United Soccer League
Job Title: Sr. Vice President, Partnership Marketing
Position Type: Full time
Location: Tampa, FL (USL Headquarters)
Overview of the United Soccer League (USL)
The United Soccer League (USL) is the heartbeat of American soccer. Impacting more than 200 communities across the United States, the USL is the first and only soccer organization in the United States to build a youth-to-professional pathway for both men and women within one ecosystem. That structure includes three professional leagues: Gainbridge Super League (women), USL Championship (men), and USL League One (men); two pre-professional leagues: USL League Two (men) and the USL W League (women); and two youth platforms: USL Academy and USL Youth.
Authentic, vital, and exciting, the USL is dedicated to providing an inclusive and memorable soccer experience for players, fans, and communities across our growing "soccer nation."
Group Overview
The Partnerships team is charged with driving new business revenue generation via strategic, integrated partnerships alongside the retention of existing partners delivering a first-class service that delivers and exceeds partner objectives. The team sets the short and long-term commercial strategy, including platform creation, that drives enterprise-wide value for the league and its teams.
Position Overview
The Sr. Vice President, Partnership Marketing will lead the strategy, fulfillment, and relationship management efforts for all national partnerships across the USL. This role will oversee a growing team responsible for delivering best-in-class service, activation, and creative solutions for the league’s portfolio of partners, ensuring that every relationship drives measurable value and long-term growth for both the partner and the league, with a focus on partner satisfaction, retention, and renewal.
This role requires a dynamic leader who can balance strategic vision with operational excellence, serving as the primary relationship lead for key partners and driving collaboration across USL departments, leagues, clubs, and media platforms.
Duties and Responsibilities
Specific duties include, but are not limited to:
- Build and lead a high-performing Partnership Marketing department, cultivating a culture of creativity, accountability, and client service excellence while mentoring staff for continued growth.
- Develop and implement partnership marketing strategy aligned with the league’s commercial, brand, and fan engagement goals.
- Partner closely with the EVP, Corporate Development & Partnerships and the broader leadership team to align partner marketing strategy with overall business objectives.
- Foster collaboration across departments, including Marketing, Communications, Events, Merchandise, Operations, and Legal to ensure seamless delivery of partnership activations and brand integration across all platforms.
- Serve as a subject matter expert of the USL in partner meetings, presentations, and industry events.
- Serve as the senior relationship lead for strategic partners, driving alignment with each partner’s business objectives and delivering measurable impact.
- Oversee the execution of all partnership marketing deliverables, including broadcast/media integrations, digital and social campaigns, in-venue activations, and community initiatives.
- Collaborate with the Marketing and Communications teams to develop storytelling strategies that elevate partner visibility and reinforce USL’s brand positioning.
- Identify opportunities for national partners to activate at the local level, working closely with USL clubs to strengthen network-wide value.
- Manage third-party agencies and vendors supporting partnership fulfillment, creative production, and measurement.
- Establish performance metrics and reporting systems.
- Deliver regular insights and recap reports to partners and internal stakeholders, demonstrating ROI and opportunities for growth.
- Manage partnership budgets, ensuring efficient allocation of resources and fiscal accountability.
- Develop renewal strategies and timelines leading processes internally and externally.
- Stay current with industry trends, technologies, and best practices in partnership marketing and sports sponsorship.
- Other duties/responsibilities as assigned.
Qualifications
- 10+ years of extensive and proven integrated marketing experience with demonstrated success in the media, sport sponsorship or entertainment fields.
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field, or equivalent experience/combined education.
- Team, League, and/or Agency experience preferred.
- Strong leadership abilities are required. Must have prior people leadership experience.
- Strong presentation abilities are required.
- Proven track record of successful partnership renewals.
- Established partner contacts and strong relationships within a variety of industries.
- Deep knowledge of marketing channels, including social media, digital, broadcast, and experiential activations, with the ability to integrate them into partnership campaigns.
- Ability to work well within tight deadlines and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills to effectively interact with team members, executives, member clubs, and external partners.
- Ability to work independently in a multi-faceted, fast, fluid, and deadline-driven environment.
- Positive attitude and strong work ethic a must.
- Ability to work as business needs require which may include long days, evenings, weekends, occasional holidays, and travel if / when necessary.
- Must have U.S. work authorization.
Work Environment
Based in Tampa, FL, USL Headquarters provides a vibrant and open working environment designed to promote collaboration, the exchange of ideas, and knowledge sharing. We believe in fostering a culture that encourages creativity, communication, and teamwork.
Currently, USL HQ operates on a hybrid work model. From Monday to Thursday, team members gather in person to harness the power of face-to-face collaboration. This not only strengthens the bonds within the team but also enhances communication and innovation. On Fridays, we transition to a remote work setup, providing our team with the flexibility to manage their tasks in an environment of their choosing.
Typical USL HQ hours are Monday – Friday 8:30am – 5:30pm ET. Evenings, weekends, occasional holidays, and travel may be necessary based on business demands.
We have great Perks - Comprehensive Benefits Package • Medical, Dental, Vision • Health HSA and FSA • 401k w/ up to 6% company match • Pet Insurance • Corporate Discounts • Paid Vacation, Holiday & Sick Days • Business Casual Dress • Optional Remote Work Fridays • And More!
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.
