Talent Experiences & Gifting Manager 212724 - #2136447

Aquent is partnering with a globally recognized leader in the entertainment industry, a company celebrated for its innovative content and its commitment to delivering unparalleled experiences to audiences worldwide. This organization is at the forefront of shaping how people engage with stories, fostering creativity, and building deep connections through its diverse offerings. Joining this team means contributing to a culture that values originality, impact, and a forward-thinking approach to talent engagement.

Step into a pivotal role where your creativity, strategic vision, and operational excellence will directly shape the experiences of top talent and collaborators across the entertainment landscape. As a key player on a global team, you will be instrumental in designing and executing programs that not only delight but also strengthen vital relationships, ensuring every interaction reflects the unique brand and values of our client. This is your chance to make a tangible impact, fostering connections that drive success and elevate the company’s reputation as a premier partner in the industry, contributing directly to how talent perceives and engages with this iconic brand.

What You’ll Do

• Translate overarching regional strategies into actionable plans, innovative programs, and flawless operational execution within your assigned areas.
• Identify and champion opportunities to evolve and enhance talent programs, ensuring they remain relevant, impactful, and aligned with business priorities and cultural trends.
• Lead projects from inception to completion, encompassing strategy development, creative conceptualization, approvals, production, fulfillment, and post-project evaluation.
• Craft compelling gifting concepts that cultivate strong relationships with talent, collaborators, and business partners, all while upholding the highest creative standards.
• Provide expert creative direction across all facets of gifting, including concept development, product selection, packaging, personalization, storytelling, and presentation.
• Develop bespoke and experiential gifting ideas tailored to specific talent, titles, occasions, or relationships for high-profile special projects.
• Proactively research and integrate emerging trends across fashion, design, food and beverage, wellness, technology, travel, hospitality, and culture, bringing fresh brands and creative ideas to the team.
• Cultivate robust relationships with cross-functional partners, serving as a trusted advisor and thought leader within your areas of responsibility.
• Collaborate closely with senior leadership to identify high-priority talent, navigate complex relationships, address sensitivities, and align on broader regional strategies.
• Engage with regional counterparts globally to share successful concepts, vendor insights, learnings, and scalable opportunities across various markets.
• Mentor junior team members, contractors, and temporary staff, offering clear guidance, constructive feedback, coaching, and avenues for professional growth.
• Foster a collaborative, creative, and high-performing team environment, maintaining clear visibility into workload, priorities, and potential risks.
• Manage relationships with agencies, vendors, warehouses, and brands, ensuring partners consistently meet our client’s standards for quality, creativity, discretion, responsiveness, and execution.
• Identify and evaluate new brands, vendors, makers, agencies, and partners to continually enhance the team’s creative and operational capabilities.
• Oversee project budgets, forecasts, invoices, purchase orders, timelines, and vendor costs, ensuring all work adheres to agreed-upon financial parameters.
• Anticipate operational challenges and proactively devise solutions to prevent any negative impact on talent or internal partners.
• Refine and document workflows for owned programs, seeking opportunities to streamline processes, enhance scalability, and ensure greater consistency.
• Leverage modern collaboration tools and emerging technology to improve research, organization, reporting, data quality, and project management.
• Maintain meticulous records of gifting history, vendor information, creative documentation, project details, and talent preferences within team systems.
• Partner with internal teams such as Legal, Finance, and Tax to navigate compliance, contracts, insurance, tax considerations, and vendor requirements.
• Conduct thorough post-project reviews for key programs, capturing feedback and learnings to inform and improve future initiatives.
• Escalate significant risks, resource constraints, talent sensitivities, and strategic decisions to senior leadership in a timely manner, accompanied by clear recommendations.

What You’ll Bring

We are seeking a seasoned professional with a deep understanding of talent relations and a proven ability to leverage thoughtful gifting and experiences to build and nurture long-term connections. You are a strategic thinker with a keen creative eye, capable of translating insights and trends into impactful programs. This is a 6-month contract opportunity.

Must-Have Qualifications: