Sports Marketing Manager
We’re Pentland Brands: a global family business behind some of the world’s most iconic active and lifestyle brands. We bring integrity, energy and ambition to our work, setting high standards and striving to deliver great outcomes without ego.
Design sport-inspired apparel built for style, movement and confidence.
At Speedo, product has to do more than look good. It has to move with the swimmer, feel comfortable in the water and support performance, confidence and freedom of movement, whether someone is training, competing, learning or simply enjoying the swim.
The Sports Marketing Manager leads Speedo’s athlete and partnership strategy across North America. This role owns the development, execution, and performance of Speedo’s athlete, NIL, federation, university partnerships, ensuring investments drive brand leadership, cultural relevance, and measurable commercial impact.
As a “player-coach,” this role combines strategic leadership with hands-on partnership management, working closely with internal teams, external partners, and athletes to elevate Speedo’s presence from grassroots to elite levels.
What you’ll be doing:
Athlete & Partnership Strategy
Co-create and execute the North America athlete and partnership strategy in alignment with Global athlete strategy, with ownership of Premier, National, NIL, and regional partnerships.
Own relationship strategy for Team Speedo athletes, alumni, legends, coaches, agents, and key partners.
Manage day-to-day relationships with North America–based Team Speedo athletes and partners, and coordinate with Global teams on in-market activation of Global athletes.
Support athlete contract negotiations, renewals, and onboarding in partnership with Legal, Finance, and Global teams.
Build and maintain a robust pipeline of emerging and established athletes.
Lead Speedo’s NIL strategy, ensuring athletes align with brand values and long-term growth ambitions.
Identify and cultivate athletes with the potential to drive cultural influence and brand affinity, developing them into authentic storytellers and ambassadors for Speedo across sport, lifestyle, and social platforms.
Partner closely with Brand Marketing and Social teams to ensure athlete partnerships support broader brand storytelling objectives, cultural relevance, and consumer engagement opportunities.
Federation, University & Team Partnerships
Own Speedo’s highest-impact partnerships with federations, universities, and teams.
Partner closely with Team Sales to ensure partnerships drive brand visibility, product adoption, and wholesale ROI.
Oversee partnerships with organizations such as USA Swimming.
Ensure contractual obligations are met and partnerships are activated consistently and effectively.
Activations & Events
Lead the planning and strategic direction for athlete appearances, content, and key event activations across North America.
Partner with Brand Marketing to shape campaigns and athlete storytelling frameworks, ensuring alignment with Speedo’s brand voice and Global narratives.
Oversee athlete activation plans for major moments including Olympic Trails, collegiate championships, national meets, and federation gatherings.
People Leadership & Team Development
Directly manage and develop the Sports Marketing Specialist, providing strategic direction, clear priorities, and performance feedback.
Set activation standards and ensure high-quality execution across athlete, partnership and event initiatives.
Foster strong collaboration between Sports Marketing, Brand, Social, Product and Sales teams through clear role definition and communication.
What you’ll bring:
Deep understanding of NIL, collegiate sports, and partnership marketing.
Proven experience managing or supporting partnerships with federations, athletic programs, or sports organizations.
Excellent relationship management and communication skills with athletes, agents, and sports partners.
Demonstrated ability to execute strategic programs and measure performance.
Collaborative, proactive, and passionate about Speedo’s mission and competitive heritage.
Positive, energetic, and fun - able to inspire athletes, partners, and teammates while representing Speedo’s competitive heritage.
Adaptability and resilience in a dynamic, fast-paced market environment, with a proactive approach to identifying opportunities and addressing challenges.
Strong understanding of culture-driven marketing and the evolving role athletes play in brand storytelling, community influence, and consumer engagement.
Demonstrated ability to identify talent with both competitive credibility and cultural relevance, leveraging athlete partnerships to build meaningful brand connection.
Thrives in a fast‑paced, team‑first, high‑energy environment, with a positive, can‑do, customer‑focused attitude.
Why Speedo?
Speedo is one of the world’s most iconic swimwear brands, built on a heritage of innovation, performance and a lifelong love of swimming.
From elite competition to everyday fitness, leisure and learning, Speedo creates product for every type of swimmer. It is a brand trusted in the water because it understands what matters: fit, movement, comfort, durability, confidence and performance.
Joining Speedo means becoming part of a team that cares deeply about helping people feel at home in the water, whether they are chasing a personal best, building confidence, training regularly or discovering the joy of swimming for the first time.
Perks & Benefits
We offer a competitive salary, discretionary bonus, hybrid working, flexible start and finish times, generous paid time off, product discounts, sample sales, medical and healthcare support plus additional benefits designed to support you at work and beyond.
You can find full details of our benefits and perks on our US Benefits page.
The Interview Process
We want our interview process to feel clear, straightforward, and supportive. If your experience and expectations look like a strong match for the role, here’s what you can expect next:
Talent Team Intro Call - A 30-minute video call with our Talent Team to get to know each other, talk through the role and your experience, and answer any questions you have.
Experience Interview - A more in-depth interview (usually online) with the hiring manager to explore your skills, experience and approach, and how these align with the role, our principles, and our ways of working.
Final Interview - A final in-person interview at our office, focused on deeper discussion and practical application, giving you the chance to meet more of the team and see Pentland Brands in action.
- Department
- Marketing
- Role
- Speedo Marketing
- Locations
- Cypress, California
- Remote status
- Hybrid
- Employment type
- Full-time
- Salary Range
- $110,000 - $120,000