Sponsorships Manager

📋 Description

• • Ground News is seeking two dynamic and results-oriented Sponsorships Managers to join its growing Sponsorships team. This pivotal role is designed for individuals who excel at building and nurturing relationships, with a strong focus on driving tangible subscriber growth through strategic creator partnerships. You will be instrumental in managing the entire lifecycle of creator sponsorships, from initial outreach and negotiation to the meticulous execution and insightful analysis of campaign performance. This position offers a unique opportunity to operate at the nexus of sales marketing, content strategy, and operational execution, making a direct impact on Ground News's mission to foster a more informed and open-minded public discourse.
• • As a Sponsorships Manager, your day-to-day responsibilities will be multifaceted and engaging. You will be tasked with proactively identifying, cultivating, and managing robust relationships with a diverse range of creators, their representatives, and relevant agencies across key platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, podcasts, and newsletters. A significant part of your role will involve leading and expertly navigating deal negotiations, meticulously balancing Ground News's critical performance targets with the legitimate expectations of our creator partners. This requires a keen ability to evaluate potential creators not just on their reach, but more importantly, on the quality and authenticity of their audience engagement and their alignment with Ground News's core mission and values. You will be empowered to make decisive go/no-go decisions on partnerships and drive deals to successful closure, demonstrating a strategic understanding of when to apply pressure, when to hold firm on pricing, and how to effectively create a sense of urgency without jeopardizing the long-term health of the relationship.
• • Beyond the initial deal-making, you will own the complete campaign execution process, from the moment a contract is signed through to the post-launch performance review. This includes developing comprehensive and clear creator briefs that provide essential performance direction while crucially preserving the unique and authentic voice of each creator. You will act as a central point of contact, coordinating closely with internal content and analytics teams to ensure all sponsored campaigns are not only on-brand but also strategically set up for optimal performance and conversion. Your role extends to meticulously tracking and reporting on key campaign metrics, including impressions, clicks, installs, and ultimately, subscriptions, with a strong emphasis on Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). The insights derived from this data will be paramount, requiring you to translate raw numbers into actionable recommendations for optimization and future strategy. You will be expected to proactively identify trends and patterns in campaign performance, pinpointing what strategies are succeeding and which require adjustment, and to present well-formed hypotheses to leadership before escalating issues.
• • Furthermore, you will collaborate closely with the analytics team to refine and enhance our reporting practices, continuously striving to improve conversion rates across the entire creator funnel. A key aspect of this role involves identifying strategic opportunities to deepen relationships with high-performing creators, potentially expanding successful collaborations into longer-term, multi-platform partnerships. Staying acutely aware of evolving platform trends, shifts in creator dynamics, and audience consumption habits will be essential to ensuring your strategies remain relevant and effective in the fast-paced digital landscape. You will also play a vital role in the development and documentation of playbooks and standardized processes, contributing significantly to the team's efficiency and scalability as Ground News continues to grow.
• • The team at Ground News is dedicated to building a more nuanced understanding of the news and fostering critical engagement with media. As a company, Ground News is recognized for its innovative approach to news comparison, its commitment to combating media distrust, and its unique reader-supported business model that eschews algorithmic manipulation for advertising. The platform has received significant accolades, including being #1 on Product Hunt, a finalist for the Apple Design Awards in Social Impact, and a multi-time winner of US App of the Day, highlighting its impact and innovation.
• • This role offers a unique chance to contribute to a mission-driven organization that is actively working to promote civil debate and media accountability. You will gain invaluable experience working alongside a talented and dedicated team, co-founded by individuals with backgrounds in engineering and consulting, who prioritize professional and personal growth. The opportunity to shape the development of Ground News products and influence its growth trajectory in a remote-first environment provides a compelling career advancement path.