Director, Commercial

IMSA is seeking a high-performing, self-motivated, entrepreneurial leader to lead its Business Development team. This newly created role will play a critical part in accelerating revenue growth, expanding IMSA's corporate partnership portfolio, and elevating the organisation's position within the global motorsports and sports marketing landscape.

This role will be responsible for identifying, structuring, negotiating, and closing multi-year high-value sponsorship, hospitality, and experiential marketing partnerships with leading national and global brands. This individual will serve as a strategic revenue leader focused on developing integrated partnership solutions that align with client business objectives while maximising the value of IMSA assets and fan engagement platforms.

The ideal candidate brings a proven track record of success in professional sports, motorsports, entertainment, media, or agency environments, with strong executive relationships, exceptional business development capabilities, and experience managing complex partnership negotiations.

This role requires a proactive, results-oriented professional who thrives in a fast-paced, relationship-driven environment and is motivated by building long-term commercial growth.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Commercial Strategy & Revenue Growth

• Partner closely with senior leadership to establish commercial priorities, target categories, and go-to-market strategies aligned with long-term revenue objectives.
• Originate, structure, negotiate, and close multi-year corporate sponsorship, marketing, and hospitality partnerships with national and global brands.
• Drive significant new business revenue through strategic prospecting, networking, industry engagement, cold outreach, and relationship cultivation.
• Lead the full partnership sales cycle from prospect identification and consultative selling through proposal development, negotiation, and execution.
• Meet or exceed annual revenue targets, prospecting benchmarks, and pipeline development goals.
• Support annual budgeting, inventory planning, pricing strategy, and long-term commercial growth initiatives.

Partnership Development & Client Relations

• Build and maintain strong relationships with C-suite executives, brand marketers, agencies, and key industry stakeholders.
• Develop customised partnership solutions integrating sponsorship, experiential marketing, hospitality, digital activation, content, team and league assets, and fan engagement platforms.
• Establish innovative marketing and hospitality initiatives designed to enhance partner ROI and create premium race weekend experiences.
• Represent IMSA at race weekends, industry conferences, networking events, and corporate meetings to strengthen market presence and expand business opportunities.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Execution

• Collaborate cross-functionally with Brand Marketing, Digital Communications, Partnership Marketing, Administration, and Event Operations teams to develop partnership proposals that meet both prospect and organisational objectives.
• Maintain accurate sales forecasting, pipeline reporting, and account activity within CRM systems.
• Analyse industry trends, competitive dynamics, audience insights, and emerging categories to identify new revenue opportunities and inform commercial strategy.
• Support the development of future partnership products across media, digital, content, data, and fan engagement platforms.
• Perform additional duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Directly oversees the Manager, Business Development, including coaching, performance management, and leadership support. Provides strategic direction and cross-functional leadership for commercial partnership initiatives and business development efforts.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Sports Management, Communications, or related field required.
• 10–15 years of progressive experience in sponsorship sales, corporate partnerships, business development, or commercial strategy within professional sports, motorsports, media, entertainment, hospitality, or related agency environments.
• Proven success generating significant new revenue and closing complex six- and seven-figure partnership agreements.
• Strong understanding of sponsorship valuation, integrated marketing partnerships, premium hospitality, experiential activation, and fan engagement strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to prospect, cultivate, negotiate, and close high-level business opportunities independently.
• Established executive presence with the ability to engage, influence, and present effectively to C-level stakeholders and senior decision-makers.
• Strong financial acumen, including experience with revenue forecasting, pricing strategy, and deal structuring.
• Exceptional communication, presentation, negotiation, and relationship-management skills.
• Self-motivated, competitive, and highly driven with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, performance-oriented environment.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining attention to detail and executional excellence.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and CRM platforms, including Microsoft Dynamics 365 or similar systems.
• Willingness to travel and work evenings, weekends, and race events as business needs require.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in motorsports, automotive partnerships, luxury lifestyle brands, or premium sports properties.
• Background working within a sanctioning body, sports league, team, media company, or global sports marketing agency.
• Existing network of corporate brand and agency relationships across key sponsorship categories.
• Experience developing integrated sponsorship programs across digital, experiential, hospitality, and media platforms.
• Knowledge of emerging trends in sports marketing, fan engagement, and premium partnership strategy.

Work Environment & Physical Requirements

Primarily office-based with extended periods of sitting and computer use. Ability to travel and support race weekends, industry conferences, partner meetings, and business events as required. Ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments while managing multiple priorities and stakeholder relationships.