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POSITION DESCRIPTION  

ROLE: ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, SPONSORSHIP
TEAM: SPONSORSHIP 
LOCATION: TORONTO (HYBRID)  

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Salt is a North American marketing agency that creates connected experiences through creative, digital & media innovation.

Our mission is to "Earn the World's Attention" and Salt is built to find, develop, execute, and amplify the ideas that are worthy of our clients' audiences. We've structured our agency to do what's right for our clients - to connect different perspectives, to work across mediums, and to focus on delivering meaningful, effective results.

We're committed to living up to the values in our name. "Salt of The Earth" means we value collaborative, humble, hard-working people here. We're looking for people who are as smart as they are kind because we believe the right talent and the right culture help us do what's right for our clients. 

ROLE OVERVIEW

As an Associate Director, Sponsorship, you are a leader who helps translate sponsorship strategy into clear recommendations, strong client relationships, and high-quality output across Salt's sports and entertainment focused business.

You will partner with Senior Directors, Managers, and cross-functional teams to lead sponsorship work across the full lifecycle, from evaluation and strategic development through recommendation and execution. You bring strong judgment, commercial thinking, and client-ready storytelling to the work, while helping guide teams and accounts with a high degree of independence.

In this role, you will lead day-to-day client business, shape recommendations using data and market context, and direct teams to deliver smart, polished work with clarity and confidence. Your leadership will help bring structure to complexity, strengthen client trust, and create meaningful leverage for senior leadership.

You are also curious about new tools and ways of working, including how AI can be applied thoughtfully to improve the quality, speed, and effectiveness of strategy, analysis, and presentation development.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIESClient Leadership & Partnership Management

• Lead day-to-day client business across assigned sponsorship accounts and workstreams with a high degree of independence
• Build trusted relationships with clients, internal teams, agency partners, and external stakeholders through strong communication, sound judgment, and consistent delivery
• Develop a strong understanding of client sponsorship goals, business priorities, and brand positioning
• Lead meetings, manage follow-ups, and create clarity around priorities, timelines, and next steps
• Bring thoughtful counsel and clear recommendations to clients, while helping create momentum and confidence across the business

Sponsorship Strategy & Portfolio Planning

• Develop sponsorship strategies, recommendations, and points of view aligned to client objectives
• Translate business goals, market context, audience insights, and partnership opportunities into actionable plans
• Support annual planning, opportunity prioritization, partnership reviews, and broader portfolio thinking
• Help ensure recommendations balance commercial rigor with cultural relevance and practical execution
• Contribute to the ongoing development of Salt's sponsorship approaches, tools, and ways of working

Measurement, Valuation & Analytical Thinking

• Apply sponsorship measurement and valuation thinking independently across client work, including property and asset evaluation
• Derive insights and considerations from available data, comparing against client priorities and market realities
• Identify where additional information or analysis is needed to strengthen recommendations
• Participate in and help lead client and stakeholder discussions related to sponsorship value, effectiveness, and opportunity
• Use data, analysis, and judgment to shape recommendations that are clear, defensible, and commercially credible

Partnership Structuring, Negotiation & Rights Management

• Support sponsorship evaluation, negotiation strategy, asset review, and partnership planning across the full lifecycle of the work
• Translate partnership rights, assets, and contractual realities into clear business implications and recommendations
• Help structure partnership value in a way that is actionable, practical, and easy for clients to understand
• Identify gaps, inefficiencies, and missed value within partnership structures and help shape stronger solutions
• Bring a thoughtful understanding of how rights, entitlements, and activation realities affect overall value

Strategic Storytelling & Recommendation Development

• Lead the creation of strong, client-ready presentations from outline through final delivery
• Build clear narratives that connect data, insights, and recommendations in a persuasive way
• Turn complex information into concise, well-structured storytelling
• Bring structure and clarity to complex sponsorship challenges, translating ambiguity into smart, defensible recommendations
• Maintain a high standard of clarity, polish, and strategic rigor across all deliverables
• Support senior leadership in selling in ideas, strategies, and recommendations through compelling presentation development

