Who We Are:
IMG is a leading global sports marketing agency, specializing in media rights management and sales, multi-channel content production and distribution, brand partnerships, strategic consulting, digital services, and events management.
It powers growth of revenues, fanbases and IP for more than 200 federations, associations, events, and teams, including the National Football League, English Premier League, International Olympic Committee, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, ATP and WTA Tours, the AELTC (Wimbledon), Euroleague Basketball, CONMEBOL, DP World Tour, and The R&A, as well as UFC, WWE, and PBR.
IMG is a subsidiary of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), a premium sports and entertainment company.
Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:
- Lead the development of APAC's football and commercial plans in partnership with Global Football leadership and APAC Commercial and Strategy teams.
- Identify and shape new revenue opportunities across traditional and non-traditional business models to support APAC growth objectives.
- Identify football rightsholders where IMG can deliver value and expand its football portfolio across APAC.
- Act as the senior commercial point of contact for key football properties in APAC and support across the wider football portfolio (e.g. European Football, Gulf Cup, Conmebol).
- Lead significant regional initiatives and projects that contribute to business growth and strengthen performance at the regional level.
- Work closely with internal Capability Centers to identify rightsholders and partners that would benefit from the full breadth of IMG's services.
- Set annual sponsorship revenue targets and define go-to-market plans, including pricing, tiering, and packaging, in partnership with Sales Operations and cross-functional teams.
- Drive sponsorship sales across the IMG Football portfolio in APAC by developing senior-level client relationships and new commercial opportunities.
- Consistently identify target brands and generate senior-level client meetings, both face-to-face and virtual, while building and maintaining a strong network of brand relationships across the region.
- Lead sponsorship presentations and commercial negotiations through contract execution.
- Maximize revenue opportunities to achieve or exceed regional targets.
- Partner with sponsorship account managers to ensure successful contract delivery and support renewals.
- Work collaboratively with the wider IMG sales organization to share best practices and support team development.
- Ensure sales pipelines and deals are accurately maintained in CRM systems.
- Maintain strong awareness of competitor activity, market trends, and relevant sponsorships in APAC.
- Provide weekly and monthly forecasting and reporting to senior divisional leadership within Strategic Partnerships.
- Represent IMG Football at major football and sports industry events across the APAC region.
- Management of internal stakeholders across marketing, events, operations, sales, and account management to ensure cohesive delivery.
Knowledge and Experience:
- 1215+ years of relevant commercial experience in sponsorship sales, partnerships, business development, or sports marketing.
- Extensive sponsorship sales experience with a demonstrable track record of sourcing new business and opening doors at senior levels.
- Proven track record in sponsorship sales and as a relationship builder, having an expansive existing contact base and existing regional network
- Experience in negotiating high value, complex, commercial contracts and global sponsorship/partnership deals across multiple platforms
- Proven track record of successful client relationships and strategic account management/engagement
- Experience developing business plans and tracking pipelines to ensure sales are delivered.
- Experience initiating and driving sales with limited hands-on guidance
- Track record of leveraging referrals, developing leads, and securing meetings with prospective suppliers and partners through research, outbound calls, and building an industry network profile
- Demonstrable knowledge of accurate forecasting and revisiting business plans regularly
- Effective communication skills with a broad range of audiences. Experience in presenting partnership opportunities to and engagement of senior and c-level executives and targeted companies and brands
- Experience of the development of bespoke and tailored propositions to suit the needs of individual companies
- A thorough understanding of the end-to-end sales process and the customer buying process (including awareness of the emotional connections required by brands)
- Working knowledge of closing deals including negotiation of commercial terms and working alongside the legal team to negotiate and conclude contractual agreements
- Demonstrable knowledge of the digital landscape in sports, sponsorship activation across all platforms and trends on consumer behavior to spot opportunities for new business
Skills and Abilities:
- Thorough understanding of IMG's business, properties, stakeholders, and priorities
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills
- Ability to solve problems and find creative solutions
- Ability to translate research and insights into partnership strategy and presentation/ pitch storylines
- Ability to lead research and various analyses on new opportunities and develop business plans
- Strong ability to develop deck design and support creative solutions
- Motivated and enthusiastic to take on new projects
- Demonstrate commercial and cultural awareness (as dealing with multi-national companies and international events)
- Driven to achieve success and possess the hunger and curiosity to learn and be proactive in finding and chasing leads
- Enjoy working in a team environment with the ability to collaborate, seek feedback and build credibility through interaction with others
- Excellent organizational and time management skills with ability to prioritize and multi-task, stay organized under pressure and self-direct
- Flexible and efficient working style
- Accurate and organized with good attention to detail
- Excellent MS Office skills
