Director, Partnership Sales

Director, Partnership Sales LOVB Austin is a premier professional women's volleyball team and back-to-back champion of League One Volleyball (LOVB), playing its home matches at HEB Center in Cedar Park. Backed by Spurs Sports & Entertainment, LOVB Austin is building an independent local commercial and community presence as it heads into Season 3 (Dec 2026–Apr 2027). The Director, Partnership Sales owns new corporate partnership revenue for LOVB Austin: building the prospect pipeline, crafting tailored proposals, and closing multi-asset sponsorships across jersey placements, on-court and LED signage, VIP suites, theme nights, watch parties, digital and social integrations, and in-match activations. Most of the brands you'll talk to have never bought volleyball before, so this role is as much about telling the story of our audience (a young, affluent, family-driven fan base) as it is about selling inventory. You will report directly to the VP of Growth and work hand-in-hand with the Director, Partnerships Activation, who takes each partner from signature through delivery and renewal. This is an exciting opportunity for a builder who wants to set the commercial foundation for a brand new professional sports team in one of the country's most exciting sports markets! Key Responsibilities Business Development & Pipeline Build and manage a pipeline of prospective partners across local, regional, and national brands, with a focus on Austin-area companies whose customers overlap with the LOVB Austin fan base Research prospects' marketing priorities, current sponsorships, and campaigns to lead with a relevant, audience-first pitch Source opportunities through outbound outreach, personal network, agencies, and the broader Austin business community Own a new-revenue target for Season 3 and beyond, maintaining a CRM or pipeline tracker and reporting weekly to the VP of Growth on pacing, forecast, and win/loss insights Proposals & Deal Execution Develop tailored pitch decks, one-pagers, and proposals that curate the right assets for each brand's marketing goals rather than presenting the full inventory Structure tiered offerings with multiple entry points so every qualified prospect has a path to "yes," while protecting the value of marquee assets like front-of-jersey Maintain and refine the rate card, packaging logic, and pricing strategy in partnership with the VP of Growth Negotiate and close partnership agreements, working with legal to finalize terms Confirm category eligibility up front, operate within ACOM (Annual Commercial Opportunities Memo) guidelines, and build league office approval into every deal timeline Track production and league deadlines, and coordinate with our home venue(s) on venue-dependent inventory Partner Handoff & Team Building Partner with the Director, Partnerships Activation on creative activation concepts during the sales process and deliver clean handoffs after signature, including contracted deliverables, partner goals, and key contacts Collaborate with Activation on renewals and upsells where sales relationships add value Establish sales playbooks, collateral templates, and outreach sequences as the first person in this function Partner with the VP of Growth on org design and hiring as the partnerships team scales Qualifications 6+ years in sponsorship sales, partnership development, or media/brand partnership sales, ideally in sports, live events, or entertainment Proven track record closing six-figure, multi-asset partnership deals and consistently meeting or exceeding revenue targets Strong storytelling and presentation skills; able to sell an audience and an emerging property to marketers who are new to the sport Experience building pipeline from scratch in a lean, fast-moving organization Familiarity with sports sponsorship conventions (FOJ/uniform placement, signage, hospitality, theme nights, category exclusivity) strongly preferred Existing relationships within the Austin or Texas business community a plus Excellent negotiation, written, and verbal communication skills Comfortable working some evenings and weekends for home matches and client hosting during the season (Dec–Apr) LOVB Austin is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Nothing contained in this job description is intended to be a contract of employment, nor does any information contained herein represent a guarantee of employment for a specific duration. Employment with LOVB Austin is on an at-will basis. This means that if hired, either the employee or LOVB Austin may terminate the employment relationship at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice. The pay range for this role is: 110,000 - 115,000 USD per year (LOVB Pro Austin)