Leads enterprise media and sponsorship strategy, planning, investment, negotiation, vendor relationships, budgeting, and performance optimization. Manages sponsorship portfolios across sports, nonprofit, and community partnerships; aligns initiatives with brand and business objectives; advises stakeholders; and leads a small team while supporting integrated marketing programs.
About the Role:
Baird is seeking a Media & Sponsorship Manager to lead the strategy, planning, and execution of media and sponsorship investments across the firm. This role connects business priorities to effective media and partnership strategies, ensuring investments are well-managed, measurable, and aligned to brand and growth objectives. Serving as both a strategic advisor and hands-on contributor, you will partner across Marketing & Communications, business units, community partners, and external vendors to deliver integrated, high-quality programs while leading and developing a small team.
The Impact You'll Make:
- Develop and execute media and sponsorship strategies aligned to brand and business objectives
- Guide mix of media investments, across a broad set of channels, overseeing budget allocations and campaign timing decisions across initiatives
- Identify emerging media and sponsorship opportunities and recommend innovative approaches while balancing stakeholder priorities
- Evaluate, negotiate, and manage sponsorship and naming rights investments across sports, nonprofit, and community partnerships
- Build and manage sponsorship portfolios aligned to firm and business-unit priorities
- Translate media and sponsorship investments into measurable business and marketing outcomes
- Serve as a trusted advisor to Marketing & Communications and business stakeholders
- Partner with marketing colleagues to translate business objectives into actionable media and sponsorship strategies
- Build and maintain strong relationships with vendors, partners, and internal teams
- Monitor performance against goals and leverage data and insights to optimize outcomes
- Manage budgets with discipline, accountability, and transparency
- Ensure high-quality, consistent execution across multiple initiatives and workstreams
- Lead the media and sponsorship function, including managing and developing a team while remaining actively engaged in key initiatives
What You’ll Bring to Baird:
- Bachelor’s degree in Advertising, Marketing, Business, or related field or equivalent combination of education and experience
- 7+ years of experience in media research, planning, buying, and sponsorship strategy
- Financial services experience is preferred
- Experience supporting enterprise-level initiatives and multiple business units with aligned strategies and an ability to connect marketing investments to business outcomes
- Excellent negotiation skills and understanding of how to add incremental value and communicate that to our clients
- Experience in leading people and building a team
- Strong understanding of both traditional and digital media channels as well as sponsorship marketing
- Experience and knowledge of Salesforce, RFP processes, demos and selection of media and sponsorship planning/buying software tools
- Familiarity in using AI tools, especially for tasks like ideation and research
- Proven ability to manage vendor relationships, work across teams and influence stakeholders at all levels
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail
Compensation and Total Rewards Package:
- $102,000 - $156,900 annual salary range
- Bonus potential up to 25% of base salary
- Compensation and bonus are commensurate with experience, performance and/or firm profitability and location
- Check out our Total Rewards at Baird, which is a summary of our benefits and compensation
- Candidates based in Chicago must work from the Milwaukee office four days per week during their first year of employment
#LI-AK1
Baird is committed to diversity and provides employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, citizenship, national origin, age, disability, military service, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or any other status protected by law.
Baird Chicago, Illinois, USA Office
227 West Monroe Street, Chicago, IL, United States, 60606
Similar Jobs
Other • Utilities
Owns the end-to-end lifecycle of technical network products, including vision, strategy, roadmap, backlog, requirements, delivery, and production performance. Conducts customer and market research, translates network capabilities into product specifications, and coordinates cross-functional releases. Partners with sales, network engineering, and enterprise customers to assess feasibility, improve customer outcomes, monetize network capacity, and drive growth.
Top Skills:
5GAgile SdlcLteScrum
Events • Food • Travel • Hospitality • Hotels & Resorts
Supervise the overnight front office team, ensuring effective check-ins, check-outs, guest service, task assignments, training, and shift coverage. Resolve guest concerns and escalated issues, monitor lobby flow, and maintain service efficiency. Complete and verify night audit activities, including hotel charges and postings, while creating a welcoming guest experience.
Events • Food • Travel • Hospitality • Hotels & Resorts
Cleans and maintains assigned hotel guest rooms, including bedrooms and bathrooms; makes beds; dusts, vacuums, and performs deep cleaning as needed. Replenishes linens, towels, amenities, and supplies; stocks and transports housekeeping carts; responds courteously to guest requests; and disposes of trash and recyclables appropriately.
What you need to know about the Chicago Tech Scene
With vibrant neighborhoods, great food and more affordable housing than either coast, Chicago might be the most liveable major tech hub. It is the birthplace of modern commodities and futures trading, a national hub for logistics and commerce, and home to the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association. This diverse blend of industry influences has helped Chicago emerge as a major player in verticals like fintech, biotechnology, legal tech, e-commerce and logistics technology. It’s also a major hiring center for tech companies on both coasts.
Key Facts About Chicago Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 245,800; 5.2% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: McDonald’s, John Deere, Boeing, Morningstar
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, biotechnology, fintech, software, logistics technology
- Funding Landscape: $2.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Arch Venture Partners, MATH Venture Partners, Jump Capital, Hyde Park Venture Partners
- Research Centers and Universities: Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Illinois Institute of Technology, Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
