Director of Sales – Partnerships

• Lead and oversee the Sales & Partnerships team, supporting growth and development
• Manage, coach, and develop the Senior Manager, Sales & Partnerships
• Set goals, conduct one-to-ones and performance reviews, and allocate account and pipeline responsibility
• Review proposals, reporting, and written communications before they reach partners
• Develop departmental processes, best practices, strategies, policies, and procedures
• Provide management updates on deal flow, deliverable execution, campaign reporting, and event relationships
• Lead strategic initiatives and represent the Partnerships department in cross-functional leadership meetings
• Oversee partner projects and deliverables, ensuring high-quality and timely execution
• Cultivate relationships with partner stakeholders from brand and product marketing through senior leadership
• Lead partnership deliverables including activation planning, product integration, content, live events, training facilities, and team naming rights
• Build upsell plans across titles, territories, inventory, product co-development, rights, facilities, venues, and business units
• Plan, forecast, and execute renewals using performance data
• Own partner reporting on campaign performance, KPIs, audience, and media value
• Monitor account COGS and maintain margin standards
• Lead high-value partnership discussions and negotiations
• Develop and execute the North American partnership sales strategy
• Carry a personal new-business target and direct sales teams toward revenue targets
• Maintain an accurate, weekly-updated pipeline for self and direct reports
• Represent Team Liquid at industry events and build the sales network
• Develop customized, integrated proposals with cross-functional teams
• Oversee negotiation of high-value partnership agreements
• Identify new business opportunities and expand existing partnerships
• Collaborate with Brand, Marketing & Content, Talent Management, Athletics, Finance, Operations, and Legal
• Travel as needed and occasionally work outside normal business hours or on weekends

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in sales, partnerships, business development, sponsorships, or a related commercial function
• Proven experience leading and developing high-performing sales and/or partnerships teams, including coaching, mentorship, and performance management
• Demonstrated success developing and executing sales and partnership strategies that drive revenue growth and achieve commercial targets
• Strong track record of managing, growing, and renewing complex, high-value strategic partnerships
• Experience leading complex partnership negotiations and building relationships with senior executives and key decision-makers
• Strong commercial acumen and ability to identify new business opportunities, expand existing partnerships, and maximize long-term partner value
• Experience overseeing partnership campaigns and deliverables across multiple internal teams and stakeholders
• Strong strategic thinking and ability to translate organizational goals, market trends, and commercial insights into actionable strategies
• Excellent communication, presentation, negotiation, and relationship management skills
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with executive leadership and cross-functional teams
• AI fluency, including effective use of tools such as Gemini and Claude
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and make sound decisions in a fast-paced, evolving environment
• Willingness and ability to travel as needed and occasionally work outside standard business hours, including evenings and weekends
• Experience within gaming, esports, sports, media, entertainment, or other sponsorship-driven industries is a bonus
• Existing network of relationships with brands, agencies, and/or industry decision-makers is a bonus
• Experience developing global or multi-market partnerships and working across international teams is a bonus
• Experience with integrated partnerships spanning digital, social, content, events, creators, and other brand activations is a bonus
• Familiarity with CRM, sales pipeline management, reporting, and forecasting tools is a bonus
• Strong understanding of the gaming and esports ecosystem is a bonus

Core Competencies

Demonstrates extensive experience in leading sales and partnerships teams, developing and executing strategies that drive revenue growth, and managing high-value partnership negotiations. Proven ability to cultivate relationships with key stakeholders and collaborate effectively across cross-functional teams.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Sales Strategy Development
• Partnership Negotiation
• Team Leadership and Coaching
• Revenue Growth Management
• Cross-Functional Collaboration

Hard Skills

• Sales Management
• Partnership Development
• Business Development
• Performance Management
• Proposal Development
• Campaign Execution
• KPI Reporting
• Forecasting
• Account Management
• Negotiation

Soft Skills

• Communication
• Presentation
• Relationship Management
• Strategic Thinking
• Decision-Making

Industry Keywords

• Gaming
• Esports
• Sponsorships
• Media
• Entertainment
• Brand Activations
• Integrated Partnerships
• Commercial Acumen
• Stakeholder Engagement
• High-Value Partnerships

Tools & Technologies

• CRM
• Sales Pipeline Management
• Reporting Tools
• Forecasting Tools
• AI Tools