Director, Entertainment Marketing and Strategic Partnerships

Director, Entertainment Marketing & Strategic Partnerships

Position Summary

Kizik is seeking a Director of Entertainment Marketing & Strategic Partnerships to lead the development, execution, and commercialization of high-impact cultural partnerships that accelerate brand relevance, consumer demand, and long-term business growth. This role will own Kizik’s most strategic external partnerships—including creators, entertainment properties, talent relationships, collaborations, and brand integrations—with an initial focus on building and maximizing a large-scale partnership with the world’s biggest creator. The ideal candidate is equal parts strategic marketer, operator, and culture builder who understands how to turn culture-driving partnerships into full-funnel growth engines spanning content, product collaborations, commerce, retail, PR, and community.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Leadership

· Develop and manage Kizik’s entertainment marketing and strategic partnerships strategy, spanning collaborations, athlete and/or celebrity partnerships, entertainment IP tie-ins, and other long-term partnerships

· Build trusted relationships with partner teams, agencies, talent representatives, and creators, developing a pipeline of partnership opportunities aligned to our target audiences and identifying future opportunities

· Evaluate, negotiate, and structure partnership deals — from early-stage sourcing through term sheets, legal execution, and ongoing relationship management

Key Partnership Management & Activation

· Serve as the primary point of contact and relationship owner with our newest strategic partner, managing all day-to-day coordination with their team, talent, producers, partners

· Own the end-to-end program calendar, ensuring all deliverables are executed on time and to brief

· Create and drive opportunistic partnership extensions to maximize the value of our partnership, leveraging as needed external resources, partners or agencies to ideate and create and execute big ideas

· Create and oversee cross-functional “tiger team” across product, commerce, production, operations, and marketing to ensure we are poised to deliver product and commercial integration

· Oversee asset rights management, ensuring Kizik extracts maximum value from NIL, IP, content cutdowns, paid social extensions, Amazon PDP video, and retargeting across the full funnel

• Drive quarterly business reviews with the partnership team, translating performance into actionable optimizations

• Own the renewal decision process: evaluate extension economics, recommend program adjustments, and manage contract performance and make-good obligations

Campaign Development & Commercialization

· Lead integrated planning across marketing, social, PR, creative, retail, media, and operations teams

· Translate partnerships into scalable commercial opportunities including product collaborations, limited-edition drops, packaging concepts, fan engagement mechanics, retail activations, and experiential moments

· Ensure partnership content and activations are amplified across Kizik channels to maximize cultural relevance and consumer engagement

· Partner with e-commerce, CRM, Amazon, and retail teams to maximize conversion and demand capture – ensuring content and experiences flow into commerce and paid media

· Manage timelines, launch plans, approvals, budgets, and operational readiness

· Establish and measure short-mid-long term KPIs and track across awareness, engagement, traffic, brand lift, earned media, commerce impact, and retail pull-through

· Develop executive reporting and board updates

· Partner with legal on contract compliance, FTC/advertising disclosures, sweepstakes regulations, and IP/lawsuit risk management specific to the hands-free category

 

Product Collaborations & Consumer Experiences

· Set and own Kizik’s collaboration strategy, sourcing a pipeline and running as primary point of contact and relationship owner throughout the development process

· Lead the development and execution of strategic collaborations and partnership programs, translating brand relationships into compelling consumer experiences, product initiatives, content opportunities, and commercial growth platforms

· Partner cross-functionally with Product, Design, Merchandising, Creative, and external partners to identify and bring to market collaboration concepts that strengthen brand relevance, drive consumer engagement, and create business impact

· Develop scalable frameworks for partnership activations, including product storytelling, experiential programs, content integration, retail initiatives, and community engagement opportunities

· Lead the development of creative campaigns, activation, and go-to-market plans to maximize awareness, engagement, and commercial performance

Qualifications

· 8–12+ years experience in entertainment marketing, brand partnerships, talent/creator marketing, or integrated sponsorships — with at least 4 years managing large-scale, multi-channel programs

· Demonstrated track record managing complex, high-value partnerships with entertainment talent, athletes, or major media properties from deal negotiation through performance measurement

· Fluency in full-funnel digital marketing with deep experience in YouTube and solid financial acumen

· Strong instinct for driving cultural relevance, virality, and buzz to build brand heat

· Experience managing cross-functional teams and influencing without authority across creative, product, legal, finance, and commercial functions

· Excellent negotiation, relationship management, and communication skills — equally comfortable in a boardroom term-sheet conversation and a production-day coordination call