At VyStar, we offer competitive pay, an excellent benefit package that includes a 401(k) Plan, an extensive paid technical and on-the-job training program, and tuition reimbursement-available to all full and part time employees. Part time positions start at a minimum of 30 hours per week.
We encourage you to become a part of VyStar Credit Union’s family of employees.
VP, Sponsorships

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, sports marketing, entertainment or related field. Equivalent education and experience will be considered in lieu of the degree. Advanced certifications preferred.
• At least 10 years of experience in leadership role for corporate brand sponsorships or partnerships.
• At least 8 years of experience in executing Sponsorship Marketing strategies across channels and mediums including Out of Home, Broadcast TV, In-venue signage, digital, web and social media.
• At least 8 years directly managing others.
• 5 years’ experience working on client-side sponsorships preferred.
• Potential to travel 25% for oversight on program execution if necessary

PREFERRED TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Advanced skills in creative tools:

• Social Media platform (Sprinklr, Hearsay, Hootsuite)
• Marketing Execution & CRM (HubSpot & Salesforce)
• Experience with project management software (Smartsheet, Workfront, etc.)
• Advanced PowerPoint and Excel skills

JOB KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES

• Excellent negotiation and presentation abilities.
• Creative thinking and problem solving.
• Superb project management skills, with proven ability to handle multiple complex projects simultaneously.
• Expert communicator, understanding need for proactive and responsive communication.
• Experience leading client-side corporate sponsorships with freelance/contract staff preferred.
• Financial services experience or work within other regulated industry preferred.
• Leads, develops and inspires team members to high performance with right balance to nurture ideas that spur creativity, coach, delegate and personally execute.
• High emotional IQ and organizational savvy to effectively and efficiently deliver in a highly matrixed organization.
• Well-versed in creative process lifecycle with demonstrated ability to set-up and manage these efficiently across hybrid in-house and agency structures.
• Advanced project management skills across multiple highly complex initiatives.
• Strategic growth mindset with demonstrated success in delivering a creative vision that resulted in measurable business impacts.
• Expertise in taking complex data-driven activities, with demonstrated skills to communicate simply and effectively across the organization.
• Experience managing budgets.
• Comfortable attending indoor and outdoor events and sponsorships for the purposes of content creation.

ACCOUNTABILITY STATEMENT

The VP, Sponsorships is a key member of the Brand team at VyStar Credit Union. We are seeking a strategic and resourceful team player to lead the management and development of our robust corporate sponsorship portfolio. The ideal candidate is passionate about VyStar members and experiences, highly motivated, intellectually curious, analytical, situationally aware and possesses an entrepreneurial mindset.
Additionally, this leader should be an expert in deploying data-driven decision making to deliver business results (sponsorships drive revenue). With a high level of emotional quotient and a collaborative spirit, this leader will work with community partners, city officials, media outlets, internal and external business leaders, agencies and marketing teams to develop and execute delivery of sponsorships assets.
The successful candidate has a proven track record of leading client-side corporate sponsorships and growing sponsorship value through traditional and digital mediums with a passion for giving back to the community.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Relationship Management & Consulting

• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with existing and potential sponsors. Nurture and develop deeper connections functioning as strategic partnership, with shared goals and shared outcomes.
• Negotiate and draft contracts in partnership with internal stakeholders, marketing team, risk and legal. Sponsorship terms and assets should reflect hallmarks of the VyStar Brand, drive performance KPI’s and amplify our VyStar Brand Promise.
• Research, evaluate and secure sponsors and sponsorship proposals, with approval given to opportunities that add brand equity and business value to VyStar in alignment with organizational prioritization.
• Reimagine sponsorship strategies and roadmaps to ensure alignment of partnership goals with corporate objectives. More than just strategy, this leader will roll up his/her sleeves and proactively deliver expert ‘hands-on’ execution with a command of sponsorships execution.
• Create and execute integrated sponsorship campaigns (that educate and entertain) across multiple channels (Experiential, Social, OOH, CTV/OTT, Broadcast, Display, Direct Mail, etc.) and mediums (mobile, web, in-branch & in-venue).
• Develop and enforce policies and procedures related to partnership agreements and contractual obligations.
• Support onboarding and integration of automated sponsorship intake technology.
• Stays on the forefront of industry and cultural trends with demonstrated ability to adapt these trends rapidly into relevant sponsorship assets to maintain a competitive edge.
• Independently steward multiple tasks concurrently in a fast-paced environment.

