Make-A-Wish America is looking for a Senior Manager, Entertainment & Sports Relations to play a key role in building and managing high-impact relationships within the sports and entertainment industries. This individual will lead cross-functional efforts to fulfill life-changing wishes, including complex, high-profile experiences involving athletes, celebrities, and influencers.

What You'll Do

Cultivate, manage, and grow long-term relationships with key contacts in entertainment and sports to create meaningful wish fulfillment opportunities.
Provide mentorship, direction, and performance management to direct reports, aligning team goals with national strategy.
Act as a liaison between celebrity representatives, media partners, sports franchises, and Make-A-Wish chapters to coordinate and facilitate wishes.
Plan and execute highly curated, high-touch experiences involving public figures, ensuring alignment with brand values.
Collaborate with internal teams and external stakeholders to deliver consistent, exceptional experiences for wish families and partners.
Secure in-kind and cash support from celebrity partners to support the ESR team revenue goal of 1M+ annually.
Maintain and support decision-making in the Salesforce database for tracking wishes, celebrity accounts, and communication workflows.
Collaborate with the Director to create and disseminate updated resources and best practices for chapters.
Represent Make-A-Wish at high-visibility events and wish experiences to ensure seamless execution.
Work with teams to gather stories and visuals from wish experiences for potential media use, obtaining all necessary approvals.
Collaborate with the PR team to manage crisis communications involving celebrities, ensuring mission-aligned messaging.
Act as a subject matter expert for designated industries and steward gift relationships in partnership with the revenue team.
Secure local volunteers and celebrity wish hosts to support events where personal attendance is not feasible.
Perform other job-related duties and special projects as assigned.

What We're Looking For

Minimum of 5+ years of experience in the sports or entertainment industry or equivalent, including complex high-impact event management and talent relations.
Minimum 3 years of people leadership experience.
Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite.

Nice to Have

Bachelor's degree in communications, Public Relations, Marketing, or a related field.
Experience in nonprofit or cause-related organizations is a strong plus.
Salesforce experience highly preferred.
Experience working in a distributed or remote-first team environment is a plus.

Technical Stack

Microsoft Office Suite
Salesforce

Team & Environment

You will provide mentorship, direction, and performance management to direct reports and report to a Director.

Benefits & Compensation

Compensation range: $86,200—$110,000 USD with annual incentive potential.
Comprehensive benefit package effective day 1: Medical, Vision, Dental, Wellness.
Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Account Options.
Fully funded Health Reimbursement Account.
Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability and Life Insurance.
Additional Insurance Plans: Accident, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity, Pet Insurance.
401(k) Retirement Savings Plan with 5% match after one year of service.
Eligibility for student loan forgiveness through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
The organization provides a laptop, 24” monitor, and docking station.
Up to 15 PTO days, 10 Sick Days, and 11 Paid Holidays.
2 Volunteer Days after one year of service.
2 Personal Days accrued annually.
Parental Leave.
Employee Awards and Recognition Programs.
Individual and Leadership Development.
Discounts for theme parks, events, hotels, concerts, and movie tickets.