Manager, Sports Marketing

Why Join GEICO

At GEICO we offer a rewarding career where your ambitions are met with endless possibilities.

Every day we honor our iconic brand by offering quality coverage to millions of customers and being there when they need us most. We thrive on relentless innovation to exceed our customers expectations while making a real impact on local communities nationwide.

Founded in 1936 GEICO is a member of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies and one of the largest auto insurers in the United States. When you join our company we want you to feel valued supported and proud to work here. Thats why we offer the GEICO Pledge: Great Company Great Culture Great Rewards and Great Careers.

Manager Sports Marketing (Baseball & Hockey)

Location: Hybrid 3 days per week onsite. Corporate offices in Bethesda MD or Manhattan NY.

Reports To: Sr. Manager Sports Marketing

About the Role

Within Marketing at GEICO our sports activations are among the most visible ways the brand shows up in culture and in local markets. We are deeply committed to getting the deals right and getting the most out of every asset we buy.

The Manager Sports Marketing partners with the Sr. Manager and Lead to run GEICOs league team school and talent partnerships. Together you will negotiate and renew agreements and manage partner relationships and you will lead activation from strategy through launch and recap bringing Social Influencer Creative Analytics Go-to-Market and Experiential together around a shared plan. You will also lead and develop a team from day one and make sure league-level and team-level rights work as one portfolio with no overlap no gaps and a clear line from every dollar spent to a business outcome.

This role is built for someone who can negotiate a strong deal with a league or club then go back and lead the team and cross-functional partners who bring it to life. It is a high-visibility role with direct exposure to senior leaders and there is real room to scale and build the internal team as the sports partnerships function continues to grow.

How We Work

The Marketing organization at GEICO is guided by a clear set of principles: we hire the best at every level and invest in developing them. We believe that strategy comes before action if we dont know why were doing something we dont do it. We bring the same care and accountability to how we spend resources as we would if it were our own business. And when there are challenges we face them directly and collectively. Leaders in this organization are expected to bring that same mindset to their teams.

Key Responsibilities

Partnership Strategy & Negotiation

Partner with the Sr. Manager to negotiate renew and manage GEICOs partnerships working alongside Legal Procurement and agencies

Evaluate proposals and renewal terms with rigor asset valuation pricing benchmarks exclusivity and category definitions renewal and matching rights and rights gaps and with the Sr. Manager bring clear recommendations and tradeoffs to senior leaders

Help build the business case for each partnership: what we are buying what it is worth and how it ties to brand and business objectives

Manage day-to-day relationships with league and team partners and partner with the Sr. Manager on executive-level relationships setting a regular business review cadence and holding partners accountable for contractual deliverables

Make sure league-level and team-level rights (national and local media in-venue and digital) work together as a coherent portfolio

Activation & Portfolio Management

Own activation strategy translating sponsorship rights and assets into plans aligned to brand and business objectives including local market priorities

Ensure partnership assets are fully utilized tracking inventory deliverables and fulfillment against contract

Identify new activation opportunities within existing rights and flag assets that are not earning their keep

Cross-Functional Leadership

Lead cross-functional sports planning across Social Influencer Creative Analytics and Media managing timelines approvals deliverables and dependencies

Partner with internal creative teams and external agencies to brief develop and deliver activation assets that meet program needs and brand standards

Collaborate with the Experiential Marketing team on sports-tied experiential executions ensuring integrated planning and seamless handoffs

Set the standard for workbacks trackers activation plans and status updates across multiple concurrent initiatives and ensure your team executes against it

People Leadership & Team Building

Lead coach and develop the team members setting clear priorities and expectations giving regular feedback and holding a high bar

Assign workstreams review work and build the teams standards for activation planning tracking and recap

Work with the Sr. Manager to shape how the team is structured and where it grows next including role design hiring and onboarding as the portfolio and the sports partnerships function scale

Measurement Budget & Process

Own measurement and reporting for assigned partnerships define success metrics up front evaluate performance and turn learnings into renewal and investment recommendations

Manage budgets for assigned partnerships including forecasting invoice approval and financial tracking

Identify opportunities to strengthen internal coordination and improve the efficiency of sports partnership activations and contribute to building the teams playbook as the function matures

