About the Role: Baird is seeking a Media & Sponsorship Manager to lead the strategy, planning, and execution of media and sponsorship investments across the firm. This role connects business priorities to effective media and partnership strategies, ensuring investments are well-managed, measurable, and aligned to brand and growth objectives. Serving as both a strategic advisor and hands-on contributor, you will partner across Marketing & Communications, business units, community partners, and external vendors to deliver integrated, high-quality programs while leading and developing a small team. The Impact You'll Make: Develop and execute media and sponsorship strategies aligned to brand and business objectives Guide mix of media investments, across a broad set of channels, overseeing budget allocations and campaign timing decisions across initiatives Identify emerging media and sponsorship opportunities and recommend innovative approaches while balancing stakeholder priorities Evaluate, negotiate, and manage sponsorship and naming rights investments across sports, nonprofit, and community partnerships Build and manage sponsorship portfolios aligned to firm and business-unit priorities Translate media and sponsorship investments into measurable business and marketing outcomes Serve as a trusted advisor to Marketing & Communications and business stakeholders Partner with marketing colleagues to translate business objectives into actionable media and sponsorship strategies Build and maintain strong relationships with vendors, partners, and internal teams Monitor performance against goals and leverage data and insights to optimize outcomes Manage budgets with discipline, accountability, and transparency Ensure high-quality, consistent execution across multiple initiatives and workstreams Lead the media and sponsorship function, including managing and developing a team while remaining actively engaged in key initiatives What Youll Bring to Baird: Bachelors degree in Advertising, Marketing, Business, or related field or equivalent combination of education and experience 15 years of relevant professional experience with 710+ years of experience in media planning, buying, and sponsorship strategy. Financial services experience is preferred Experience supporting enterprise-level initiatives and multiple business units with aligned strategies and an ability to connect marketing investments to business outcomes Excellent negotiation skills and understanding of how to add incremental value and communicate that to our clients Experience in leading people and building a team Strong understanding of both traditional and digital media channels as well as sponsorship marketing Experience and knowledge of Salesforce, RFP processes, demos and selection of media and sponsorship planning/buying software tools Familiarity in using AI tools, especially for tasks like ideation and research Proven ability to manage vendor relationships, work across teams and influence stakeholders at all levels Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail Compensation and Total Rewards Package: $102,000 - $156,900 annual salary range Bonus potential up to 25% of base salary Compensation and bonus are commensurate with experience, performance and/or firm profitability and location Check out our Total Rewards at Baird, which is a summary of our benefits and compensation #LI-AK1 Baird is committed to diversity and provides employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, citizenship, national origin, age, disability, military service, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or any other status protected by law. Baird is an employee-owned, international financial services firm specializing in wealth management, capital markets, private equity and asset management. Our mission is straightforward. We strive to provide the best financial advice and service to our clients and be the best place to work for all. Our culture is like no other with extraordinary people who make Baird great for our clients and one another. Nationally recognized as a great place to work since 2004, we invite you to learn more about Baird, our culture and our people. Baird is committed to inclusion & diversity for our clients, our associates and the communities where we live and work. This commitment stems from our culture of integrity, genuine concern for others and respect for the individual. We view inclusion & diversity as an ongoing journey one of shared responsibility, continuous improvement and a focus on progress. We invite you to join us as we work together to foster an environment where diversity unites rather than divides us.
