New Business and Partnership Management

WORK OPTION: Not Applicable

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a global sports and media organization with the mission to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball.  Built around five professional sports leagues:  the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and Basketball Africa League, the NBA has established a major international presence with games and programming available in 214 countries and territories in 60 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 200 countries and territories on all seven continents.  NBA rosters at the start of the 2023-24 season featured a record 125 international players from 40 countries and territories.  NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA League Pass.  The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with more than 2.3 billion likes and followers globally across all leagues, team and player platforms.  NBA Cares, the NBA’s global social responsibility platform, partners with renowned community-based organizations around the world to address important social issues in the areas of education, inclusion, youth and family development, and health and wellness. 
 

Position Summary

The New Business and Partnership Management Role will be under the umbrella of NBA China with objective to manage and develop key partnerships such as Ant Group, Alibaba Group and other digital platforms with the objective to engage with platform users with NBA IP, content, marketing initiatives, online and offline campaign and events, as well as membership and value-added services to drive business growth and innovation with such platforms. This position will be responsible for the management and develop of existing partners as well as developing new business partners in digital and technology sectors including AI. The candidate will be responsible for communicating with internal and external stakeholders to design and develop NBA assets, co-branded marketing tentpole events, merchandise and service offerings to fulfill contractual obligations and to support business goals to existing partner and to develop new partnerships.

Major Responsibilities

• To manage and maintain strategic relationship with Ant Group, to lead assets development, user operation, content development and operation, joint marketing and advertising sales, co-branded bank cards licensing and distribution, marketing support of Ant Credit-Pay and other financial services of Ant Group, as well as ESG initiates with Ant Forest, Ant Farm and other digital ESG platforms of Ant Group.
• To take lead in manage and support Ant International and Alibaba’s premium membership program ‘88VIP’ sponsorship of China Game. To operate and oversee the game related marketing rights, obligation and benefits are fully delivered and be able to support partners key business objectives are fulfilled through internal and external coordination. He or she shall also work to drive incremental revenue growth through China Game Sponsorships.
• To take lead in developing AI and Cloud Computing related sectors and to develop potential partnerships with Ali Cloud, Tencent Cloud, and other key partners in the industry. The candidate shall also work closely with internal teams including GP and GCMD as well as CTO and IT team to integrate NBA China’s digital and business needs and applications with potential AI and Cloud partnerships.
• To innovate the partnership with key partners such as Alibaba Group including its key BU's such as Taobao/Tmall, Youku, Ding Talk and other platforms to jointly develop NBA themed/ branded projects, initiatives, and other fan engagements to support partners in user acquisition, advertising/media assets sales, and other cross marketing projects for brand promotion.
• To work with internal stakeholders and Ant Group, Alibaba Group and other existing and new digital platforms to develop NBA Fan Data with targeted marketing capabilities with customized benefits and incentives to develop advertising assets to drive incremental revenue.
• To create more commercial assets with digital partners that is either to better activate fans engagement and fans various consumption needs or to create unique value for the clients to upgrade its existing partnership with NBA or allocate more budget and resource to the new assets.
• To cultivate a strong team with focus on user operation, new business development, account management and integrated marketing event planning.
• Act as an "entry-point" for inquiries from various stakeholders; as well as a point of contact to relevant teams across NBA and partners.
• To act like a trustworthy consultant to client by understanding NBA fans need from various channels and be able to formulate product improvement strategies and new product features from user research result and personal observations.

Required Skills/Knowledge

• Excellent analytical and planning abilities, with preferrable knowledge and know-how of strategy, investment, financial research, to better understand partners and provide effective solutions.
• Data driven and “quantitative” mentality with an ability to back up ideas with facts or examples
• Extensive internet and digital industry knowledge and understand the internal working process of digital platforms such as Alibaba, Bytedance, Tencent, Red, Baidu and other relevant companies.
• High degree of self-advocacy and motivation while strong leadership skills to manage multi-function teams.
• Proven stakeholder management skills across all levels with the ability to build strong, successful relationships founded on collaboration.
• Strong capability to quickly learn and understand new areas of business as well as industry best practices.
• Result-driven. Not reactionary, articulates the desired outcome and works collaboratively to create a path to achieve it.
• Ability to thrive in ambiguous environments, identify trade-offs, and make decisions in high-pressure situations.
• Ability to work under pressure in a highly volatile environment in China’s internet and digital industries with easy-going personality and the ability to thrive under pressure.

Expereince Needed

• 10+ years of Interne, digital and related industry experiences in operation, management, marketing, product strategy, research and project management.
•  Strong business development and category management experience with the ability to initiate relationships, assess partnership viability, work through long deal cycles, and close complex deals.
• Track record of successful on initiating, proposing cross functional projects and drive to implement.
• Proven track record in team management and demonstrated history of delivering successful results from large scale of cross-departments projects.