Associate Director, Membership & Engagement – Rights Holders

Position Overview
Associate Director, Membership & Engagement – Rights Holders plays a pivotal role in fostering and expanding Sports ETA’s engagement with rights holder members, including national governing bodies, international federations, and other key sports organizations. This role is responsible for executing strategic outreach and retention efforts, delivering exceptional member service, and facilitating valuable connections between rights holders and destination partners to maximize the impact and growth of the sports tourism industry.

This position requires a proactive and personable professional who is comfortable building and maintaining one-on-one relationships, managing complex workflows, and collaborating across teams to align marketing, programming, and event strategies with member needs. The ideal candidate possesses a strong understanding of the rights holder landscape and RFP processes, excels at organizing and managing communications and events, and demonstrates exceptional attention to detail and organizational skills to ensure seamless member experiences.

Key Responsibilities

Membership Retention & Recruitment

• Lead recruitment and outreach efforts to grow membership in the rights holder member category – including, NGBs and international federations.
• Conduct regular membership renewal outreach through calls and emails to ensure continued annual engagement and retention.
• Continuous focus on new member recruitment. Maintain a rights holder pipeline and prospect tracking system to monitor outreach, status, and follow-ups.
• Represent the organization at events, conferences, and trade shows, meeting one-on-one with current and prospective rights holder members.

Member Services & Engagement

• Maintain frequent touch points with existing members, including biannual check-in calls to update profiles and provide personalized service.
• Track engagement metrics and report trends that shape strategy and member experience.
• Conduct virtual new member onboarding / orientations.
• Manage Rights Holder Community Group by collaborating with group leaders to plan bi-monthly (every other month) meeting topics, coordinate speakers, and promote each meeting.
• Schedule and facilitate monthly event-focused webinars featuring events open for bid – allowing destinations to hear from rights holder and ask questions live.
• Develop and execute monthly Rights Holder Sideline Strategy email campaign, providing relevant industry facts, strategic insights, and actionable takeaways to engage and inform readers.
• Conduct targeted recruitment of rights holders to attend Sports ETA events through personalized phone and email outreach.
• Provide timely and proactive communication to members about important updates, deadlines, and opportunities.

RFP & Event Support

• Provide support in creating and reviewing rights holder member RFPs for clarity, alignment, and effectiveness.
• Source and upload RFPs to the organization’s internal platform/database.
• Ensure timely distribution and visibility of new RFP opportunities to destination members.
• Manage and execute Rights Holder Travel Reimbursement for annual Symposium.
• Assist with on-site event needs and logistics as required.

Operations & Administration

• Work in custom built CRM to process membership invoices, track payments, follow up on outstanding balances, and provide basic support for billing inquiries to ensure accurate and timely financial transactions.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date records in the CRM/database related to member engagement, event participation, and communication history.
• Collaborate with internal teams to align marketing and programming with rights holder needs.
• Contribute to cross-functional projects and complete other tasks as assigned in support of the team’s goals.
  
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field, such as sports management, tourism, education, or business; Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years in the sports tourism, rights holder, or event operations space.
• Understanding of the sports events & tourism industry and its current trends.
• Excellent project management, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Strong understanding of the RFP process; experience writing or reviewing RFPs is essential.
• Driven to grow membership and continuously seek innovative ways to expand member benefits and value.
• Thrives in a fast-paced environment with a strong desire for learning, growth, and taking initiative.
• Proactive, independent, and comfortable with one-on-one relationship building.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, paired with a personable and confident approach to conducting phone and video calls.
• Experience with planning and executing webinars or virtual events.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Exceptional attention to detail and strong organizational skills are essential to ensure accurate tracking of member interactions, timely follow-ups, and seamless coordination of multiple projects and deadlines.
• Demonstrate consistent follow-through to maintain high-quality standards and support overall team efficiency.
• Proficient using Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint, Internet, and a strong comfort level navigating and learning new technologies such as CRM and database management.
• Experience using project management tools such as Trello (or similar) is a plus.
• Demonstrated comfort and confidence in leveraging AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Grammarly, LinkedIn AI features, Copilot, etc.) to enhance productivity, communication, and problem-solving in a professional setting.
• Must be comfortable being on your feet for extended periods during events and able to lift and transport materials weighing up to 25 pounds.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Opportunity to work for the leading organization in the sports events & tourism industry.
• Make a significant impact on the professional development of sports tourism professionals.
• Flexible, dynamic, and collaborative remote work environment.