Senior Director, Corporate Partnership Activation - Atlanta Falcons

About the Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football club and member of the National Football League (NFL).  The team’s headquarters and practice facility are located on a 50-acre site in Flowery Branch, Georgia.  The Falcons’ NFL expansion franchise was awarded in 1965 and acquired by current owner Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot, in 2002.

Who we are 

Our Blank Family of Businesses Core Values serve as the foundation for the way we operate at all levels:

Put People First - Listen & Respond - Include Everyone - Innovate Continuously - Lead by Example - Give Back to Others

We use our core values as a compass to guide our decisions because they are our North Star.  If we live our core values daily, we know everything else will take care of itself.  We enjoy a culture rooted in giving back to others through our time, talents, labor, and financial commitment. We are successful when we collaborate with and value each other like family, maintain a hunger to delight guests and continuously innovate, listen closely for even the smallest need for improvement, stand up for convictions, and genuinely own our responsibilities as if our name is on the outside of the building. 

Our Ideal Candidates

Actively Listen – Take an active role in listening by being present in the moment, using healthy body language, and ensuring joint understanding.  When we read between the lines and hear what others are saying and what they are not saying, we encounter amazing opportunities to go the extra mile in serving them. 

Collaborate – Realize that we are better together than we are alone.  We achieve much better results when others have the opportunity to add their diverse perspectives.  Be open to feedback and actively seek input from a variety of people at varying levels because the best ideas come from those who are closest to those we serve.

Engage in Servant Leadership – Put others ahead of yourself even when it’s difficult.  Find opportunities to lead by example in the way you pitch in and help others.  Giving back to others is at the heart of what we do. 

Build Relationships – Cultivate trust in relationships by showing respect and sensitivity.  Invest time in helping others to continuously improve by listening to their ideas and helping them to continuously improve. 

Own Results – Own issues you encounter even when they are outside of your area of responsibility by taking action or seeking out the needed resolution. You are empowered and expected to take risks aimed at exceeding the expectations of our guests.  Take advantage of this rare opportunity by utilizing available resources.

Position Summary

The Senior Director, Corporate Partnership Activation is responsible for leading across the AMBSE partnership activation team with a day-to-day focus on the Atlanta Falcons and driving best-in-class account management, partner strategy, renewal readiness and organic growth across the portfolio.

The Senior Director will lead and develop a team of partnership activation professionals, establish standards for strategic account management, and ensure the organization consistently delivers against partner objectives while proactively identifying opportunities to deepen and grow partner relationships. This individual will also directly manage a select number of significant and complex corporate partnerships and serve as a senior escalation point for key partner relationships.

This role reports to the Vice President, Corporate Partnership Activation and works closely with Partnership Sales, Strategy & Operations, and cross-functional business leaders to deliver exceptional partner value and business results.

This fully onsite role is based at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. Local travel within the greater Atlanta area is required.

Servicing Contracts / Account Management

• Serve as senior relationship lead for a select portfolio of significant and complex corporate partnerships
• Build trusted relationships with senior partner and agency stakeholders and develop a deep understanding of partners’ businesses, marketing priorities and evolving objectives.
• Lead strategic account planning for assigned partners, establishing clear objectives, stakeholder strategies, activation priorities, measurement plans and opportunities for growth.
• Ensure partnership programs and activations deliver against contractual commitments while advancing partners’ broader business and marketing objectives.
• Lead strategic business reviews that move beyond fulfillment reporting to communicate results, insights, recommendations and future opportunities.
• Serve as a senior escalation point for complex partner issues and work across the organization to develop solutions that protect and strengthen partner relationships.
• Maintain a forward-looking view of partner needs, industry trends and business priorities to proactively recommend new ideas and opportunities.

