Manager, Partnership & Brand Solutions

About this role

Summary

The Manager of Partnership & Brand Solutions will be responsible for advancing data-driven decision-making within the Buffalo Sabres Corporate Partnerships and Content departments. This position will focus on evolving sales and activation efforts via tool / vendor selection and implementation, consumer research and insights, category and asset optimization, and performance evaluation across sponsorship and brand health. The ideal candidate will bring prior experience leveraging data within a sports revenue function, with a focus on strategy, research, and consumer insights or fan analytics.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Serve as a bridge between the Strategy and Analytics and Corporate Partnership teams; helps leaders clarify objectives and identifies opportunities for data-driven decision-making.
• Support Corporate Partnership-related strategic initiatives, including category and asset valuation analyses, prospect identification, consumer and brand research, rate card benchmarking, proposal and presentation creation, and performance tracking and reporting.
• Collaborate with the Corporate Partnerships team to create compelling, data-driven platforms and proposals that align with current and prospective partners’ business goals.
• Direct the partner measurement and recap process including midseason and end of season reporting and insights.
• Contribute to Corporate Partnership-specific, executive-level dashboards to monitor and communicate Corporate Partnership KPIs.
• Explore and stay informed on industry best practices across sports teams, brand advertising, and other relevant industry trades to identify innovative strategies and opportunities for partnership growth.
• Provide performance measurements and audits across all digital content and related marketing efforts.
• Identify sponsorable content across all digital channels, provide estimated values.
• Generate annual “State of the Team” analysis, measuring brand health across fan growth, consumption, and outlook.
• Update Sponsorship, Events, and Communications documents as new insights become available.
• Manage custom research projects across internal toolsets and third-party vendors to ensure quality, integrity, and actionability of insights.
• Assess current vendor stack and recommend appropriate tools / technologies to enhance capabilities, usage, and adoption across consumer insights, media valuation, and brand measurement.
• Participate and help organize brainstorming sessions to better align Sabres’ organizational goals, assets, and values with prospective partners’ objectives.
• Aid where needed in the usage and configuration of the CRM Sponsorship module.
• Maintain upmost confidentiality.
• Other duties as requested or assigned.

Minimum Qualifications for the Position:

• Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field (e.g. Mathematics, Statistics, Business Analytics, Data Science) or equivalent years of additional experience
• 3-5 years of experience in the sports analytics and/or corporate partnerships space
• Subject matter expertise across third-party research tools (YouGov, Vision Insights, Placer.ai, etc.) and media measurement platforms (Nielsen Sports, Zoomph, Blinkfire, etc.)
• Previous experience with business intelligence and data visualization tools (Tableau preferred)
• Proven success in transforming raw data into actionable insights, communicating findings to stakeholders, and driving value across revenue functions
• Ability to work nights/weekends (as needed) for related Sabres and Bandits games

Critical Competencies

• Is a highly analytical and quantitative thinker; loves to combine the power of sports and data to bring brand partnerships to life
• Excellent communication and presentation skills; demonstrated experience in making data insights accessible to diverse audiences via creative visualization and storytelling
• Strong interpersonal skills; ability to interact collaboratively and efficiently with all levels of an organization
• Balances openness and collaboration with a sense of urgency; thrives in a fast-paced environment
• Is comfortable with both high-level strategic planning and in-depth analysis; willing to dive deep into analyses but able to uplevel insights into executive-level presentations
• Collaborative by nature; always a team player and prioritizes shared success
• Takes ownership and accountability over work and results
• Growth mindset, process driven leadership and ability to articulate technical solutions to business executives

Compensation

• This role will pay between $65,000 - $75,000 annually. Note: Wages will be determined based on factors such as candidate experience, qualifications, skill set and internal equity.

Benefits & Incentives

• Medical Plans: Comprehensive and affordable medical plans; supplemental vision care, dental care, life insurance coverage, fully paid short term and long term disability
• Investments: 401(k) with employer matching; annual discretionary defined employer contributions
• Paid Time Off: Vacation, Sick, Volunteer and Diversity days
• Sabres Experience: (up to 4) complimentary tickets to Bufalo Sabres, Buffalo Bandits, Rochester Americans when available
• Wellness: Annual health and wellness offerings including but not limited to lunch and learns, fitness classes, wellness fair, and challenges
• Sabres Family: many annual social events for employees and families to enjoy, including various holiday parties and activities. DEI Committee and annual initiatives, ERG (Employee Resource Groups), community volunteer opportunities and more