VP, Digital, IMG

IMG’s digital team sits at the heart of IMG’s global sports portfolio, providing strategy, content, and technology services to rightsholders, teams, and federations.

Alongside our colleagues across IMG, and as part of TKO, the digital team is privileged to work with some the world’s most prestigious sporting organisations, helping to shape how fans interact with sport across a growing ecosystem of interconnected products, platforms and channels.

The digital team works closely with IMG’s wider divisions including Rights,  Studios, and Global Brand Partnerships to deliver integrated solutions for clients. Such clients currently include the NHL, The R&A, the NFL, Oracle Red Bull Racing, MLB, Concacaf, and the Minnesota Vikings.

The digital team is built on more than a decade of broad, global experience delivering value for both clients and fans by drawing on expertise in technology, content, strategy, platforms and the sports industry.

We power the world’s passion for sport.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

• You will lead multiple major IMG digital client accounts on a week to week and month to month basis, as well as managing the internal team members who run those client accounts on a day to day and week to week basis. The objective is to retain and grow these accounts in size and fame.
• This requires industry-leading strategic expertise and awareness, as well as world-class account management, owning client relationships worth millions of dollars.
• The role requires leadership internally – managing multiple project teams  – and externally. By effectively managing project teams, Senior Executives have the bandwidth to grow the business further.
• Senior Executives at IMG will have instantly recognizable sports industry profiles and will be looked to by the sports industry for thought leadership on the future direction of the sector.
• You will lead sections of expertise within IMG and digital, in order to contribute to our ability to build our departmental business, help to drive the growth of our the parent organisation, and define the wider sport industry’s approach to digital.
• You will be directly responsible for assisting the SVP in devising, and delivering, a multi-year strategy and plan for the digital arm of the world’s most prestigious sports marketing business.
• You will drive the creative and business thinking of major clients to ensure that we are delivering market-leading advice and projects – and to future-proof their business for the rest of the 2020s, using your world-class thought leadership on technology.
• You will oversee the delivery of projects to the highest digital, content, marketing and commercial industry standards.
• You will create digital strategies based on solid analysis that transform sports organisations.
• You will also be involved at an operational level, with the ability to lead client workshops, produce high-quality decks and reports, and diagnose analytics to drive insights for our clients.
• You will not only keep pace with industry developments in technology and lead IMG’s thinking around these and interpret them to help building our strategy – you will also lead that industry thinking and shape it.
• You will help clients build digital media businesses ie you will have the commercial and business acumen necessary to interpret tech trends and create businesses equipped to flourish in an era likely to be revolutionised by AI.
• You will be able to set, and help deliver, key performance indicators and model growth not just for clients but also for the digital business unit within IMG.
• You will be part of IMG digital’s global leadership team and therefore responsible for leading, managing and inspiring our team, assisting with the setting of resourcing levels, and overseeing client deliverables.
• You will be an ambassador for our digital department within the sports industry, developing and maximising an external profile for the benefit of the company, and also within IMG, leading the digitisation of the wider business – preparing IMG itself for the rest of the 2020s and into the 2030s
• Other ad hoc duties as required by the role.

Knowledge and Experience

• Significant experience in digital
• Previous experience in, and a passion for, the sports industry
• Digital commercial background
• Professional, advanced working knowledge of digital platforms including analytics and data
• A passion for tech industry developments to help us keep pace with the advancement of the latest trends
• Experience in, and knowledge of, digital content marketing
• Experience of setting and delivering strategy
• Proven experience of driving revenue and EBITDA performance
• Rich client experience and excellent network in tech and/or sports
• Proven track record of representing a business externally (with clients, partners and the wider industry)
• Leadership experience – including managing other senior figures in a business, leading teams of up 10+ people, and contributing to the leadership of departments of up to 100 people
• Industry leadership – the sports industry will look to you, and your public profile, to help it understand and decode tech trends and the future of the sector

Skills and Abilities

• Deep understanding of the global media market
• Excellent industry contacts at tech and digital companies
• Ability for operational execution
• Great relationship builder
• Ability to quickly diagnose organisational and digital strengths and weaknesses and an understanding of how to refocus a client’s digital presence
• Ability to build, lead and inspire teams
• Proven ability to manage c-suite level clients and partners
• Highly literate and numerate
• Advanced user of Microsoft Office, in particular statistical manipulation in Excel, PowerPoint
• Confident using Google, Meta, TikTok and other platform’s native analytics tools to create insights
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to deal effectively with people at all levels
• Good understanding of user experience, user-centred design and information architecture
• Good understanding of the techniques of SEO and SEM

Working Conditions

• This role will be based at Chiswick Park, with some flexibility on remote working as appropriate
• May be required to attend (and travel to) locations, including other IMG buildings and meetings
• Unsocial hours may be required, as dictated by the demands of the business schedule
• Adapting to use of new systems and technology where appropriate