Commercial Development & Partner Management

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Position Summary:

We are seeking a versatile and motivated professional to join the CDPM team within the NBA’s ICP group. The team supports the NBA’s and its affiliate leagues global distribution ecosystem, establishing commercial agreements with partners to deliver content across international markets. This role sits at the intersection of partner management, product enablement, and commercial strategy & execution, helping ensure partners are successfully integrated, supported, and optimized globally.

The position will work closely with external partners and internal teams across product, engineering, analytics, and commercial functions to support partnership execution, resolve operational issues, track partner performance, and coordinate cross-functional initiatives. The role will also contribute to internal product and operational improvements, including the rollout of internal tools, workflow automation initiatives, and exploration of AI-enabled processes that enhance partner management and sales enablement.

The ideal candidate combines commercial acumen with strong product knowledge, and understands how digital platforms, user experience, and data insights drive partnership growth. Familiarity with the digital media, streaming, or platform ecosystem and comfort working in an international, cross-functional environment are strongly preferred.

Role and Responsibilities:

Partner Operational Support

• Serve as the primary interface for partners on technical and operational matters, owning the end-to-end technical service lifecycle including request triage, root-cause investigation across internal systems, and coordination with product, engineering, and analytics teams to drive resolution.
• Monitor partner performance (e.g., viewership, acquisition, retention), identify trends and optimization opportunities, and track partner payments, scheduling, programming obligations, and changes in partner agreements in coordination with relevant stakeholders.
• Support global partner management executions and growth initiatives, including social platform account management, creator activations, and the expansion of existing partners into new distribution opportunities.

Product Management

• Lead the development and delivery of product initiatives by collaborating with design and engineering teams to refine requirements, user stories, and UX flows; define product specifications and success metrics.
• Define business requirements and collaborate with internal teams on sales automation, workflow improvements, and standardized partnership tools and documentation across ICP.
• Identify and help scope AI-driven operational use cases, supporting feasibility assessments and pilot initiatives.

Team Support

• Support commercial strategy development through market research and evaluation of new partner categories and growth opportunities.
• Design and maintain partner performance reporting and analytics frameworks, delivering structured, data-driven insights that inform renewals, negotiations, and leadership decision-making.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams to support the launch and execution of new partnership initiatives, aligning product, commercial, and operational stakeholders around emerging distribution strategies (e.g. Connected TVs).
• Support the creation and upkeep of key documents including partner presentations, internal information decks, and more.

Relevant Skills/Knowledge Attributes:

• Must have experience servicing external partners or vendors, including day-to-day relationship management, issue resolution, and coordination with internal stakeholders.
• Good multi-tasking and project management skills; experience using Confluence, Jira and other product/project management tools.
• Technical competence and the ability to quickly adapt to new technologies; comfort working across digital platforms, internal tools, and evolving technical workflows in a partner‑driven environment.
• Strong analytical skills and familiarity with digital reporting platforms (e.g. PowerBI, Tableau, Amplitude).
• Excellent communication (written and presentation) skills; equally comfortable discussing a go-to-market business strategy with the partnerships team and technical requirements for a new partner with the engineering team.
• Understanding of the digital media ecosystem, including OTT/streaming platforms, mobile and web distribution, and evolving content distribution models.

Required Education/Relevant Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree or relevant equivalent experience.
• 4-7 years of experience in business development, partner management, or cross‑functional product roles within digital, media, or technology business.
• Experience working cross-functionally in international, matrixed organizations across business development and/or product and technical functions.

Salary Range:

$100,000 - $112,000

Job Posting Title:

Employees currently are eligible to receive an annual discretionary performance bonus, awarded at the sole discretion of the Company and subject to any terms and conditions set by the Company. Employees and/or eligible dependents may be eligible to participate in the following Company-sponsored employee benefit programs: medical; dental; vision; life/AD&D insurance; short- and long-term disability; fertility and family-forming assistance; wellbeing allowance; educational assistance; mental health coaching/therapy; tax advantaged accounts such as HSA and healthcare/dependent care FSAs; a 401(k) retirement plan; and time off benefits that include vacation, sick time, and personal days.

We Consider Applicants For All Positions On The Basis Of Merit, Qualifications And Business Needs, And Without Regard To Race, Color, National Origin, Religion, Sex, Gender Identity, Age, Disability, Alienage Or Citizenship Status, Ancestry, Marital Status, Creed, Genetic Predisposition Or Carrier Status, Sexual Orientation, Veteran Status, Familial Status, Status As A Victim Of Domestic Violence Or Any Other Status Or Characteristic Protected By Applicable Federal, State, Or Local Law.

The NBA is committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace. To safeguard our employees and their families, our visitors, and the broader community from COVID-19, and in consideration of recommendations from health authorities and the NBA’s own advisors, any individual working onsite in our New York and New Jersey offices must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The NBA will discuss accommodations for individuals who cannot be vaccinated due to a medical reason or sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance.

About the NBA

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a global sports and media organization with the mission to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball. Built around five professional sports leagues: the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and Basketball Africa League, the NBA has established a major international presence with games and programming available in 214 countries and territories in 60 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 200 countries and territories on all seven continents. NBA rosters at the start of the 2024-25 season featured a record-tying 125 international players from a record-tying 43 countries. NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA League Pass. The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with more than 2.3 billion likes and followers globally across all leagues, team and player platforms. NBA Cares, the NBA’s global social responsibility platform, partners with renowned community-based organizations around the world to address important social issues in the areas of education, inclusion, youth and family development, and health and wellness.