For over 25 years, IJM has pioneered the work to protect vulnerable people from violence. 9 out of 9 times in the last decade, IJM’s Justice System Strengthening Projects have reduced slavery and violence between 50 and 85% for very large populations of people in poverty. As we grow to expand our impact to protect 500 million people from violence, we are seeking a Sr. Brand Partnerships Officer, Athletes to build and maintain a portfolio of pro athlete relationships and sports industry partnerships that build IJM's brand awareness and raise critical resources to enable IJM’s missional growth. 

 
This role is built for an inspirational leader who can develop and execute the strategy to find, engage and convert professional athlete prospects into active major donors and pro champions, building lasting partnerships with athletes who use their platforms in the fight against slavery and violence as part of IJM's athlete community, Team Freedom. 

 
This position is hybrid (onsite Tuesdays & Thursdays) if located in the Washington, DC area or remote for non-local candidates. It reports to Director of Brand Partnerships, Global Marketing and is only available for candidates with the right to work in the US. 

• Represent IJM’s mission through public speaking and media interviews at the highest levels across global sport and culture; 

• Serve as a leader in the Team Freedom community, inspiring and mobilizing a movement of freedom; 

• Present compelling fundraising opportunities to groups and individuals within the pro athlete community, through public speaking or individualized proposals and high-level 1:1 meetings; 

• Design and recruit for trips to IJM’s field offices and other experiences that bring pro athletes close to the heart of IJM’s mission, to inspire prospective pro athlete champions and encourage and retain current champions.

• Identify, cultivate and solicit new pro athlete donors or sports-related partners who want to use their platforms to build awareness of IJM’s mission through marketing campaign integration and bespoke platform activation opportunities across marketing channels like social media, media outlets like TV, news and magazines, and more, to reach an audience of 10M people annually; 

• Build and manage a portfolio of 100+ current pro athlete champions and prospects, raising $1M in revenue annually from pro athlete families and the campaigns, events and activations they host; 

• Qualify leads and cultivate relationships to convert prospects to active donors by securing the first gift, with donors who can give $10k or more annually; 

• Identify strategic uses of pro athlete platforms to accelerate IJM’s program work, like securing high-level meetings in program office locations that meaningfully contribute to program outcomes. 

• Lead strategy and collaborate with internal creative teams to bring to life campaigns and platform activations connected to pro athlete portfolio of relationships that can reach millions of people with IJM’s mission; 

• Lead strategy for event format, programming, recruitment and fundraising tactics for events hosted or co-hosted by pro athletes or sports industry partners within portfolio; 

• Collaborate effectively with Brand Partnerships associates who facilitate event logistics, providing strategic guidance and decision-making; 

• Facilitate 1:1 meetings with athlete donors and communicate their impact by preparing fundraising proposal or impact report documents 

• Work collaboratively with other members of the partnership team to develop best practices and key learnings; 

• Support the work of the pro athlete advisory committee; 

• Work with marketing teams to proactively develop resources needed to leverage partner relationships; 

• Report portfolio activity and progress against KPIs to the Director of Brand Partnerships on a regular basis and as requested; 

• Ensure portfolio data hygiene, including logging donor interactions, portfolio management, donor communications, forecasting and results analysis; 

• Book travellogisticsfor portfolio-related travel; and

• Participation in IJM’s community of spiritual formation.

• 7+ years of demonstrated success delivering results in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment; 

• 7+ years of direct experience working with professional athletes and their families; 

• 7+ years of experience in high-level marketing, sales, or major donor fundraising;