Brand Partnership & Activation Manager

The Brand Partnership & Activation Manager plays a pivotal role in bringing the brand to life through strategic partnerships and high-impact activations that drive brand awareness, engagement, and affinity of Thrivent. This role is responsible for developing and executing experiential marketing initiatives that create meaningful connections with key audiences. The manager will identify, negotiate, and manage strategic brand partnerships, ensuring alignment with business objectives and maximizing brand visibility.

Additionally, this role oversees the planning and execution of immersive brand experiences, including live events, sponsorships, and digital activations, while collaborating cross-functionally with marketing, creative, and external partners to ensure seamless execution. Success in this role requires a balance of strategic vision, creativity, and operational excellence, with a keen ability to measure and optimize activation impact.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:  

Partnership Strategy & Management

• Develop and manage strategic partnership opportunities, including but not limited to sports, cultural events or non-profit partnership that can elevate brand awareness and audience engagement.
• Identify, assess and cultivate strategic brand partnerships that align with Thrivent’s purpose, strategic positioning and business objectives, ensuring they drive measurable awareness, engagement and growth. 
• Analyze market trends, competitor collaborators and industry opportunities to proactively seek partnership that enhance brand positioning and audience reach. 
• Develop business cases to access partnership potential, considering factors such as brand alignment, audience overlap, engagement potential and ROI.
• Negotiate contracts, manage relationships, and oversee activation of partnership assets across digital, in-person, and media channels.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to ensure partnership investments align with brand and business objectives. Track and analyze partnership performance, optimizing for effectiveness.

Brand Activations

• Lead the development and execution of brand activations that enhance awareness, engagement, and affinity.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to integrate activations into broader brand campaigns.
• Identify and execute experiential marketing opportunities, including in-person and digital activations.
• Manage activation logistics, budgets, timelines, and measurement to ensure flawless execution and impact.
• Assess and optimize activations based on performance insights, ensuring continuous improvement.
• Work closely with Brand and Creative teams to ensure consistency across all activations and sponsorships.
• Partner with Media, Social, and Events teams to extend the reach and impact of brand activations.
• Collaborate with external agencies, vendors, and partners to execute high-quality brand experiences.
• Serve as the internal expert on brand activations and sponsorship strategy, providing recommendations and insights to leadership.

QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS:   

Required: 

• Bachelor's degree or higher in marketing, communications, brand or related field.
• 8+ years of experience in brand activation, partnership/sponsorship management, experiential marketing, or related fields.
• Strong knowledge of brand marketing, partnership/sponsorship strategy, and experiential activations.
• Experience managing cross-functional projects, budgets, and vendor relationships.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with multiple priorities and tight deadlines, possess drive, flexibility and be an enthusiastic team player.
• Ability to shift and adapt to changing priorities; proactively anticipating obstacles and seeking alternatives to keep projects on track.
• Ability to analyze performance data and apply insights to optimize activations and sponsorships.
• Strategic thinker with a hands-on approach to execution.

Preferred:   

• Ability to travel as needed, up to 10%.

Thrivent’s long-term growth depends on attracting, rewarding, and retaining people who are committed to helping others thrive with purpose. We accomplish this by offering a wide variety of market competitive compensation programs to attract, reward, and retain top talent. The applicable salary or hourly wage range for this full-time role is $112,481.00 - $152,180.00 per year, which factors in various geographic regions. The base pay actually offered will be determined by a variety of factors including, but not limited to, location, relevant experience, skills, and knowledge, business needs, market demand, and other factors Thrivent deems important.

Thrivent is unique in our commitment to helping people to be wise with money and live balanced and generous lives. That extends to our benefits.

The following benefits may be offered: various bonuses (including, for example, annual or long-term incentives); medical, dental, and vision insurance; health savings account; flexible spending account; 401k; pension; life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance; disability insurance; supplemental protection insurance; 20 days of Paid Time Off each year; Sick and Safe Time; 10 paid company holidays; Volunteer Time Off; paid parental leave; EAP; well-being benefits, and other employee benefits. Eligibility for receipt of these benefits is subject to the applicable plan/policy documents. Thrivent’s plans/policies are subject to change at any time at Thrivent’s discretion.