General Manager - Little Rock Athletics Sponsorships

About Van Wagner College

Van Wagner’s College division is the fastest growing company in the industry and now manages the corporate sponsorship and multimedia rights for over 50 NCAA athletic departments and conferences spanning the entire continental United States. We work with our partners to identify and create advertising, marketing, and promotional opportunities for sponsor businesses, across mediums including TV & Radio broadcasts, websites, social media, digital and fixed signage, print media, e-newsletters, fan experiences, event activations, and much more.

About the General Manager Role

As a representative of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, you will build and maintain positive working relationships with local and regional businesses, the campus community, and especially the athletics department.  You will work with existing sponsor businesses to grow and extend their partnerships with the school as well as prospecting, scheduling, and conducting initial discovery meetings with new businesses that would benefit from associating with the school.
 The General Manager will prepare and present top-notch PowerPoint proposals to new businesses that thoughtfully story tell what the partnerships can look like, negotiate with new businesses to secure new sponsors, draft and coordinate agreements, and manage all relevant information in our division-wide database. The General Manager and their team will also fulfill the terms of agreements that provide advertising, marketing, and promotional benefits to sponsor businesses. This can include platforms such as TV & Radio broadcasts, websites, social media, digital and fixed signage, print media, e-newsletters, fan experiences, event activations, and much more.    

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Overall revenue generation and cost containment for the business operation

• As a representative of the University/Conference, you will build and maintain positive working relationships with local and regional businesses, the campus community, and especially the athletics department

• Development and implementation of an annual business plan that will allow the Partnership to maximize revenue, exposure for the institutional brand, and value to the corporate partners involved with the program

• Management of expenses of the venture according to an agreed-upon annual budget

• Management of the overall sponsorship fulfillment and execution, including direct client services duties for sponsor accounts

• Serve as a primary point of contact for the institution’s current sponsors.  Work with decision-makers at these companies to extend and increase their commitment to the school. 

• Manage the relevant reporting of financial information for sales revenue as well as operations of the program to all pertinent parties.

• Plan and manage internal communications and awareness of corporate and University direction, mission, and goals in the marketplace

• Develop and maintain relationships with top University Administrators

• Work with existing sponsors to grow and extend their partnerships with the school 

• Prospecting, scheduling, and conducting initial discovery meetings with new businesses that would benefit from associating with the school or conference

• Prepare and present top-notch PowerPoint proposals to new businesses that thoughtfully story tell what the partnerships can look like

• Negotiate with new businesses to secure new sponsors

• Draft and coordinate agreements, managing all relevant information in our database

• Fulfill the terms of agreements that provide advertising, marketing, and promotional benefits to sponsor businesses. This can include platforms such as TV & Radio broadcasts, websites, social media, digital and fixed signage, print media, e-newsletters, fan experiences, event activations, and much more.

• Collaborate with the other team members on game days for sponsor activations as well as the entertainment of current or prospective sponsors

• Capture proof of performance examples and provide summaries to share with sponsors

• Update new business development activities in the CRM system (currently Salesforce)

 What We’re Looking For:

• Experience working in marketing, advertising, sales, or events

• Ability to work flexible hours, including some evenings, weekends, and on rare occasions, holidays

• Great interpersonal communication skills and professionalism

• Energetic and self-motivated attitude

• Strong organizational skills

• Proficiency with Salesforce, Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, and Excel

• Experience working in marketing, advertising, sales, or events

• Ability to work flexible hours, including some evenings, weekends, and on rare occasions, holidays

• Great interpersonal communication skills and professionalism 

• Energetic and self-motivated attitude 

• Strong organizational skills

• Proficiency with Salesforce, Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, and Excel

• Have a clean driving record

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.