SVP, Partner Development - College

Job Description

About the Role - Senior Vice President, Partner Development - College

Fanatics, Inc. is seeking a strategic, connected, and dynamic individual to join our Business Affairs & Development team as a SVP, Partner Development - College. This role will work to identify and cultivate new opportunities for strategic partnerships across the higher education and college athletics landscape for the suite of innovative platforms offered by Fanatics. The SVP will be a member of the Fanatics Business Development leadership team and utilize current, former, and future relationships and work experiences with campus and athletics decision-makers to acquire, activate and retain college rights for Fanatics.

Key Responsibilities

• Cultivate high-level partnership opportunities through strategic communication and development efforts with licensing departments, athletic departments, and finance and auxiliary departments on college campuses.
• Direct partnership development efforts with key collegiate stakeholders, including major conferences, CFP, NCAA, and key service providers in the college space (e.g., Learfield, media companies, team apparel/sideline brands, OneTeam, collectives, etc.).
• Develop and manage an extensive and diverse pipeline of potential new college partnerships and key college renewals across Fanatics' business units and properly align Fanatics College talent and resources to pursue growth in these sectors with an entrepreneurial mindset.
• Direct and support the four-person College Partner Development team based regionally across the U.S. in their work with existing partners to expand and enhance the overall relationship with Fanatics by identifying new areas of opportunity for the partner and expanding Fanatics' contractual rights in those areas.
• Spearhead key strategic rights acquisition initiatives (e.g., NIL, trading cards, apparel, headwear, etc.) as well as provide support for rights-related activity in support of the M&A and Corporate Development team.
• Maintain and develop high level relationships with campus, athletics, sideline brands, and industry decision-makers through a wide range of industry and conference-level events and affiliations.
• Oversee the completion of RFP's, presentations, and client contract renewal negotiations, working closely with the corporate finance team in building pro forma models for proposals and contract renewals.
• Align partner development efforts to support key strategic partners/divisions, including Lids/LidsU, Barnes & Noble College, Topps, Mitchell & Ness, and WinCraft.
• Work with the Business Affairs and Partner Development team to share best practices and innovations to benefit teammates and other clients.
• Cultivate talent on the College Partner Development team through leadership, mentorship, coaching, and day-to-day management to ensure personal and professional development of the team.
• Maintain strong internal coordination with key functional divisions, including Finance for partnership modeling, Legal to support contract negotiations/finalization, and Corporate Communications for media strategies.
• Serve as an active and contributing member of the Fanatics Senior Leadership Team to develop/drive culture and business strategy across Fanatics Commerce.

Education and Experience Requirements

• 15+ years of experience working in sales, business development, or client management roles in college athletics or higher education, preferably in the e-commerce, retail, licensing, or sports marketing industries.
• Must possess a strong and favorable network of campus decision-makers in senior level positions in college athletics, campus licensing departments, and/or campus finance/business units across a wide range of schools.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, analytical, data-driven environment, which also requires strong communication skills to effectively convey complex business concepts to current and prospective clients.
• Ability to synchronize the speed and magnitude of changes within commerce and consumer behavior with the speed and magnitude of changes within higher education and college athletics.
• An understanding of the traditional decision-making dynamics on a college campus, as well as the typical process and timing of the sales cycle for forming partnerships.
• An entrepreneurial spirit to drive modern business solutions for our partners and prospective partners given the changing dynamic of the college athletics landscape.
• An understanding of deal modeling and forecasting to ensure win-win, long-term financial partnerships, as well as acumen with contracting processes and legal rights to ensure proper deal execution
• Ability to multitask while managing and prioritizing multiple deadlines such as RFP's, proposals, and presentations.
• Comfortable engaging with major client decision-makers, as well as senior executives and leaders, either in one-on-one or small group presentations.
• Ability to synthesize and simplify a range of complex data points into concise external and internal reports.
• A self-motivated individual and good team player, who takes accountability and ownership of his/her own work and can operate in a complex and fast-moving corporate environment.
• Understanding of intellectual property law, trademark licensing industry, and traditional college IP rights landscape.
• Excellent writing skills, including content creation, as well as experience in Keynote, Powerpoint, and other presentation platforms.
• Bachelor's degree preferred.

About Us

Fanatics is building a leading global digital sports platform. We ignite the passions of global sports fans and maximize the presence and reach for our hundreds of sports partners globally by offering products and services across Fanatics Commerce, Fanatics Collectibles, and Fanatics Betting & Gaming, allowing sports fans to Buy, Collect, and Bet. Through the Fanatics platform, sports fans can buy licensed fan gear, jerseys, lifestyle and streetwear products, headwear, and hardgoods; collect physical and digital trading cards, sports memorabilia, and other digital assets; and bet as the company builds its Sportsbook and iGaming platform. Fanatics has an established database of over 100 million global sports fans; a global partner network with approximately 900 sports properties, including major national and international professional sports leagues, players associations, teams, colleges, college conferences and retail partners, 2,500 athletes and celebrities, and 200 exclusive athletes; and over 2,000 retail locations, including its Lids retail stores. Our more than 22,000 employees are committed to relentlessly enhancing the fan experience and delighting sports fans globally.

About the Team

Fanatics Commerce is a leading designer, manufacturer, and seller of licensed fan gear, jerseys, lifestyle and streetwear products, headwear, and hardgoods. It operates a vertically-integrated platform of digital and physical capabilities for leading sports leagues, teams, colleges, and associations globally - as well as its flagship site, www.fanatics.com.

Fanatics Commerce has a broad range of online, sports venue, and vertical apparel partnerships worldwide, including comprehensive partnerships with leading leagues, teams, colleges, and sports organizations across the world-including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, Formula 1, and Australian Football League (AFL); the Dallas Cowboys, Golden State Warriors, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, Chelsea FC, and Tokyo Giants; the University of Notre Dame, University of Alabama, and University of Texas; the International Olympic Committee (IOC), England Rugby, and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).

At Fanatics Commerce, we infuse our BOLD Leadership Principles in everything we do:
Build Championship Teams
Obsessed with Fans
Limitless Entrepreneurial Spirit
Determined and Relentless Mindset