Manager, Partnership & Brand Solutions

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

Hockey Western New York,, LLC is an equal opportunity employer.