Director, Talent Strategy

Sits within the Talent & Creator Marketing division and focuses primarily on traditional talent, including professional athletes, celebrities, musicians and other prominent personalities. The postholder leads strategic talent workstreams across ongoing agency-of-record relationships and standalone client projects, from defining the role of talent in a brand's broader marketing strategy through to identifying opportunities, evaluating talent, developing recommendations and negotiating partnerships. The position supports brands in navigating the talent landscape and building impactful partnerships across sport, entertainment, music and culture.

• Develop talent strategies aligned to clients' business objectives, target audiences, brand positioning and broader sports, entertainment and cultural marketing priorities.
• Identify and evaluate athletes, celebrities, musicians and other talent on the basis of brand fit, audience relevance, cultural impact, commercial value and potential risk, and stay ahead of emerging talent, cultural trends, representation dynamics and the evolving economics of talent partnerships.
• Build strategic frameworks, talent shortlists, partnership recommendations and compelling client presentations that clearly articulate the rationale and opportunity.
• Advise clients on how talent can support long-term brand platforms, sponsorships, experiential programmes, content, ambassador relationships and other marketing initiatives.
• Lead talent outreach, availability and interest checks, fee assessments, offer development and negotiations with agents, managers and other representatives.
• Structure and manage deals spanning appearances, endorsements, ambassador programmes, content, usage, exclusivity and other partnership rights.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships across agencies, management companies, talent representatives and the broader sports and entertainment industry.
• Own day-to-day talent strategy workstreams across multiple agency-of-record accounts and project-based engagements, serving as a client-facing lead, navigating feedback and collaborating with account leadership, sponsorship strategy, creative, social and experiential teams.
• Manage projects from strategic brief through recommendation, procurement and handoff to activation teams, maintaining clear timelines, budgets and communication.
• Contribute to new business pitches, scopes of work and proposals, and support the growth and scalability of the division by refining internal processes, workflows and resources and providing guidance and feedback to junior team members.

• 7+ years of relevant experience in talent strategy, talent partnerships, endorsements, sports or entertainment marketing, or talent representation.
• Demonstrated experience developing talent recommendations and advising brands beyond individual campaign execution.
• Strong knowledge of professional sports, entertainment and music talent, including representation structures, deal economics and partnership considerations.
• Hands-on experience negotiating talent deals and evaluating fees, deliverables, usage rights and exclusivity.
• Ability to translate broad client business challenges into sharp strategic recommendations and polished, persuasive presentations.
• Established relationships with talent agents, managers and industry partners, or a proven ability to build them.
• Excellent client management, communication and project leadership skills, with the judgement to manage multiple accounts and priorities independently.
• Collaborative, resourceful and detail-oriented, with strong commercial instincts and a willingness to roll up your sleeves.
• Experience supporting new business development and developing talent strategies for brands across different industries.
• Is not eligible for sponsorship.

• Agency experience is strongly preferred.

• Eligible for a discretionary bonus

• Eligible for company benefits

Excel Sports Management is an industry-leading sports agency representing top-tier talent, blue-chip brands and marquee properties.