Head of Partnerships & Brand Sponsorships

About the role

Contrarian Thinking, a media, advisory and investment firm, is looking for a Head of Partnerships & Sponsorships in Austin, TX. The role owns all brand, sponsorship and partnership revenue across its media assets (podcasts, YouTube, newsletter, social, live events) and aims to grow it into an 8-figure business. It sits at the intersection of media, events, marketing and finance, reports to the President and is full-time in the office.

Key responsibilities

• Define how sponsorships are packaged and sold across all media assets, and build the rate card, inventory calendar and brand-safety guardrails
• Build and work a pipeline of category partners, pitch big ideas to brand executives and agencies, negotiate and close deals
• Manage deals from contract through delivery and renewal, protect creative integrity and report partner ROI
• Vet and manage affiliate and community partners, and grow affiliate and referral programs
• Build the CRM pipeline, contracts process and dashboards, and hire and lead the partnerships team
• Report weekly to the President on pipeline, booked revenue and delivery

Required profile

• 8-10+ years in brand partnerships, sponsorship sales or business development, including leading a sponsorship revenue function at scale
• Track record of personally closing 7-figure brand deals and owning 8-figure partnership revenue, ideally category partnerships
• Existing relationships with brand-side marketing leaders and agencies
• Experience building a sponsorship function from scratch, including packaging, pricing, process and team
• Experience selling across podcast, YouTube, newsletter and live events, and having hired and led a partnerships or sales team

Required skills

• Strong negotiation and clear, concise writing of pitches and briefs
• Comfortable with data: CRM, platform analytics and partner reporting
• Use of AI tools for research, pitching and reporting

What we offer

• Company-paid health, dental and vision for full-time employees, with unlimited PTO and 8 paid US holidays
• Direct deposit twice a month and a 401(k) option
• Free access to deal-making and business acquisition courses

To apply, send a resume and a short video walkthrough of a brand partnership or sponsorship you closed.