Senior Manager, Fan Engagement & Activation

WORK OPTION: 4 days a week in the Secaucus, NJ office

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. 
 

The ideal candidate in this role will help build immersive experiential platforms that consistently engage the league’s global fanbase by assisting in the strategic planning, development and execution of multiple highly visible, fan-first businesses. This role will be responsible for overseeing the project management and end-to-end executional excellence of multiple projects including but not limited to NBA Crossover, NBA House, NBA Con, NBA Experiences programming and other immersive fan-driven activations.

This role requires a detail-oriented project manager who balances a hyperfocus on day-to-day task execution with the creative vision necessary to proactively identify areas of opportunity that drive long-term P&L growth. This person is a self-starter who delivers polished work material to key internal and external stakeholders in a fast-paced and collaborative environment.

Every member of the Global Events Team takes responsibility for the work they do and is proactive in seeking opportunities to grow. They care about engaging in meaningful, impactful work and holding each other to a high standard.

Major Responsibilities

• Work effectively, transparently, in a partner-like fashion with the leadership team; ensure buy-in to key decisions, agreement on strategic direction, alignment of cross-functional resources and activities
• Support the day-to-day business operations for all fan-facing businesses and deliver high-level project management across internal and external partners
• Conceptualize new assets that deliver ancillary revenue, optimize business performance and maximize OI
• Lead event planning, vendor management and on-site execution across the business line’s portfolio of events
• Lead the development and presentation of planning assigned events to communicate key milestones, storylines, activation plans with all key stakeholders
• Manage teams of people to produce large-scale events. Supervise all planning and on-site execution
• Develop and execute both sides of the event P&L – creating ancillary revenue streams and cost cutting measures that maximize OI.
• Develop status updates, project timelines and yearly product roadmaps for each fan-first event
• Ideate and implement personalized guest and fan experiences that scale globally and energize NBA fans
• Implement new premium experiential products at each NBA tentpole to drive increased engagement and revenue from our most valuable fans
• Track key performance and fan engagement/sentiment indicators including NPS, CAC, CLV and OI to establish a shared definition of excellence
• Create event extensions that expand the total addressable market of traditional fan events and drive global engagement
• Have a constant pulse on the off-court interests of casual and avid NBA fans
• Collaborate with diverse project teams and demonstrate best-practice project management skills, thought leadership, and analytical rigor
• Design and produce post-event recaps that promote data-driven decision making and visually communicate key storylines

Required Skills/Knowledge

• Successful candidate will be a confident, persuasive, and able communicator comfortable with unfamiliar topics and challenging situations
• An orientation toward action. Ability to manage a large number of highly complex tasks while maintaining attention to detail
• Strong work ethic and desire to work in an autonomous and fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Demonstrated creative and project management skills in a complex experiential business that requires extreme organization to evaluate opportunities, recognize patterns and identify efficiencies
• Proactive problem solver who can prioritize and manage multiple tasks under tight deadlines
• Self-starter who is resourceful, results-driven, and has the proven ability to efficiently analyze and assess problems independently as well as within a team environment
• NBA fan who loves the game and the holistic interests of our players and league
• Effective communicator and presenter, both orally and in writing to a broad range of internal and external constituents
• Advanced skills in project management software and all Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign
• Demonstrated passion for creating groundbreaking live experiences  
• Strong work ethic and a commitment to excellence, including working nights and weekends when necessary, anticipating issues and identifying emerging platforms and trends to drive innovation
• Willingness to travel – both domestically and internationally

Education and Experience

• 7+ years of professional experience in sports, entertainment or live events business
• Corporate, event startup or agency background preferred 
• Successful track record in attaining and exceeding expectations
• Organizational and project management skills, adept at prioritizing and executing complex initiatives

• Proven experience organizing and directing multiple teams and departments
• Excellent communicator in written and verbal form
• Extremely versatile, dedicated to efficient productivity

Salary Range: $120,000 - $140,000 

Job Posting Title: Senior Manager 

The NBA does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms or any other third parties. Any unsolicited resume sent to the NBA will be considered NBA property, and the NBA will not pay a fee should it hire the subject of any unsolicited resume. 

The NBA considers applicants for all positions on the basis of merit, qualifications, and business needs, and without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, alienage or citizenship status, ancestry, marital status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, veteran status, familial status, status as a victim of domestic violence, or any other status or characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

About the NBA
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 215 countries and territories in more than 50 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 200 countries and territories on all seven continents.  NBA rosters at the start of the 2021-22 season featured a record 121 international players from 40 countries.  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 2.1 billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms.  Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.