THE OPPORTUNITY

META (GCC, Levant, Africa & Turkey) has been one of GPN’s fastest growing region with strong brand presence and high-quality talent. We are seeking a transformational Brand Partnerships & Athletes Manager who will support the strategic development and execution of the Partnership initiatives as a core element of Marketing Team. Plan, rollout and scale the partnerships program and related consumer communications and deliverables to support the positioning of the GPN portfolio of Brands, as global leaders in sports & active nutrition. This role will work across the GPN portfolio, with a particular focus on scaling Optimum Nutrition’s stable of partners and collaborations in line with the strategic mission to enhance the brand experience and connection. Our ambition is to build a profitable USD 200Mn business (Retail Price) in the coming 3 years.
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Shape the Foundations of Partnership Strategies

• Evolve the partnership strategy to provide direction around territories and optimal partners with clear linkages to over-arching brand strategy across Tier 1 markets of UAE, KSA, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa.
• Continuously map and monitor the partnership landscape to identify prospective partners into the short (+1 Yr.) and longer term (3 Yr) establishing a partnership pipeline
• Build partnerships with top gyms and fitness facilities across Tier 1 markets (KSA, UAE, EGY, TKY & SA)
• Build networks and connections across the various partner territories to critique and provide recommendations around partner feasibility on an individual basis
• Build business case presentations with clear deliverables and return to present back to Region LT for investment
• Work collaboratively with cross functional colleagues and in market teams to establish partnerships as a more central focal point in strategic thinking and support on individual market partnerships where applicable (brand and innovation)

• Work with Education & Advocacy manager to build and execute strategy around more science lead partnerships

Execute Partnership and Collaborations with Excellence

• Build a clear set of deliverables (with connection back to over-arching brand strategy) for all formalized partnerships

• Use a ROI mindset and create processes to report and track partnership deliverables and impact

Network and Unlock Earned Media, Expanded Reach and PR

• Establish strong networks across the various brands categories to identify over and above opportunities to collaborate
• Where applicable seek to unlocked earned media/PR around large scale partnerships through ideas that drive brand fame

• Provide news worthy updates around partnerships and collaboration to GPN internal communication teams

Establish Icon/Team Talent Management Best Practice

• Lead and set the athlete and talent strategy for META: mapping market & sporting landscape, identifying sports & partnerships to drive brand awareness, recruiting & negotiating contracts with key athletes / influencers to grow brand reach
• Lead and set the athlete social strategy for Oceania.
• Work with wider brand marketing team to define and deliver a full content plan (monthly/and annually) amplifying the athlete roster to deliver a media calendar to drive brand awareness and usage.
• Create activity plans for each athlete & partnership linking up with wider brand team to deliver a content strategy that stretches across both social & media channels delivering earned media value
• Work closely with Global team to align on key strategies, build collaborative programs that can be activated across market and share learnings to establish META as lead global market
• Ongoing management of core brand athlete program to create network of engaged individuals with the right fit for key brands
• Full management of sports agencies, agents and contract negotiations end to end to drive credibility of brands in key sports, delivering contracts OTIF
• Build strong relationships with athlete roster to engage them in brand and ensure they are brand advocates on both professional and personal level. Includes product distribution needs.
• Manage apparel partnership and distribution of apparel to Athlete and talent
• Establish key marketing ROI metrics for META Athlete and Talent roster to establish effectiveness of programmes. Examples include;
• Post Impression #’s
• Engagement (Shares, Likes, Comments etc.)
• Sale generated / Retail Traffic (in collaboration with Key customers)
• Manage the tracking and reporting on such metrics on a monthly basis to Senior Management.
• Analyse, review, and report on effectiveness of campaigns in an effort to maximize results (example: AGT/Plant).
• Lead and report on events that facilitate;
• Content of sponsored athletes, teams and events to be utilised as social media content
• Athlete briefing to ensure on-brand content
• Monthly updating and reporting on Athlete/Talent budget to ensure budget adherence

The Skills you will bring to the team

• Proven experience in creating and managing partnership strategies inside large scale businesses
• Proven experience in delivering large scale brand collaborations and partnerships with commercial return
• Proven experience in talent management in large organizations
• An understanding and passion for the sports nutrition category
• Excellent networking skills and ability to form relationships quickly
• Excellent communication skills with a competency in leading workshops, presenting to large groups
• Collaborative mindset and demonstrated skills working inside both global and regional brand teams
• Ability to build strong working relationships and influence in a multi-functional and multi-stakeholder environment.
• 5+ years of experience in a lead/ management role
• Experience in executing large scale collaborations across multiple regions
• Experience navigating a complex network of organizations
• Well versed with localization & adaptation

Please refer the Job description for details