Creative Strategist, Partnership Sales & Activation

Position Summary

Bay FC is seeking a Creative Strategist to join our Partnership Sales team. This is a strategy-first role for someone who comes from a creative agency environment and knows how to build a brand narrative from data, cultural insight, fan community, and market intelligence - then frame it as a solution to a brand's actual business problem.

You will work closely with the VP of Partnership Sales to develop the ideas, stories, and materials that bring Bay FC partnerships to life. You are not an art director or designer - you are the person who understands our fan, our market, and what Bay FC represents in the Bay Area deeply enough to show a prospective partner exactly where and why their brand belongs inside our world. The best pitches don't sell. They tell a story that allows a brand to recognize itself in a story we've built around them, seeing the path to their own customer, and understanding intuitively that our two brands are stronger together than apart.

Responsibilities

• Develop original creative concepts and partnership narratives that connect a prospective partner's brand goals to Bay FC's platform, audience, and cultural moment
• Build and design compelling pitch decks working from deal memos, strategy briefs, and verbal direction, often on tight timelines
• Use data and insights provided by our Business Insights team and market intelligence to surface the "human truths" and industry narratives that make a pitch land
• Track cultural trends, brand behavior, and the broader women's sports landscape to identify angles and opportunities that keep Bay FC's sales story ahead of the conversation
• Translate complex sponsorship packages into clear, two-sided stories: what the partner gets and why it maps directly to their business objectives
• Serve as the main ideation engine for Existing or new partners to assist upsells, renewals, one off opportunities and new Partner pitches.
• Conduct brand and prospect research to tailor each pitch to a specific company's goals, not a generic template
• Contribute to brainstorms and ideation sessions, bringing a brand strategist's POV to partnership concept development
• Maintain and evolve Bay FC's partnership sales presentation standards and library of assets, to position us to move quickly

Qualifications

• 4-7 years in a creative agency, brand strategy, communications planning, or integrated marketing role; sports industry background not required, genuine cultural curiosity and an excitement about providing real solutions to marketers IS required
• Demonstrated ability to develop strategic narratives and present them to senior audiences through compelling deck work
• A strategy-first thinker who can also physically build the deck, proficiency in Keynote, PowerPoint, and/or Google Slides required; Adobe Creative Suite a plus
• Strong instincts for brand storytelling, with the ability to connect data and insight to creative ideas
• Comfortable working in ambiguity, responding to rough direction, and producing polished work quickly
• Deep interest in culture, brands, and how they show up in the world - sports, entertainment, media, technology
• Collaborative, low-ego, high-output

Compensation
The anticipated salary for this role starts at $120,000 . Hired applicant will be eligible to receive an annual discretionary bonus. Actual starting pay may vary based on a range of factors which can include experience, skills, and scope.

Background
Bay FC is the first NWSL team in the Bay Area. Co-founded by four U.S. Women's National Team legends-Brandi Chastain, Aly Wagner, Danielle Slaton, and Leslie Osborne-in partnership with global investment firm Sixth Street, Bay FC is changing the face of women's soccer as we know it. Beginning play in the 2024 season, we are building a squad that will play the beautiful game with power, passion, energy, and creativity.


Bay FC is a team that defies convention and transcends culture. We are proud to represent the Bay Area with its tapestry of different ethnicities, languages, climates, and ideas. Our team will be a uniting force, building a culture of belonging and shared pride. We will become a beacon of hope and connection, welcoming and embracing all fans. Our stadium will be a home for people of all backgrounds and identities. We will be the bridge that unites the Bay's diverse communities. Through our actions and our love of the game, we will inspire and improve the lives of others.


While our community is our foundation, our love of football is our reason for being. We have the fire to be the best, and we will show up on the field every day with intensity, competitiveness, passion, and a drive to win.

Bay FC is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation, or any other characteristics protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

Job Questions:

1. Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?
2. Will you now or in the future require employment visa sponsorship to work in the United States?