The Associate Manager (Project Hire) is a part of the NFL & Combat Sports Marketing team, which supports NFL (Monday Night Football, NFL Draft, NFL Wild Card and all NFL on ESPN priorities) and Combat (UFC, Top Rank, PFL) across both ESPN and ESPN+, based in New York, NY. This position will focus on the development and execution of Combat (UFC, Top Rank, PFL) marketing strategies and multi-platform promotional plans across ESPN and ESPN+, in addition to providing overall support for the NFL. A core part of this role will be integrating the combat marketing strategy and creative between ESPN and ESPN+. The position reports to the Associate Director, Sports Marketing – NFL and Combat.

The ideal candidate must enjoy working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with a proven ability to handle a high-volume workload with a positive attitude.

This is an 18 month Project position with full benefits and the potential to convert into a regular, full time role.

Responsibilities:

• Contribute to the development of Combat promotional plans, in addition to leading all campaign execution for on-channel marketing.
  • Establish strong and collaborative relationships with ESPN+ in an effort to market Combat across our linear and DTC platforms
• Assist with the day-to-day management of combat marketing strategies and plans including:
  • Manage creative development, from inception to approvals and execution
  • Manager first-ever UFC on ESPN awareness campaign
  • Utilize fan insights and research to inform marketing strategy and funnel
  • Plan and schedule marketing efforts with Media partners
  • League communication, campaign extensions and implementation
  • Combat creative development and asset delivery for both ESPN and ESPN+
• Assist in development of marketing briefs to internal and external partners in support of priority programming
• Manage day-to-day relationship with internal and external creative partners including the planning and management of full timelines
• Contribute to weekly planning meetings with cross functional teams (ESPN+, Media, Programming, Production, Affiliate) to ensure alignment on plans and initiatives
• Manage pre-production and production logistics and timelines supporting live action and photography shoots
• Provide detailed performance analysis of all marketing plans and initiatives
• Create, collaborate, and contribute to ESPNMMA and ESPN+ social media effort
• Assist in NFL on ESPN projects as needed
• Manage and support marketing activations and fan experiences for NFL
• Mentor Marketing Coordinator

Qualifications:

• 2-3 years of related marketing or business experience with an understanding of marketing fundamentals, creative evaluation, and budget management

Preferred Qualifications:

• Working knowledge of Combat sports and NFL
• Interested in music and cultural touchpoints around the sports industry
• Excellent creative instincts and experience working with internal and external creative partners
• A healthy appreciation of the role sports plays in popular culture, especially music
• Effective time management and organizational skills – ability to prioritize and multi-task on a high profile, high volume portfolio
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment. Holds self and others accountable for creative and executional excellence
• Strategic thinker. Strong base of analytic thinking and understand Consumer & Market Insights
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills (copywriting experience a plus)
• Strong work ethic. Must be self-motivated, detail oriented and take initiative to get the job done
• Embraces and passionate about social media. Knowledge and understanding of all social media platforms
• Knowledge of and interest in the evolving media landscape and media consumption habits
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Adobe Suite experience desired

Required Education

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Marketing, Business, or a related field