Sponsorship Director, Americas

This senior commercial role is responsible for driving partnership revenue and expanding SailGP's commercial footprint across North America, Latin America, and Canada. The position owns the full sales cycle for sponsorship, partnership, and licensing opportunities and reports to the Chief Revenue Officer in the New York City office. The role works with the global commercial team, peer Sponsorship Directors, and activation, marketing, finance, and media/content teams.

• Lead the development and execution of a comprehensive sponsorship sales strategy across the Americas to meet and exceed annual revenue targets.
• Identify, prospect, and close sponsorship and partnership sales across a range of categories, including tiered deals across the League and Events.
• Build and manage a robust pipeline of prospective partners, leveraging CRM tools (Monday.com) to track activity and forecast accurately.
• Develop compelling, tailored sales proposals and presentations that articulate SailGP's unique value proposition to brands and agencies.
• Leverage SailGP strategic agency relationships to drive sponsorship sales across Events, League, and Team partners.
• Cultivate senior-level relationships with brand marketers, agency partners, and C-suite decision makers across key verticals including financial services, automotive, technology, luxury, and CPG.
• Identify and structure innovative partnership frameworks beyond traditional sponsorship, including supplier integration, licensing, content partnerships, hospitality, and experiential activations.
• Collaborate with the global commercial team, peer Sponsorship Directors, and external agencies to align regional strategy with league objectives and drive a unified, consistent, and cohesive sales strategy.
• Conduct ongoing market analysis to identify emerging opportunities, category whitespace, and competitive dynamics across the Americas
• Represent SailGP at industry events, conferences, and networking forums to build brand awareness and generate leads
• And work closely with events and host city teams to support commercial integration around Americas-based race events.
• Partner with partnership activation and marketing teams to ensure a seamless transition from sale to delivery, maintaining high partner satisfaction and renewal rates.
• Work with the Finance team to develop a sound margin outlook for partner deals, and collaborate with global media and content teams to develop commercially compelling storytelling tools for the sales process.
• Provide regular reporting on pipeline, revenue performance, and market insights to senior leadership.

• 10+ years of experience in sports commercial, partnership sales, or business development.
• Proven track record of closing complex, high-value deals.
• Availability for extensive travel, including time in-person with senior leadership at industry events, regional HQ presentations, and SailGP strategic cities (including but not limited to NYC, San Francisco, Miami, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Toronto).
• Deep knowledge of the North American sports and sponsorship landscape.
• Existing relationships with senior brand and agency contacts across the Americas.
• Strong presentation, negotiation, and communication skills.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and ability to operate independently in a fast-paced, global organisation.
• Bachelor's degree.
• Champion an inclusive environment where diversity is valued.
• Advocate and promote SailGP Values and contribute to a positive culture: Deliver Quality, Break Boundaries, Make an Impact, Strike a Balance, Stand Together.
• Operate with a financially responsible mindset and strive for the commercial sustainability of SailGP.
• Consider how each team action contributes to Better Sport, Better Planet.
• Develop creative solutions that allow quality work to be delivered.
• Drive collaboration and teamwork within the department and across the organisation.
• Promote working practices that enable a healthy work-life balance within the team and celebrate wellbeing.

• Passion for sailing or premium/international sports.
• MBA or equivalent qualification.

• Hybrid role requiring 3 days per week in the New York City office, alongside regional and international travel.

SailGP is racing redefined, offering the world's most exciting racing on-water. Established in 2018 and headquartered in London, it runs an annual global championship racing for a Better Future and accelerating change in everything it does. The fan-centric, inshore racing features top athletes in iconic waterfront destinations and offers the sport's largest monetary prize, with rival national teams competing in identical supercharged F50 catamarans at speeds exceeding 60 mph/100 kph.