Vice President of Business Development (VP)
In many organizations, the VP of Business Development is also the head of marketing. This person wears many hats, overseeing all marketing efforts from game day promotions and grassroots efforts, to branding campaigns and regional media. In addition to managing the members of the business development team, the VP must liaise on a regular basis with other internal executives, as well as major stakeholders (e.g., investors). The position entails significant travel to meetings with corporate partners, league/organization meetings, and executive retreats and conferences. The VP acts as a spokesperson for the organization’s marketing efforts on a regular basis, and therefore must have exemplary public speaking skills and articulation.
In addition to the responsibilities and skills required for lower levels of management, a VP at a sports marketing company must:
- Have proven sales abilities with an established network of contacts and relationships in the sports industry and corporate sectors
- Have a record of success in mentoring and staff management
- Demonstrate an ability to create, implement and manage departmental goals and revenue/expense budgets
In order to work at this level, one must have between 8 and 10 years of relevant work experience, 4 to 5 of which should be in an upper management role. A VP candidate should have experience working as an account executive and director. In addition, many people move horizontally into a VP position from other organizations. In this case, work experience might include league and team brand management, marketing strategy, and sales management. Sports experience at some level is a necessity, but experience in other sectors can be helpful as well. A Bachelor’s degree is required and a Master’s is extremely beneficial. Base salary ranges for this sports careers option are from $75,000 to $150,000.