About LOVB (League One Volleyball):
League One Volleyball (LOVB) is reimagining women's sports. Launched in 2019, our company is a mission-led sports performance, training and media enterprise that will change the game of volleyball in the USA and empower new generations of female athletes.
 
It is a groundbreaking time for volleyball in the US with our historic triple Olympic Gold medals in Women's Indoor, Beach and Sitting Volleyball. Volleyball is already the #1 most played girls'  youth sport. There are 38M current and former players today. Of major sports, it's the only one that is women-first (~90% of players are female). But the volleyball market has been almost entirely missed by traditional sports investors, brands, and media.
 
LOVB is capturing this opportunity by creating a strong club business, and from that built-in audience and fandom, is creating the best Pro League in the world and a digital ecosystem that will  connect all aspects of LOVB. This community-up approach will drive participation and fandom, while enabling greater empowerment for girls and young women living this amazing sport. In  this role, you will join a mission-driven, roll-up-your-sleeves team of innovators and builders who have come together to change the paradigm of professional volleyball and women’s sports.

Department Code & Name: Media & Content

FLSA Status: Exempt

Location: Remote (U.S.-based) with roughly 25% travel required   

Job Level & Type: Individual Contributor

Job Summary:

The Director, Creators, Influencers & Athlete Development will play a critical role in helping LOVB and its athletes (pro & youth) reach new audiences. This role will not only identify & on-board a creator/influencer network, but will also advise & assist LOVB pros & youth club members to help build their personal brands.This role will also own execution of LOVB’s athlete marketing agreements, working in close partnership with the Pro Marketing team to deliver on contracted athlete marketing commitments. Reporting into the Sr. Director, Content & Strategy, this person will:

• Build and cultivate a network of creators who deliver consistent, year-round storytelling that scales across key tentpole moments
• Manage influencer & celebrity relationships for promotional & sponsorship content opportunities
• Create & maintain a content advisory practice that serves both pro & club
• Partner with NIL & College Relations coordinator to ensure youth-to-pro symbiosis
• Own execution of athlete marketing agreement deliverables in partnership with Pro Marketing

This role is ideal for someone who has a history of working with creators, influencers, celebrities, & athletes. They have their finger on the pulse of creator trends as much as they have a deep understanding of volleyball culture. They can juggle multiple on-going workstreams and pride themselves on staying ahead of deadlines. Experience managing athlete marketing agreements and cross-functional collaboration with a marketing team is strongly preferred.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Creator Network

• Identify & on-board volleyball creators ranging from videographers, editors, commentators & photographers, both in front of and behind the camera
• Work with SDCS to create rubric for evaluating, pricing, prioritizing creators to maximize creator budget
• Own full pipeline of creator network from identification to contracting to scheduling to providing feedback
• Partner with content, merch, marketing, legal, & internal NIL teams to ensure that overall needs of the businesses are being met
• Obsess over finding the next great creator, trend, &/or platform

2. Influencer Management

• Identify & on-board celebrities & influencers who allow LOVB and its athletes to reach new and different audiences
• Coordinate with Marketing & Partnerships teams to recognize opportunities for bringing in influencers for promotional & sponsored tentpoles and campaigns
• Strategically identify and contract celebrity attendees to specific LOVB Pro matches & activations
• Work with Partnerships team on contract negotiation, potential paid promotion from influencer account, plus invoicing, & payment

3. LOVB Pro Athlete Advisement

• Partner with Athlete Success team to create consultancy program that elevates brand-building capabilities for LOVB Pros
• Manage formal program for athlete social & content, including training modules & materials for athletes around social media best practices & advisement
• Create process for athlete advisement on repeatable, consistent content creation + social media management
• Facilitate remote or in-person brainstorming & feedback sessions for interested athletes
• Capture, edit and develop content with LOVB athletes for tentpole moments for the athletes and the league 

4. LOVB Clubs Athlete Social Media Training Oversight

• Partner with Clubs Marketing to identify and prioritize needs surrounding social media and brand-building best practices
• Create bespoke &/or adapt existing social media best practices materials for LOVB Club athletes, coaches, and clubs
• Facilitate & co-lead annual (or bi-annual) social media training seminars in a remote, on-site, or hybrid format

5. Athlete Marketing Agreement Execution

• Serve as the operational owner for executing deliverables outlined in LOVB Pro athlete marketing agreements
• Partner closely with the Pro Marketing team to understand contracted commitments and build execution timelines for each athlete
• Coordinate with internal stakeholders (content, partnerships, legal, social) to fulfill agreement obligations including appearances, social activations, content creation, and sponsor integrations
• Track and report on agreement fulfillment status, flagging risks or gaps to Pro Marketing and leadership as needed
• Serve as a key point of contact for athletes and their representatives regarding marketing agreement logistics

Must Haves:

• 7+ years of experience in sports social media and marketing
• Built a creator or influencer network
• Content creation experience working directly with professional or student-athletes
• Proficiency in necessary tools & products needed for social media content creation, including but not limited to phone content capture, CapCut (or comparable) video editing, & Adobe Express (or comparable) photo editing
• Strong understanding and POV on social media trends, best practices, & emerging trends
• High attention to detail and organization paired with strong critical thinking; proven ability to track many deliverables simultaneously without losing sight of quality or deadlines.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; comfortable interfacing with celebrities and pro athletes
• Understanding of volleyball culture and do’s & don’t’s within that space
• Experience executing athlete marketing agreements or managing contracted athlete deliverables
• Comfortable operating cross-functionally

Nice to Haves:

• Experience in a league, team, network, streamer, or rights-holder environment
• Videography capabilities with SLR or comparable camera type
• Proficiency in Adobe suite of creative tools (Premiere, Photoshop, etc.)

Personal Attributes

• Thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with shifting priorities.
• Solutions-oriented and able to identify when to escalate issues or challenges.
• Strong collaborator with excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Capable of working independently while effectively partnering with a distributed, remote team.
• Positive, proactive, organized, and creative - brings fresh ideas to problem-solving.
• Highly adaptable and eager to learn in a rapidly evolving environment.

Work Environment & Physical Requirements (Remote):

• Ability to operate a computer and use a keyboard, mouse, and video conferencing tools.
• Ability to clearly communicate via video, phone, and written channels.