Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

• adidas collaborates with top athletes, teams, events, and cultural icons to shape the future of sports and culture worldwide. At the heart of these partnerships is the Sports & Culture Marketing (Brand Partnerships) team, which drives a powerful global portfolio.
• As adidas expands its Brand Partnerships in Southeast Asia, particularly in Malaysia, the team is looking for a dynamic Sports & Culture Marketing professional to lead and execute a bold strategy.
• This role will oversee the implementation of Global, EM, and SEA Sponsorships (SpoMA) and Entertainment & Influencer Marketing (EIM) strategies in Malaysia. The focus: maximizing brand impact, enhancing key brand moments, and increasing Share of Search through strategic partner activations.

Key Responsibilities:

Brand Partner Strategy & Management

• Support the development and execution of the Malaysia Brand Partner strategy in alignment with Global, Emerging Market (EM), and SEA objectives.
• Manage the Malaysia Sports Marketing (SpoMA) & Entertainment Influencer Marketing (EIM) portfolio per Global/EM/SEA direction, overseeing budget allocation, contracts, relationships, and activations.
• Identify, secure, and manage strategic partnerships across marathons, football federations, and affiliate run clubs to strengthen the brand’s running ecosystem.
• Shape and grow a structured running partner ecosystem including marathons, ARKL and affiliate run clubs to drive long-term brand credibility and community engagement.
• Develop and execute an invest & divest strategy based on ROI insights, providing quarterly reports.

Partner Acquisition & Engagement

• Identify, secure, and maintain the best current and next-generation partners, ensuring alignment with brand goals.
• Negotiate, maintain, and renew partner contracts in compliance with the Global Sports Marketing Policy and budget guidelines.
• Provide industry-leading partner activations to enhance brand and product awareness.
• Act as a liaison between brand partners and internal teams (Brand Activation, PR, Omni-Channel, and Sales).
• Deliver top-tier service to partners while maintaining key industry relationships.

Activation & Performance Management

• Develop, manage, and execute partner activation calendars in collaboration with internal teams and SEA, ensuring alignment with key brand moments.
• Develop and execute activation plans across marathons, federations, and run club partnerships, ensuring strong consumer engagement and performance credibility.
• Oversee the Malaysia partner seeding program, including product ordering, seeding lists, partner prioritization, and data tracking/reporting.
• Maximize brand partner amplification through campaign activities, facilitating publishing briefs and tracking ROI.
• Monitor entitlement utilization to optimize partnership benefits and ROI.
• Ensure alignment across consumer-facing activations by collaborating with CtC, Brand Activations/Digital (including PR), and Omni-Channel Consumer Experience.

Reporting & Budget Management

• Maintain and update partner profiles, including contract details, social media stats, and activation plans.
• Monitor partner portfolio budget and develop mid-term plans for increased efficiency.
• Submit seasonal orders and coordinate product supply processes for partner satisfaction.
• Deliver all brand partner reporting on time and in full (OTIF).

Leadership & Compliance

• Provide clear vision and direction to internal teams and external partners with relevant objectives and KPIs.
• Establish a high-performance culture, fostering employee engagement and talent development.
• Support global events and partner visits when hosting the market.
• Ensure all sports marketing contract negotiations comply with global policies and local budget guidelines.

Key Relationships:

• Local Brand & Channels
• SEA/ EM SpoMA & EIM, and BUs
• Legal
• Finance
• External Agencies
• Athletes, Influencers, federations, marathons, affliate clubs and ARKL

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Significant knowledge of the full marketing mix (advertising, events, sponsorship, partner management) with a major brand or retailer (sporting goods industry preferred)
• Strong interpersonal skills (e.g., collaboration, creativity, confidence and facilitation)
• Strategy – ability to provide input to and implement strategy.
• Ability to network, influence and utilize internal and external resources.
• Strong business sense, analytical, influencing and presentation skills
• Marketing budget Management
• Motivates employees and creates a high performing environment.

Pre-requisite Knowledge / Skills:

• Bachelors/university degree in the related field
• Minimum of 6 years equivalent professional experience, ideally in Sports Marketing and Influencer Marketing
• Advanced user of MS Office suite of products
• Fluent in written and spoken English is a must. Basic Bahasa Melayu is also required.