Job Description
Senior Account Manager - Sports, Retail & Lifestyle
Location: Hybrid, 2-3 days in office (Manchester)Contract: Freelance Focus: Sports Retail * Lifestyle * Culture * Activations * Social & Digital Content
Overview
We're looking for a Senior Account Manager with experience working across sports and retail brands, and a proven ability to deliver multi-channel campaigns spanning activations, shoots, social content and culturally relevant brand moments.
This role sits in the fast-paced intersection of sport, lifestyle, fashion, culture and community, so we're looking for someone who thrives in high-energy environments and understands how to translate cultural relevance into strategic, social-first brand work.
Key ResponsibilitiesClient Leadership & Account Management
* Act as the day-to-day client lead, building trusted relationships with sports, retail and lifestyle brands.
* Translate client goals into clear strategic plans across activations, social content, retail campaigns and multi-channel briefs.
* Confidently present ideas, campaign performance and creative recommendations.
Campaign Delivery & Activation
* Lead the delivery of on-the-ground activations, including brand experiences, retail moments, product launches and sports-aligned events.
* Manage full production workflows for studio shoots, lifestyle shoots, retail content, and social-native formats.
* Work closely with producers, creatives, and strategists to ensure campaigns land with cultural impact and brand accuracy.
Social & Digital Content
* Oversee the development of platform-native social content (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Reels/Shorts).
* Partner with creative teams to generate ideas rooted in culture, sport and lifestyle audiences.
* Manage the briefing, delivery and optimisation of digital assets across paid and organic channels.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
* Collaborate with strategy, creative, production, influencer/creator teams, and project management to deliver integrated excellence.
* Work seamlessly across retail, digital, social and experiential touchpoints.
Project & Team Management
* Manage day-to-day timelines, scopes, budgets and workflows.
* Oversee junior team members, supporting development and quality control.
* Ensure all work is delivered on time, on brief and to the highest creative standard.
What We're Looking For
* Experience working with sports retail brands across lifestyle, culture, or activewear sectors.
* Track record overseeing brand activations, shoots, studio content and social-first production.
* Strong understanding of sport, culture, fashion or streetwear landscapes, including audience behaviour and market trends.
* Confident operating in fast-paced, reactive environments where cultural timing matters.
* Excellent organisational and client-handling skills with the ability to manage multiple workstreams at once.
* A collaborative mindset and ability to partner closely with creative, production and strategy teams.
Why This Role?
* Work with some of the most exciting sportswear, retail and lifestyle brands in culture today.
* Lead high-energy, creatively ambitious work across activations, social, digital and retail content.
* Join a team where sport, culture and creativity collide - and where your ideas can shape how brands show up for fans and consumers.
Sphere Digital Recruitment is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.