recommendations in a boardroom
• Desire to champion a culture of accountability with a proactive, solutions-oriented approach that thrives in a fast-paced agency enivornment
• Natural enthusiasm for selling sponsorship strategies and campaigns to existing and prospective clients (agency experience preferred)
• Client-focused experience with ability to establish and maintain senior-level relationships on both the client and property sides
• Entrepreneurial spirit and strong time management skills in order to effectively prioritize and juggle multiple workstreams
• Proven leadership skills with a track record of inspiring and influencing colleagues, clients, and partners at all levels to achieve strategic excellence

Considerations

• Base salary range in New York, NY: $125K – 150K annually
• This represents the salary range that Allied Sports, in good faith, might be willing to pay for this job at the time of this posting. Actual base salary depends on several factors, including market dynamics, location and region, experience, specialized skills/training (education), and level of responsibility. Allied Sports expects to hire for this position near the middle of the range. Allied Sports would consider paying a salary or rate near the higher end of the range only in truly exceptional circumstances, where an external candidate has experience, credentials, or expertise that far exceed those required or expected for the position.
• Hybrid schedule: Office in New York, NY with 3 days in-office (Tues-Thurs) and 2 days remote (Mon & Fri) weekly.
• Open to a fully remote schedule for potential candidates outside the NYC area who have substantial experience, skills, and work ethic.

Allied Sports is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.

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