Senior Director, Entertainment & Sports

Responsibilities

• Develop entertainment and sports partnership strategies for healthcare, health, and wellness client accounts, in collaboration with Real Chemistry leadership and integrated client teams.
• Identify and evaluate opportunities with properties, teams, leagues, talent, rights holders, and other industry partners based on each client’s objectives.
• Translate client objectives, audience insights, and cultural trends into differentiated partnership platforms and activation ideas.
• Lead the end-to-end partnership process, including opportunity sourcing, valuation, proposal development, rights packaging, negotiation, contracting support, and activation planning.
• Develop clear business cases and recommendations that balance brand impact, audience relevance, budget, risk, and measurable value.
• Partner with legal, finance, creative, strategy, experiential, influencer, social, and media teams to deliver programs on time and within scope.
• Oversee partnership activation and optimization, ensuring contractual rights are fully leveraged and programs meet brand and compliance requirements.
• Serve as a senior advisor on assigned client accounts, partnering with Real Chemistry leadership to guide partnership choices and present recommendations with clarity and confidence.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships across entertainment and sports, including properties, teams, leagues, talent, agents, rights holders, and agency partners.
• Use market intelligence and relationships to create access, uncover opportunities, and strengthen negotiating positions for clients.

Requirements

• 12+ years of experience in entertainment and sports partnerships, sponsorships, brand marketing, or a related field.
• Significant agency- or buyer-side experience developing, negotiating, and executing partnerships for brands.
• Deep, active relationships across entertainment and sports, including properties, teams, leagues, talent, agents, rights holders, and relevant intermediaries.
• Demonstrated expertise in rights valuation, deal structure, negotiation, contracting processes, activation planning, and partnership measurement.
• Experience in healthcare, health and wellness, or another highly regulated category is strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of brand strategy, consumer audiences, culture, media, experiential marketing, social platforms, and talent-led programs.
• Excellent client leadership, communication, presentation, and financial skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders.
• Proven ability to manage multiple complex partnerships and cross-functional teams in a fast-paced agency environment.
• Entrepreneurial, collaborative, detail-oriented, and energized by building new capabilities and offerings.