Renewal Readiness & Account Growth

• Establish and lead a disciplined renewal-readiness process across the AMBSE partnership portfolio, beginning strategic planning well in advance of contract expiration.
• Partner with account leads to assess relationship health, partner objectives, performance, stakeholder alignment, competitive threats and opportunities for future growth.
• Lead regular account-growth and whitespace reviews to identify opportunities for incremental partner investment.
• Coach Activation team members to recognize commercial opportunities emerging from partner conversations and translate those insights into actionable opportunities for Sales and Partner Solutions.
• Partner closely with Partnership Sales on renewal planning and organic-growth opportunities, providing the account intelligence and strategic foundation necessary to support successful commercial conversations.
• Collaborate with Partnership Insights to incorporate performance data, fan insights and market intelligence into renewal and growth strategies.
• Engage Partner Solutions when new platforms or strategic partnership concepts are required to address identified partner opportunities.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, coach and develop the AMBSE Partnership Activation team, establishing clear expectations for strategic account management, partner service and commercial awareness.
• Set priorities, allocate account portfolios and manage team capacity to ensure appropriate resources are aligned against partner needs.
• Regularly review account strategies and challenge team members to move beyond contractual fulfillment toward proactive, insight-led partner management.
• Coach team members on strategic planning, executive relationship management, business reviews, renewal preparation, problem solving and identification of organic-growth opportunities.
• Establish consistent standards and best practices for account plans, partner business reviews, renewal readiness and relationship management.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, proactive communication and continuous improvement.
• Partner with the Vice President on talent development, performance management, succession planning, staffing and organizational needs.
• Identify capability gaps across the team and implement appropriate training, coaching and development programs.

Partnership Strategy & Activation Excellence

• Ensure partnership activation strategies are aligned with partner objectives and deliver measurable business and marketing value.
• Guide account teams in developing integrated activation plans that effectively leverage assets, platforms and organizational capabilities.
• Evaluate significant activation concepts and provide strategic guidance to ensure programs are differentiated, executable and aligned with partner and organizational objectives.
• Maintain strong knowledge of sponsorship, marketing and consumer trends and incorporate relevant best practices into partner strategy and team development.
• Ensure account teams effectively measure partnership performance and use results and insights to optimize programs throughout the relationship.
• Identify recurring execution challenges and partner with the Vice President to improve processes and cross-functional ways of working.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Serve as a senior representative of Partnership Activation across the organization and build strong working relationships with key internal stakeholders.
• Partner closely with Partnership Sales to ensure strong alignment throughout the partner lifecycle, including renewal and growth planning.
• Collaborate with Partnership Strategy to bring enterprise intelligence, strategic thinking and new commercial opportunities into partner relationships.
• Partner with the Vice President to escalate and resolve significant cross-functional issues affecting partner delivery or organizational effectiveness.

Administrative / Business Management

• Manage the Atlanta Falcons Partnership Activation budget and ensure appropriate stewardship of departmental resources.
• Maintain visibility into key account risks, partner issues, team capacity and upcoming priorities and communicate appropriately to Partnership leadership.
• Ensure accurate and timely completion of required account planning, contractual tracking, performance measurement and departmental reporting.
• Partner with Partnership Operations to ensure account, inventory and contractual information is accurately maintained in relevant systems.
• Support annual planning and other departmental business initiatives as required.

Qualifications and Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Sports Management or related field, or equivalent relevant professional experience.
• Minimum 10 years of relevant experience in corporate partnerships, sponsorship, account management, brand marketing, agency services or related fields.
• Significant experience managing complex, integrated corporate partnerships and senior-level client relationships.
• Demonstrated experience leading, coaching and developing high-performing teams.
• Proven ability to develop strategic account plans, lead executive-level business reviews and strengthen long-term client relationships.
• Demonstrated commercial acumen, including experience supporting renewals, identifying organic-growth opportunities and translating partner objectives into business opportunities.
• Team, league, venue, brand or agency experience within sports, entertainment, media or experiential marketing strongly preferred.
• Ability to work non-traditional hours, including nights, weekends and holidays, as required by the business.
• Valid U.S. Driver’s License and access to a motor vehicle required.

Skills & Knowledge

• Exceptional strategic account-management and relationship-development skills, with the ability to build credibility with senior executives and partner stakeholders.
• Strong commercial instincts and ability to identify opportunities to deepen and grow partner relationships.
• Demonstrated ability to coach and develop teams and raise the strategic capabilities of others.
• Excellent executive communication, presentation and facilitation skills.
• Strong strategic thinking and ability to translate partner business objectives into actionable partnership strategies.
• Proven ability to lead through influence and navigate complex cross-functional organizations.
• Sound judgment and ability to effectively manage difficult conversations, partner challenges and organizational conflict.
• Strong analytical orientation and ability to translate data and performance insights into recommendations and action.

• Problem Solving: Identifies and resolves problems in a timely manner, gathers and analyzes information skillfully
• undefinedHighly collaborative leadership style with the ability to balance partner needs, organizational priorities and commercial objectives. Ability to manage multiple significant priorities in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.