Sr. Manager, Creator Partnerships - YouTube (PH)

The Sr. Manager, Creator Partnerships - YouTube is a strategic leader responsible for defining and driving Disney's content strategy across high-impact creator partnership initiatives. This role owns a portfolio of complex, high-value creator relationships and translates enterprise marketing priorities into scalable creator-led storytelling, platform activations, and audience growth strategies.

Reporting to the VP, Digital Marketing, this position operates within a specialized enterprise creator and YouTube marketing team and directly stewards a significant portion of Disney's large-scale creator investment portfolio. The Sr. Manager leads the full partnership lifecycle-from strategy development, creator evaluation and deal architecture through execution, optimization, performance management and value realization.

The ideal candidate is a commercially astute, highly influential leader with deep fluency in the creator economy, sound judgment in managing premium talent and platform relationships, and a proven ability to lead sophisticated digital content programs across a highly matrixed organization.

• Please note this is a project hire role that is estimated to go for 12 months.

Please apply if interested and learn more from the recruiter!

Responsibilities:

• Lead creator strategy for a portfolio of high-priority partnerships, translating business, brand and audience objectives into integrated creator programs that drive engagement, relevance and measurable marketing impact.

• Steward a significant portion of Disney's large-scale creator investments and complex partnership agreements, aligning leadership, legal, business affairs, finance and cross-functional stakeholders around deal strategy, deliverables, value expectations and investment outcomes.

• Lead the full lifecycle of critical creator partnerships from strategic brief development, talent evaluation and deal strategy through execution, content review, performance tracking, optimization and post-campaign value assessment.

• Own senior-level relationships with third-party creator partners, agencies and production partners, building long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships that advance Disney brand priorities and the broader enterprise creator strategy.

• Architect channel, content and activation strategies that generate incremental value across creator appearances, integrations, disruptive activations, social extensions and Disney-owned distribution opportunities.

• Drive cross-functional workstreams across marketing, communications, legal, business affairs, finance, operations, production and platform teams to ensure creator programs are strategically aligned, operationally sound, financially disciplined and executed with excellence.

• Identify, evaluate and advance new creator talent opportunities, conducting rigorous brand-fit, audience, commercial and risk assessments to inform partnership recommendations and investment decisions in partnership with the Creator Content & Partnership team.

• Set performance expectations, reporting cadences and optimization plans for creator partnerships, leveraging insights to sharpen content strategy, strengthen future deal structures and maximize return on investment.

• Monitor creator, platform, audience and marketplace trends to identify emerging opportunities, inform long-range planning and keep Disney positioned at the forefront of creator-led digital storytelling.

Required Qualifications:

• 7+ years of progressive experience in influencer/creator marketing, talent partnerships, digital marketing, content strategy, platform partnerships or related fields.

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, Business or related field.

• Proven ability to develop creator strategies, manage high-profile creator or talent relationships and execute integrated, social-first digital content programs at scale.

• Demonstrated experience managing complex, high-value creator, talent or content partnership agreements, including scope, deliverables, usage, performance expectations and stakeholder alignment.

• Strong commercial acumen with experience stewarding budgets, managing partnership value, evaluating performance and driving optimizations that improve return on investment.

• Deep understanding of social and digital platforms, creator ecosystems, YouTube, evolving content formats, audience behaviors and platform-specific engagement strategies.

• Exceptional organizational skills with a demonstrated ability to lead multiple complex, fast-paced workstreams simultaneously under tight deadlines and with significant stakeholder visibility.

• Outstanding written, verbal and presentation skills, with the ability to craft compelling narratives, influence cross-functional partners and communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders.

• Excellent judgment when assessing brand alignment, creator suitability, business opportunity, reputational considerations and partnership risks.

• A proactive, solutions-oriented leader who brings creative thinking, strong accountability and the confidence to champion strategic recommendations in a highly matrixed environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• An appreciation for the Disney brand and an understanding of its diverse global businesses, franchises, operating segments and consumer ecosystem.

• Experience working within highly matrixed organizations and managing complex, multi-stakeholder approval processes across brand, legal, finance, operations and executive teams.

• Deep understanding of the YouTube creator landscape, including long-form storytelling, creator monetization, platform-specific features, audience development and viewer engagement trends.

• Familiarity with talent contracting, rights and usage negotiations, FTC guidelines, brand safety, content compliance and risk review workflows.

• Experience using analytics, performance reporting and marketplace insights to shape creator strategy, optimize investments and inform future partnership recommendations.

• Willingness and ability to work a flexible schedule as needed.

The hiring range for this position in Glendale, CA is $126,800 to $170,000 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate's geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.