What are the responsibilities and job description for the Manager, Sponsorships and Events position at vineyard vines?
About Us
vineyard vines is a highly successful, privately held, American clothing and accessory retailer founded in 1998 on Martha’s Vineyard by brothers, Shep & Ian Murray. With Shep & Ian still at the helm today, vineyard vines has experienced exponential year over year growth and now operates over 120 retail locations including an outlet division, a successful e-commerce business, domestic distribution center, and expanding corporate headquarters. In addition, vineyard vines is carried in major department stores such as Nordstrom and Bloomingdales as well as numerous specialty boutiques across the US.
vineyard vines was founded on a state of mind that Every day should feel this good.
You don’t need to be on a beach, by the ocean or on vacation to have Every day should feel this good moments. It’s a state of mind that we all experience, and one where everyone is invited. At vineyard vines, we don’t just live an #EDSFTG life away from our desks—we bring it to work with us, too.
In our stores, at our Harbor Drive headquarters or working remotely, our company culture is fun, encouraging and welcoming to all. We work hard and play harder, and we never take ourselves too seriously. And while we have many company goals, our number one priority is making vineyard vines a great place to work for all employees.
Our team is our family, and we’d never have grown to where we are today without them.
We’re committed to building an inclusive team across all channels, departments and stores within our community. We hope you’ll join us and see what the smiling pink whale is all about.
Overview
The Manager, Sponsorships & Events will take a hands-on leadership role in coordinating all event operations and logistics, ensuring each event is on-brand, welcoming, and seamlessly executed. This role will partner closely with the Senior Director of Brand Marketing to provide strategic direction and recommendations that create consistency and cohesion across all events, including retail activations.
The Manager will work cross-functionally with Brand Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Retail, and Wholesale and Creative teams. They will also be responsible for managing and overseeing external vendors to ensure high-quality execution and alignment with brand standards.
Key Responsibilities
Sponsorship & Partnership Management
vineyard vines is a highly successful, privately held, American clothing and accessory retailer founded in 1998 on Martha’s Vineyard by brothers, Shep & Ian Murray. With Shep & Ian still at the helm today, vineyard vines has experienced exponential year over year growth and now operates over 120 retail locations including an outlet division, a successful e-commerce business, domestic distribution center, and expanding corporate headquarters. In addition, vineyard vines is carried in major department stores such as Nordstrom and Bloomingdales as well as numerous specialty boutiques across the US.
vineyard vines was founded on a state of mind that Every day should feel this good.
You don’t need to be on a beach, by the ocean or on vacation to have Every day should feel this good moments. It’s a state of mind that we all experience, and one where everyone is invited. At vineyard vines, we don’t just live an #EDSFTG life away from our desks—we bring it to work with us, too.
In our stores, at our Harbor Drive headquarters or working remotely, our company culture is fun, encouraging and welcoming to all. We work hard and play harder, and we never take ourselves too seriously. And while we have many company goals, our number one priority is making vineyard vines a great place to work for all employees.
Our team is our family, and we’d never have grown to where we are today without them.
We’re committed to building an inclusive team across all channels, departments and stores within our community. We hope you’ll join us and see what the smiling pink whale is all about.
Overview
The Manager, Sponsorships & Events will take a hands-on leadership role in coordinating all event operations and logistics, ensuring each event is on-brand, welcoming, and seamlessly executed. This role will partner closely with the Senior Director of Brand Marketing to provide strategic direction and recommendations that create consistency and cohesion across all events, including retail activations.
The Manager will work cross-functionally with Brand Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Retail, and Wholesale and Creative teams. They will also be responsible for managing and overseeing external vendors to ensure high-quality execution and alignment with brand standards.
Key Responsibilities
Sponsorship & Partnership Management
- Maintain ongoing review and understanding of sponsorship and partnership contracts, including rights, deliverables, and activation opportunities in partnership with Legal
- Develop comprehensive activation timelines to ensure full and timely execution of partnership obligations
- Manage all product, marketing, and experiential deliverables tied to sponsorship agreements
- Oversee partner approvals and collaborate with rights holders to ensure alignment with brand and contractual requirements
- Partner with Brand Marketing and cross-functional leaders to define strategic objectives for sponsorships and brand activations
- Translate corporate goals into compelling, results-driven activation strategies and executional roadmaps
- Establish measurable goals, capture key insights, and document learnings to inform future programs
- Proactively recommend new activation concepts, strategies, and enhancements to the team
- Serve as the primary point person for events and activations, both internally and externally Oversee the execution of marketing strategies for each event to ensure full delivery against plan
- Lead the creation of event marketing materials, signage, and on-site brand assets in partnership with Creative Services
- Coordinate all on-site logistics, site plans, staffing, and schedules to ensure seamless execution
- Manage post-event wrap-up, including recaps, analysis, insights, and reporting
- Build and manage robust event and activation project plans, timelines, and tools
- Oversee multiple concurrent workstreams from development through execution
- Communicate project status, milestones, risks, and successes to the Director and broader team
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Retail, Direct, Wholesale, and Creative teams
- Identify, source, brief, and manage vendors and suppliers, including event production, promotional products, mobile tours, and experiential partners
- Lead daily communication with external vendors to ensure timelines, budgets, and quality standards are met Support RFP processes, competitive bidding, and vendor evaluations
- Review, evaluate, and negotiate basic vendor contracts in partnership with leadership
- Partner with Retail Marketing to support turnkey retail event and activation programs
- Oversee the Coordinator’s management of the Brand Ambassador (Whale Rep) program
- Support staffing, scheduling, training alignment, and on-the-ground execution
- Obtain competitive quotes and prepare proposed program budgets for Director approval
- Track and manage activation and event-related expenses
- Oversee promotional inventory management, including storage, upkeep, and fulfillment through the company warehouse
- Demonstrate leadership by assigning tasks, managing deadlines, and ensuring timely, accurate execution
- Manage staff and coordinators on a project-by-project basis
- Keep internal teams informed of key developments and decisions
- May be asked to perform ad hoc projects and tasks as needed
- Bachelor’s degree required; Marketing, Communications, or related field preferred
- 4 years of experience in sponsorships, events, experiential marketing, or a related field, agency experience preferred
- Strong understanding of brand marketing, partnerships, and event execution
- Knowledge of vineyard vines brand, business, and product line preferred
- Proven project management, organizational, and time-management skills
- Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to present to small groups and contribute to presentations and POVs
- Ability to manage multiple priorities under tight deadlines in a fast-paced environment
- Experience working cross-functionally and managing external vendors
- Self-motivated with strong attention to detail and follow-through
- Willingness to travel extensively; role requires 30-40% travel
- We have a fun-spirited entrepreneurial culture filled with truly “good” people
- We offer a generous employee discount so you can rep our lifestyle on-and-off the boat
- We offer a competitive salary package, 401-K, commuter benefits, and paid-family leave, health savings , flex spending accounts, life & disability insurance
- We have an onsite gym as well as financial wellness programs to keep you active
- We offer 2 summer Fridays to take off in addition to a competitive vacation policy & holiday calendar