Cross-Functional Leadership & Program Delivery

• Direct day-to-day workstreams across Managers and cross-functional team members
• Provide clear briefs, direction, and feedback to support strong output and efficient delivery
• Lead internal meetings and working sessions to keep projects organized and moving
• Improve workflow, communication, and quality across projects by creating clarity and accountability
• Help develop more junior team members by strengthening their strategic thinking, storytelling, and client management skills
• Stay curious about emerging tools, technologies, and ways of working, including AI, and explore how they can be used responsibly to strengthen strategic output and improve efficiency

Commercial Acumen & Business Growth

• Support account health across budget, scope, timelines, and resourcing decisions
• Help manage financial reconciliation, delivery discipline, and overall operational effectiveness across assigned business
• Support the identification of organic growth opportunities within existing client business
• Contribute to pitch materials, proposals, and new business opportunities as needed
• Strive to uncover opportunities where Salt can add incremental value for clients through new services, projects, or strategic support
• Bring sound commercial judgment to recommendations and delivery decisions, understanding how they affect client value and business performance

EXPERIENCE & SKILLS

• 8+ years of experience in sponsorship, partnerships, account leadership, or related strategic marketing roles
• Strong experience in sponsorship strategy, partnership evaluation, asset review, negotiation support, and account management
• Previous experience working across sports, entertainment, culture, or lifestyle-driven properties and partnerships
• Proven ability to independently lead client relationships and day-to-day account business with a high degree of confidence and ownership
• Strong strategic thinking skills, with the ability to connect business goals, market realities, and actionable recommendations
• Strong sponsorship valuation and analytical capability, with the ability to turn data and research into defensible recommendations
• Proven ability to build strong presentations and tell a clear, compelling strategic story
• Ability to bring structure and clarity to complex sponsorship challenges, and translate ambiguity into smart, practical solutions
• Strong project leadership and experience managing multiple workstreams at once
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills
• Strong organizational abilities and attention to detail
• Confidence leading meetings and presenting to clients and internal teams
• Curiosity about AI and emerging technologies, and an interest in applying them thoughtfully to improve workflow, sharpen thinking, and elevate the quality of client work
• Passion for sponsorship, partnerships, and the evolving sports and entertainment landscape

PERKS & BENEFITS THAT SET US APART

We don't just talk about balance, growth, and culture, we build for it:

• Work-Life Flexibility: Hybrid setup, up to 28 paid days off, winter holiday shutdowns, and dog-friendly office vibes.
• Comprehensive Coverage: Health, dental, and vision plans, plus Salt Bucks to spend on what matters to you, wellness, RRSPs, or extra time off.
• Growth-Driven Culture: Dedicated Salt Days, top-tier learning access, and formal leadership development.
• Celebration-First Mentality: Legendary team trips, seasonal socials, and Salt Swag that reps your squad.
• Real Rewards: Referral and new business bonuses, exclusive lifestyle perks, and personalized wellness options.
• Culture of Belonging: DEI programs, active ERGs, and a workplace where every voice counts.

WHAT WE STAND FOR

• Salt of the Earth: We aspire to be good people. People who are humble, hardworking, honest, and kind to one another. People who are fun to work with, who trust and are respectful of each other.
• Do What's Right: We don't believe in taking shortcuts. We believe in doing what is right, not what is easy or expected.
• Earn It: We believe in rolling up our sleeves and not being afraid of hard work. We want to earn the respect of others, the results we deliver and the praise we receive.
• Make Things Better: We aspire to leave things better than we found them and are always looking for a better way. Great ideas come from anywhere, they come from being curious, passionate, solutions-oriented people who care deeply about what we do.
• Seek Different Perspectives: We believe in embracing difference, the perspective it brings, how it challenges us, how it spurs creativity, and its ability to make us better.

Salt XC is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and to attracting and retaining the most qualified employees regardless of race, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, or disability

The anticipated annual base salary range for this position is $90,000-$125,000. Individual compensation within this range is determined based on job-related factors such as experience, skills, level of responsibility, internal equity, and business needs. This range represents the expected base salary for this role and does not include other elements of SALT total rewards program.