Director, Talent Strategy

Excel Sports Management is seeking a Director of Talent Strategy to help brands navigate the talent landscape and build impactful partnerships across sports, entertainment, music and culture. The role sits within the Talent & Creator Marketing division, with a primary focus on traditional talent including professional athletes, celebrities, musicians and other prominent personalities. The postholder leads strategic talent workstreams across ongoing agency-of-record relationships and standalone client projects, from defining the role of talent in a brand's broader marketing strategy through to identifying opportunities, evaluating talent, developing recommendations and negotiating partnerships.

• Develop talent strategies aligned to clients' business objectives, target audiences, brand positioning and broader sports, entertainment and cultural marketing priorities.
• Identify and evaluate athletes, celebrities, musicians and other talent based on brand fit, audience relevance, cultural impact, commercial value and potential risks.
• Build strategic frameworks, talent shortlists, partnership recommendations and compelling client presentations that clearly articulate the rationale and opportunity.
• Advise clients on how talent can support long-term brand platforms, sponsorships, experiential programs, content, ambassador relationships and other marketing initiatives, and stay ahead of emerging talent, cultural trends, representation dynamics and the evolving economics of talent partnerships.
• Lead talent outreach, availability and interest checks, fee assessments, offer development and negotiations with agents, managers and other representatives, and structure and manage deals across appearances, endorsements, ambassador programs, content, usage, exclusivity and other partnership rights.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships across agencies, management companies, talent representatives and the broader sports and entertainment industry.
• Own day-to-day talent strategy workstreams across multiple AOR accounts and project-based engagements, serving as a confident client-facing lead who presents recommendations, navigates feedback and proactively identifies opportunities to add value.
• Collaborate with account leadership, sponsorship strategy, creative, social and experiential teams, and manage projects from strategic brief through recommendation, procurement and handoff to activation teams, maintaining clear timelines, budgets and communication.
• Contribute to new business pitches, scopes of work and proposals, and partner with senior leadership to identify and pursue new business opportunities, articulating Excel's talent expertise and approach.
• Support the growth and scalability of the Talent & Creator Marketing division by refining internal processes, workflows and resources, strengthening talent research, evaluation tools and negotiation practices
• And providing guidance and thoughtful feedback to junior team members while remaining hands-on in the work.

• 7+ years of relevant experience in talent strategy, talent partnerships, endorsements, sports or entertainment marketing, or talent representation.
• Demonstrated experience developing talent recommendations and advising brands beyond individual campaign execution.
• Strong knowledge of professional sports, entertainment and music talent, including representation structures, deal economics and partnership considerations.
• Hands-on experience negotiating talent deals and evaluating fees, deliverables, usage rights and exclusivity.
• Ability to translate broad client business challenges into sharp strategic recommendations and polished, persuasive presentations.
• Established relationships with talent agents, managers and industry partners, or a proven ability to build them.
• Excellent client management, communication and project leadership skills, with the judgment to manage multiple accounts and priorities independently.
• Collaborative, resourceful and detail-oriented, with strong commercial instincts and a willingness to roll up your sleeves.
• Experience supporting new business development and developing talent strategies for brands across different industries.
• This position is not eligible for sponsorship.

• Experience running talent strategy and brokering deals for Olympic athletes and partners, including working on Olympic partnerships.
• Agency experience.

• Eligible for benefits and a discretionary bonus.

Excel Sports Management is an industry-leading sports agency representing top-tier talent, blue-chip brands and marquee properties.