Creator Manager - Sports (all genders)

THE ROLE & THE TEAM Join Zalando’s Creator Management team as a Creator Manager - Sports and help shape how we plan, activate, and scale our creator community. We’re changing influencer marketing by building a high-performing network of creators who drive engagement and brand affinity. As a Creator Manager, you will independently manage a high-impact portfolio of sport creators and athletes who deliver engaging content across our platforms. Your focus will be on executing robust content strategies, deeply understanding rapidly changing social trends in the sports world, and leveraging data to optimize how content performs. You come with a portfolio of sports contacts and will take ownership of creator selection, seamless onboarding, and data reporting on your portfolio's performance. We will create and share sports, activewear, and performance-driven style inspiration that's relevant and interesting to all our diverse Zalando customer base across all our Zalando platforms to keep them coming back again and again. You’ll be a social-first native, deeply understanding what connects on channels like Instagram and TikTok to ensure our output is always high-impact. Crucially, you bring strong, hands-on experience in day-to-day creator and public figure account management, knowing exactly how to successfully collaborate with and nurture creators on behalf of a brand. INCLUSIVE BY DESIGN If you think you have what it takes, we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet every single requirement. You may just be the right candidate for this or other roles! At Zalando, our vision is to be the leading European technology platform for fashion and lifestyle – one that thrives on diversity and is truly inclusive by design. We believe that diverse teams fuel innovation and creativity, and we actively seek out talent from all backgrounds. We actively seek to reduce bias in our hiring and employment processes, focusing on your qualifications, skills, and contributions. To support this, we kindly ask that you refrain from including personal details such as your photo, age, or marital status in your CV, ensuring a fair and equitable evaluation based solely on your abilities and potential. We are committed to providing an exceptional and accessible candidate experience for everyone. If you require any accommodations to support you throughout the hiring process, please let us know – we are here to assist you. Discover more about our commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace: https://jobs.zalando.com/en/our-culture/diversity-and-inclusion WHAT WE’D LOVE YOU TO DO (AND LOVE DOING) Manage Key Creator Relationships: Own the end-to-end strategic relationship for a diverse portfolio of sport creators and athletes across various tiers. You will ensure bespoke management that drives strategic brand-building, audience growth, and repeatable performance. You will act as an internal expert on sports creator selection for projects and campaigns across all Zalando markets. Complex Project Leadership: Lead and execute complex, cross-functional projects and campaigns specifically for our Sports proposition marketing team and major local market sports activations. You will manage timelines, align senior stakeholders, and ensure successful end-to-end delivery. Drive Operational Excellence & Frameworks: Actively shape and implement our core creator management processes. While you will handle necessary operational topics (contracting, compensation, tracking links) for your portfolio, your focus will be on identifying operational inefficiencies, testing new tooling, and providing actionable feedback to product and tech teams to scale the program. Elevate the Creator Experience & Toolsets: Act as a trusted partner and primary point of contact. You will be the expert on Zalando’s creator toolsets, helping your sports creators strategically leverage them to grow and monetize their audience. Gather frontline feedback to inform wider strategic initiatives. Execute Content Strategy & Trend Integration: Translate platform trends (e.g., fitness challenges, activewear styling, major sports moments) and consumer behavior into actionable briefs for your creators. Ensure the content produced is culturally relevant, native to the platform, and highly engaging, collaborating closely with external agencies and Paid Media teams. Analyse Performance & Run Engagement Testing: Leverage insights from multiple data sources to report on your portfolio's performance against strategic goals. You will independently execute structured content engagement tests to validate what resonates best with your active audience and turn those insights into wider campaign optimizations. WE’D LOVE TO MEET YOU IF You bring 5+ years of relevant work experience within sports marketing, activewear, fashion, or influencer marketing in a fast-paced environment. You have a portfolio of contacts in the creator and agency space and are able to manage sports figures and athlete relationships. You have exceptional relationship-building and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build trust, align diverse interests, and seamlessly manage relationships across internal teams, brand partners, and talent (experience specifically with athletes or fitness creators is a strong plus). You have a deep understanding of regional creator landscapes and market-specific needs across all Zalando markets, and are comfortable collaborating closely with different local marketing teams. You have a deep understanding of the creator economy, possess an analytical eye for great content, and have hands-on experience managing diverse creator portfolios. You have a strong understanding of social platforms and are comfortable adapting to new front-end and back-end creator tools. You have a proven track record of independently leading complex projects, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and working directly with brands or agencies. You excel at translating data into actionable insights and are comfortable running engagement tests and post-campaign optimizations. You have exceptional organizational and coordination skills, with keen attention to detail to ensure campaigns are completed on time and in full. You are an articulate communicator who can confidently engage stakeholders and negotiate with creators or talent agencies (fluency in English is required; additional languages are a plus). You possess a growth mindset, enjoy mentoring junior team members, and have a deep passion for sports, fitness, and activewear. OUR OFFER Zalando provides a range of benefits, here’s an overview of what you can expect. Ask your Talent Acquisition Partner to learn more about what we offer. 27 days of holiday a year to start for full-time employees (+1 day for every calendar year up to 30 days) 2 paid volunteering days a year Employee shares programme 40% off fashion and beauty products sold and shipped by Zalando, 30% off Lounge by Zalando, discounts from external partners Relocation assistance available (subject to prior agreement) Family services, including counselling and support Health and wellbeing options (including Wellhub, formerly Gympass) Mental health support and coaching available Drive your development through our training platform and biannual peer-to-peer review