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Senior Director, Partnership and Licensing, EA SPORTS

Sr. Director, Business Development – EA SPORTS Partnerships and Licensing

Vancouver, BC

OVERVIEW

EA’s Business Development team provides a central organization for the structuring, negotiation and execution of third-party partnerships, including licensing, technology deals, platform relationships and publishing partnerships. We work closely with internal businesses to shape EA’s future.

The Business Development team is seeking a Sr. Director of Business Development, EA SPORTS Partnerships and Licensing who is capable of leading the management of external partnerships on behalf of EA SPORTS as well as identifying new business opportunities, gaining strategic alignment and broad deal negotiation on behalf of the EA on behalf of the EA SPORTS brand and its various brands and franchises. The role has a heavy focus on supporting portfolio objectives and partnering with the various EA SPORTS businesses while leading the efforts around developing new and managing existing partnerships with professional sports leagues and player associations, 3 rd party brands, technology and content for products in the EA SPORTS portfolio.

The ideal candidate will have a good understanding of contractual elements and principled negotiation techniques. They will have a good understanding of trends across tech, entertainment and gaming industries. This candidate will use their knowledge to build objectives, shape strategies and tactical executions in order to provide creative solutions/achieve goals in effective and sustainable ways. The candidate will be able to post-mortem key projects through measurable KPI’s and be able to provide clear recommendations and efficiencies that can be implemented for future projects across EA SPORTS’ portfolio of products and experiences.

This role is ideal for an individual who can work independently to manage specified business development and strategic partnership functions. They will be comfortable with ambiguity and will use knowledge and skill set via EA’s internal processes to accomplish a variety of complex issues in creative ways. They will work regularly with EA business leaders of all levels (director and above) and will occasionally present to, or lead pitches, with senior leaders at external partners.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as principal negotiator on certain commercial agreements; manage drafting of legal terms and the contracting process; build and maintain strong partnerships.
• Drive the modeling, research and evaluation of deal opportunities.
• Work with finance, legal and other internal teams to initiate and manage partnerships.
• Liaise with core commercial/marketing teams to ensure all activity is coordinated from a sales cycle and brand perspective.
• Demonstrate expertise in the competitor landscape with expert knowledge of industry best practices.
• Capable of forming and expressing opinions on company strategy to internal EA stakeholders with an emphasis on 3 rd party strategic partnerships for EA SPORTS.
• Evaluates EA business needs and identifies achievable solutions to meet internal business goals and areas of opportunity.
• Actively maintains an understanding of the games, sports and entertainment industries and maintains solid relationships with potential external partners and internal clients.
• Utilize internal partnerships and leverage external relationships that enhance the team's effectiveness
• Clear understanding of prevalent cultural trends with opportunity audiences in order to provide expertise and guidance on an approach across EA SPORTS’ products both in-game and out-of-game.
• Lead in the development of an Organizational Structure and Job Family Matrix an expanding and evolving Business Development group in the future.
• Partner and provide value to franchise teams by helping drive licensor relationships with a focus on key business reporting, larger franchise strategic initiatives and optimizing current deal points.

CAPABILITIES

• Typically requires a minimum of 10+ years of related business development, brand, marketing, product development and/or business development experience
• Preferred previous experience in the video game industry as well as web 3.0.
• Comprehensive knowledge of the game industry business trends.
• Ability to communicate effectively and tactfully, both orally and in writing with EA Business Leaders and external studio management.
• Experience in all aspects of developing and managing business partnerships.
• A proven ability to negotiate contracts at all management levels.