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Marketing Manager

Business Unit: Marketing

Function: Communications

Date: 5 Aug 2026

Discovery – Marketing

Marketing Manager- Sponsorships and Experiential Marketing

About Discovery

Discovery’s core purpose is to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives. We seek out and invest in exceptional individuals who understand and support our core purpose, and whose own values align with those of Discovery. Our fast-paced and dynamic environment enables smart, self-driven people to be their best. As global thought leaders, Discovery is passionate about innovating in order to not only achieve financial success, but to ignite positive and meaningful change within our society.

Areas of responsibility may include but not limited to

Provides sponsorships and experiential marketing services, offering strategic direction and support across Business Units.
Builds and manages operational relationships with internal stakeholders to ensure alignment and delivery of sponsorship objectives.
Builds and manages external relationships and key partnerships with rights holders and service providers to maximise value and impact.
Operationalises, aligns, and optimises large strategic sponsorship projects, ensuring effective execution and measurable outcomes.
Executes large-scale events and activations, managing logistics, budgets, service providers, rights holders, and internal and external stakeholders.
Facilitates cross-functional collaboration, integrating and harnessing team specialties and talent to deliver high-impact sponsorships and experiences.
Cultivates an environment where creativity and innovation are encouraged, providing guidance and support to drive fresh ideas and solutions.
Manages risk and ensures compliance across all sponsorship and experiential marketing activities.

AI-driven marketing and innovation

Leverage Generative AI technologies to enhance sponsorship, experiential marketing, content creation, event planning and campaign development.
Utilise AI-powered insights to optimise campaign performance, audience engagement and sponsorship ROI.

Creative design and content development

Develop sponsorship and experiential marketing creative concepts using Adobe Express and Adobe AI tools or similar.
Create high-quality marketing assets including presentations, social media content, event collateral, digital communications, invitations, signage and promotional materials.
Support rapid content creation and versioning through AI-assisted design platforms.
Ensure visual consistency and adherence to Discovery brand guidelines across all sponsorship and experiential marketing touchpoints.

Digital experience and content integration

Integrate sponsorship activations across digital, social media and emerging platforms.
Drive content amplification strategies that maximise the value of sponsorship rights and experiential campaigns.
Partner with digital marketing teams to create connected customer experiences before, during and after events.

Technical Skills & Knowledge

Sponsorship & Experiential Marketing Expertise

Understanding of sponsorship strategy, rights management, and activation
Knowledge of experiential marketing principles and event engagement tactics

Project Management

Ability to plan, execute, and optimise large-scale sponsorship projects and events
Budget management, scheduling, and resource allocation

Stakeholder Relationship Management

Building and maintaining operational relationships with internal stakeholders
Managing external partnerships with rights holders and service providers

Presentation & Communication

Strong written and verbal communication skills for stakeholder engagement and reporting.

Brand Strategy

Understanding of brand positioning and how sponsorships support broader business objectives

Generative AI and AI-enabled marketing

Working knowledge of Generative AI technologies including Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Adobe Firefly or similar, and other emerging AI platforms.
Ability to apply AI tools to marketing strategy, content creation, event planning, stakeholder communications and campaign optimisation.
Experience creating AI-assisted reports, presentations, proposals and executive summaries.

Adobe Express and creative design

Proficiency in Adobe Express for design and content creation.
Experience utilising Adobe Firefly or similar, AI capabilities to generate and enhance creative assets.
Ability to create professional-quality:
- Social media content
- Event branding assets
- Digital advertisements
- Infographics
- Executive presentations
- Sponsorship pitch materials
- Marketing collateral
Strong understanding of visual storytelling and content design best practice.

Digital content creation

Experience developing content for multiple digital platforms.
Understanding of audience engagement principles and content optimisation.
Ability to rapidly create, adapt and personalise content for different stakeholder groups.

Data visualisation and reporting

Ability to create executive-level dashboards and reports.
Experience translating complex data into meaningful business insights.
Understanding of data storytelling techniques and visualisation best practices.

Marketing technology

Familiarity with marketing automation, CRM systems and digital reporting platforms.
Understanding of emerging marketing technologies and their application within sponsorship and experiential environments.

Data Analytics

Ability to interpret event and sponsorship data to inform strategy and optimise outcomes

Knowledge of Industry Trends

Awareness of emerging trends in sponsorship, experiential marketing, and consumer engagement

Event Logistics

Managing event logistics, including venue selection, supplier coordination, and on-site execution

Risk Management & Compliance

Identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks across sponsorship and event activities
Ensuring compliance with company policies and relevant regulations

Reporting & Measurement

Ability to track, analyse, and report on sponsorship performance and ROI

Digital & Social Media Integration

Understanding of digital activation, social media engagement, and content amplification for sponsorships

Creative & Innovation Skills

Ability to ideate and implement creative sponsorship activations
Experience fostering environments that encourage innovation

Cross-functional Collaboration

Experience working with diverse teams (marketing, legal, finance, operations) to deliver integrated projects

Negotiation & Influencing

Strong negotiation skills for partnership agreements and rights holder discussions

Contract & Rights Holder Management

Familiarity with sponsorship contracts, rights negotiations, and compliance

Supplier & Vendor Management

Experience managing service providers, agencies, and third-party vendors

Competencies

Customer-focused
Commercially minded
Problem solver
Manage and be responsible for budgets
Influential leader
Highly organised and able to manage multiple projects simultaneously
Relationship Builder: Develops and maintains strong, collaborative relationships with internal stakeholders, external partners, and service providers.
Strategic Thinker: Understands the broader business context and aligns sponsorships and experiential marketing initiatives to organisational objectives.
Operational Excellence: Delivers projects efficiently, manages multiple priorities, and ensures high standards in execution.
Creative & Innovative: Brings fresh ideas, encourages creativity, and actively seeks new ways to enhance sponsorship and event impact.
Detail-Oriented: Pays close attention to logistics, compliance, and risk management, ensuring nothing is overlooked.
Adaptable & Resilient: Responds positively to change, manages ambiguity, and remains calm under pressure.
Collaborative: Works effectively across teams, integrates diverse skills, and facilitates cross-functional cooperation.
Professional & Ethical: Acts with integrity, maintains confidentiality, and upholds Discovery’s values in all interactions.
Results-Driven: Focuses on measurable outcomes, tracks progress, and strives for continuous improvement.
Excellent Communicator: Communicates clearly and confidently, both verbally and in writing, with stakeholders at all levels.

Important to note:

This role requires managing a variety of projects and events at one time, and this is on-going throughout the year. You must be able to multi-task on multiple projects, work calmy under pressure, and be resilient. You also need to be able to manage your own time, and be a self-starter.

Education and Experience

Qualifications

Minimum 3-year undergraduate degree
Post graduate qualification in marketing is preferable
Minimum of 5 years’ experience in Marketing or Communications and event management
Must have managed at least one person for at least 2 years

A knowledge of the following will need to be developed or will be advantageous:

Sponsorships & Experiential marketing environment in South Africa and internationally
Various marketing and media channels, including digital media
Print and production and merchandising processes (including time lines and costing)

Additional advantageous experience

Experience using Microsoft Copilot, Generative AI platforms and AI-enabled productivity tools.
Experience with Adobe Express and Adobe Firefly.
Experience creating executive presentations and visual reports.
Experience implementing AI-assisted marketing workflows.
Demonstrated ability to utilise data analytics and visualisation tools to support decision-making.
Exposure to marketing technology platforms, customer engagement tools and digital content ecosystems.