Activation & Event Management

• Deliver deeply engaging and personalized member experiences.
• A deep background curating experiential marketing and events, designed to drive high engagement – emphasis on visually striking collateral and exciting events.
• Attend indoor and outdoor events for the purposes of relationship management, brand management, asset delivery and content creation.
• Partner with hospitality and activation support teams on allocation of ticketing and hospitality opportunities related to partnership.
• Provides on-site support for experiential events and strategies as needed.

Briefing & Collaboration

• Liaise with internal and external stakeholders to ensure sponsorship assets and programs are delivered on-time and aligned with expectations.
• Deep understanding of creative process and ownership, taking various assignments and briefs from ideation to in-market aligning with stakeholders throughout lifecycle.
• Ensure sponsorships remain in alignment on brand messaging, brand positioning and business integration and outcomes.
• Combines creativity with strategic thinking to ensure VyStar creative output is authentic, high quality, consistent with brand standards, and connects with our target audiences on a deeper emotional level.
• Collaborate with agencies, media, internal marketing teams and stakeholders to curate optimal channel mix by partner and market.
• Remain compliant through partnership with Legal and 3rd Party Risk Management to review contractual provisions and obligations.
• Responsible for enhancing VyStar’s Brand identity across various platforms including signage, graphics, web, mobile, email, iconography, logos and print.

Measurement & Planning

• Socialize partnership commitments across marketing to align annual calendars, resourcing and planning. Keep cross functional team members accountable to dates and timelines.
• Effectively and efficiently handles multiple projects simultaneously with the ability to prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, and collaborate successfully with cross-functional teams.
• Partner with internal partners and third-party vendors to develop qualitative and quantitative insights relevant to sponsorship portfolio.
• Maintain sponsorships invoicing process and budgetary needs with 100 percent accuracy.
• Monitor, report and continually optimize performance to drive KPI’s and articulate impact and improved business results to executive leadership.
• Support the seamless integration of sponsorship partners into our business ecosystem to ensure trackable and measurable business outcomes.

Leadership

• Recruit and bring out the best in a team of sponsorship marketing professionals (including freelance, contract, agency and FTE) by providing inspiration, guidance and management on various projects.
• Executive presence and communication skills – ability to articulate vision to senior-level stakeholders and adapt to their needs/expectations.
• Comfortability operating in settings with high-ranking business and industry leaders.

KEY GOALS THIS ROLE WILL IMPACT:

• Brand Awareness, Preference, Familiarity, Advocacy and Trust
• Advertising campaign effectiveness (Impressions, Conversions, ROI, CTR, etc.)
• Social Engagement (Top rankings, viral content, etc.)
• New member growth
• Member share of wallet growth
• Direct report performance, engagement, growth and retention
  All employees and business units, as first line of defense, are expected to proactively help identify, assess, manage, and report risks within their domain of work. To enhance a healthy risk culture and support our growth for good pillar, employees will maintain vigilance in safeguarding our operations while ensuring compliance with regulatory mandates. The Risk team serves as the second line of defense by providing risk oversight and credible challenge whereas the Audit team serves as the third line of defense by providing risk assurance.

Incumbent is expected to demonstrate each of the following VyStar Excellence behaviors in performing the duties and responsibilities of their job:

• Focus - Focus your full attention by carefully listening to and observing client or member.
• Connect - Consistently be friendly and approachable. Demonstrate your care.
• Understand - Listen empathetically and ask questions (70%/30% rule).
• Counsel - Recommend solutions based on your member’s needs and objectives.
• Advance - Ensure that member’s expectations were exceeded.
• Verify necessary follow-up actions.