The Senior Vice President, Brand & Partnership Marketing is a senior leadership role responsible for stewarding, elevating, and extending the Heisman Trophy brand—one of the most iconic honors in sports—while driving strategic partnerships that advance the Trust’s mission, visibility, and long-term growth. Reporting directly to the CEO, this executive will lead brand strategy, integrated marketing, and partner development across all platforms, ensuring the Heisman Trophy remains culturally relevant, values-driven, and commercially impactful.
The SVP will collaborate closely with the CEO, Board of Trustees, internal teams, media partners, sponsors, and external agencies to deliver world-class storytelling, experiences, and partnerships surrounding the annual Heisman Trophy Award and year-round Trust initiatives.
Key Responsibilities:
Brand Strategy & Stewardship
- Serve as the chief steward of the Heisman Trophy brand, ensuring consistency, integrity, and excellence across all touchpoints.
- Develop and execute a long-term brand strategy that honors tradition while expanding relevance with new and diverse audiences.
- Oversee brand architecture, messaging, visual identity, and tone across marketing, communications, events, and digital platforms.
- Protect and enhance the Heisman brand through thoughtful governance, guidelines, and approvals.
Partnerships & Sponsorships
- Lead strategy, development, and management of corporate partnerships and sponsorships aligned with the Heisman brand.
- Serve as executive owner of the Heisman Trophy’s presenting sponsor relationship with Nissan, ensuring world-class partnership management, value delivery, and long-term renewal.
- Manage and grow a portfolio of additional corporate partners, identifying opportunities to expand categories and add new, values-aligned partners over time.
- Identify, negotiate, and activate high-impact partnerships that deliver mutual value, visibility, and long-term growth.
- Collaborate with partners to create innovative marketing programs, content, and experiences that elevate the Heisman platform.
- Ensure all partnerships align with the Trust’s values, reputation, and strategic objectives.
Marketing, Communications & Integrated Campaigns
- Lead the planning and execution of integrated marketing campaigns for the Heisman Trophy season and year-round Trust initiatives.
- Partner with media, broadcast, and digital platforms to maximize reach, engagement, and cultural impact.
- Foster strong marketing communications relationships for the Heisman Trophy Trust outside of the traditional college football space including Sports Business Journal, Front Office, Puck, Ad Age, etc. that elevates the brand and impact in the sports marketing eco-system.
- Leverage data, insights, and audience research to inform strategy and measure effectiveness.
Events & Experiential Marketing
- Provide strategic oversight of marketing and partner activation for marquee events, including Heisman Weekend and the Heisman Trophy Ceremony.
- Work closely with events, production, and broadcast partners to deliver premium, memorable experiences.
- Ensure seamless brand integration across live events, hospitality, and experiential activations.
Leadership & Collaboration
- Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing brand, marketing, and partnerships team.
- Manage external agencies, consultants, and vendors to deliver best-in-class work.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with content, digital, events, legal, and finance teams.
- Serve as a trusted advisor to the CEO and Board on brand, marketing, and partnership matters.
Budgeting & Performance Management
- Develop and manage department budgets, ensuring efficient allocation of resources.
- Establish KPIs and reporting frameworks to track brand health, campaign performance, and partnership ROI.
- Continuously evaluate and optimize strategies based on performance and market trends.
Qualifications & Experience
- Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
- 10+ years of senior-level experience in brand marketing, partnerships, or sponsorships, preferably within sports, media, entertainment, or premium brands.
- Proven success leading iconic or heritage brands while driving modern relevance and growth.
- Demonstrated experience structuring and activating high-value partnerships.
- Strong understanding of media, content, digital marketing, and experiential marketing.
- Exceptional strategic thinking, communication, and storytelling skills.
- Experience working with senior executives, boards, and high-profile stakeholders.
Personal Attributes
- Deep appreciation for sports, leadership, and the values embodied by the Heisman Trophy.
- Collaborative, inspirational leader with a hands-on approach.
- Creative, entrepreneurial mindset balanced with strong operational discipline.
- High integrity, sound judgment, and ability to manage brand risk.
- Comfortable operating in both high-profile, public-facing moments and behind-the-scenes strategy.
Work Environment & Travel
- Hybrid in-office environment, as applicable
- National travel required for partnership management, events and activations
Compensation
- Salary Range - $240,000 - $260,000 plus bonus
- Comprehensive benefits package
Additional Information
- The Heisman Trophy Trust's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law.
Heisman Staff Shared Values:
- Drive Growth & Impact - Focus our efforts on growth, relevance and mission impact while respecting the brand’s traditions
- Every Winner Matters - Enhance the lives and legends of the Heisman Winners
- Team-First Mindset - Build and empower a sustainable, collaborative and grateful team to fulfill the mission
- Start with Clarity - Align and operate against a board-approved annual plan and budget while embracing continuous improvement