You May Be a Good Fit If You

Have negotiated or renewed sports sponsorship agreements at the league level team level or both and can walk through the terms you pushed on and why

Have managed relationships with league and club partnership executives and earned credibility on both sides of the table

Know the baseball and hockey landscape how MLB and NHL clubs the leagues and their local markets work well enough to recognize a great opportunity and flag a bad one

Have worked inside a company where driving customer acquisition and conversion was central to the business model and you can connect a sponsorship to a business outcome not just reach and impressions

Can turn a complex proposal pricing rights exclusivity into a clear recommendation that lands with senior leaders and are comfortable pressure-testing a partners numbers and claims

Hold complex cross-functional workstreams together without relying on formal authority and keep work moving across Social Creative Analytics and Go-to-Market

Have led and developed people set a high bar coached through feedback and grown a teams capability and want to build a team not just manage a book of business

Thrive when building not just maintaining you want a hand in shaping how a growing sports partnerships function and team operate

Are a genuine baseball and hockey fan who wants to be inside a transformation at an iconic brand not adjacent to it

Ideal Experience

Experience: 8 years in sports marketing sponsorships or partnership marketing including direct experience negotiating and managing sponsorship agreements and leading cross-functional activations from planning through recap.

Negotiation and deal evaluation: Demonstrated experience negotiating or renewing sponsorship agreements including asset valuation pricing exclusivity and category protections and working alongside Legal and Procurement.

Sports sponsorship fluency: Deep familiarity with the baseball and hockey landscape including league versus team partnership structures local market rights and how properties package media in-venue and digital inventory.

Service company context: Experience working inside a conversion-driven service business financial services insurance SaaS or banking where marketing is tied directly to customer acquisition and retention.

Partner relationships: Experience managing senior-level relationships with properties agencies and vendors while driving execution across internal teams.

Cross-functional leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead multiple concurrent initiatives with high organization precision and follow-through in a matrixed environment.

People leadership: Experience managing coaching and developing team members with a track record of setting a high bar and growing talent.

Analytical and financial acumen: Experience managing budgets and using measurement and learnings to evaluate performance and inform renewal and investment decisions.

Communication: Strong written and verbal communication skills including executive-ready memos and presentations.

AI tools: Comfort using AI tools like Claude or Copilot to speed up analysis drafting and workflow.

Education: Bachelors degree in marketing business sports management communications or a related field preferred.

Strong Candidates May Also Have

Experience on the league team or agency side of the business giving you a view into how partners think about pricing and deal structure

Direct relationships with MLB NHL or club partnership teams or with agencies in the sports marketing ecosystem

Experience with local market partnership strategy including local media and broadcast rights

Experience managing activations tied to experiential or live events

Experience building or scaling a team including defining roles hiring and onboarding

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Annual Salary

$109675.00 - $172200.00

The above annual salary range is a general guideline. Multiple factors are taken into consideration to arrive at the final hourly rate/ annual salary to be offered to the selected candidate. Factors include but are not limited to the scope and responsibilities of the role the selected candidates work experience education and training the work location as well as market and business considerations.

At this time GEICO will not sponsor a new applicant for employment authorization for this position.

The GEICO Pledge:

Great Company: Protecting customers through lifes twists and turns with innovation and integrity.

Great Careers: Personalized development programs mentorship and certification assistance.

Great Culture: Inclusive and collaborative culture rooted in shared success.

Great Rewards: Competitive pay benefits and flexibility to support your well-being and future.

The equal employment opportunity policy of the GEICO Companies provides for a fair and equal employment opportunity for all associates and job applicants regardless of race color religious creed national origin ancestry age gender pregnancy sexual orientation gender identity marital status familial status disability or genetic information in compliance with applicable federal state and local law. GEICO hires and promotes individuals solely on the basis of their qualifications for the job to be filled.

GEICO reasonably accommodates qualified individuals with disabilities to enable them to receive equal employment opportunity and/or perform the essential functions of the job unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship to the Company. This applies to all applicants and associates. GEICO also provides a work environment in which each associate is able to be productive and work to the best of their ability. We do not condone or tolerate an atmosphere of intimidation or harassment. We expect and require the cooperation of all associates in maintaining an atmosphere free from discrimination and harassment with mutual respect by and for all associates and applicants.

Required Experience:

Manager