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 lea