About this role
POSITION OVERVIEW At adidas, we never launch a product unless we consider it perfect. Our commitment to excellence extends beyond product creation to the athletes who represent our brand. Through thoughtful scouting, relationship building, and athlete development, adidas Golf identifies emerging talent and builds meaningful partnerships that help shape the future of the sport. The Assistant Manager, Sports Marketing - adidas Golf supports the early identification and recruitment of high-potential golf athletes across the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), elite junior, amateur, collegiate, and emerging Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) pathways. This role helps strengthen the adidas Golf athlete pipeline by identifying future talent, monitoring athlete progression, and supporting recruitment opportunities before athletes reach the professional level. Working closely with Sports Marketing leadership, this position coordinates scouting activities, manages prospect intelligence, and supports athlete recruitment and portfolio operations. Responsibilities include maintaining prospect databases, preparing scouting assessments, coordinating internal approvals, and supporting Contract Approval Form (CAF) processes and contract administration. The role collaborates with regional and global Sports Marketing teams, Athlete Services, Product Marketing, Legal, Finance, and external golf stakeholders. Through disciplined execution, strong relationship management, and accurate portfolio intelligence, this position contributes to long-term athlete recruitment strategy and the continued growth of adidas Golf. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES • Talent Scouting: Support the identification and evaluation of high-potential athletes across AJGA, elite junior, amateur, collegiate, and emerging NIL pathways. • Athlete Intelligence: Monitor tournament results, rankings, performance trends, athlete progression, collegiate commitments, representation, and competitor activity. • Event Scouting: Attend assigned AJGA and junior or amateur golf events to evaluate prospects, gather insights, and support relationship development. • Prospect Evaluation: Prepare scouting profiles and assessments covering athletic performance, development potential, character, brand alignment, and relationship status. • Talent Prioritization: Maintain prospect watch lists and identify athletes requiring additional evaluation, relationship investment, or recruitment consideration. • Stakeholder Relationships: Develop professional relationships with athletes, families, coaches, academies, universities, AJGA representatives, and approved external partners. • Recruitment Coordination: Organize prospect meetings, athlete evaluations, product trials, and follow-up activities under the direction of Sports Marketing leadership. • Prospect Pipeline Management: Maintain accurate North American prospect databases and multi-year talent pipelines across junior, amateur, collegiate, NIL, and development pathways. • Portfolio Reporting: Prepare scouting reports, pipeline updates, tournament recaps, competitor intelligence, and decision materials supporting athlete portfolio reviews. • Portfolio Strategy Support: Analyze emerging talent opportunities, potential roster gaps, and future athlete recruitment needs to inform portfolio planning. • CAF Process Coordination: Manage assigned Contract Approval Form processes, including documentation preparation, approval routing, status tracking, and follow-through. • Cross-Functional Approvals: Coordinate with Legal, Finance, Procurement, Business Affairs, and relevant stakeholders to ensure recruitment and contracting requirements are completed accurately and on time. • Contract Administration: Support athlete contract preparation and management through term comparisons, milestone tracking, document coordination, and approval records. • Contract Lifecycle Tracking: Maintain records of athlete decision dates, contract options, expirations, key rights, obligations, and transition requirements. • Operational Support: Coordinate portfolio meetings, scouting-event logistics, budget tracking, purchase orders, invoices, and administrative activities. • Global Portfolio Alignment: Partner with North American and European Sports Marketing stakeholders to maintain consistent prospect intelligence and a coordinated global athlete portfolio. • Product Collaboration: Coordinate with Athlete Services, Product Marketing, and Product teams to support athlete product trials, equipment needs, and feedback collection. • Athlete Transition: Coordinate the documented handoff of newly signed athletes to Player Management, Activation & Servicing, including contractual obligations, key dates, product requirements, and outstanding actions. • Process Improvement: Identify opportunities to improve scouting workflows, portfolio reporting, approval processes, documentation, and operational efficiency. • Compliance and Confidentiality: Protect sensitive athlete, family, contractual, and financial information while following applicable privacy, eligibility, safeguarding, and organizational requirements. • Operational Accountability: Independently manage assigned scouting and portfolio activities while escalating investment, contractual, ethical, eligibility, or reputational concerns to appropriate leadership. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS • Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Sports Management, or a related field, or equivalent relevant professional experience. • Minimum 2 years of experience in sports marketing, golf, athlete services, scouting, partnerships, events, or related operational functions. • Working knowledge of athlete development pathways and the junior, amateur, or collegiate sports landscape. • Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple prospects, projects, deadlines, and operational priorities. • Ability to evaluate and organize athlete performance, development trends, and relationship information into clear reports and recommendations. • Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to engage professionally with athletes, families, coaches, and internal stakeholders. • Demonstrated attention to detail in maintaining databases, documentation, approval records, and confidential information. • Sound judgment and discretion when handling sensitive athlete information, contractual matters, and relationships involving junior athletes. • Ability to collaborate effectively across functions and work within established processes in a global organization. • Proficiency in Microsoft 365 applications, including Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. • Ability to travel domestically and work outside standard business hours based on tournament schedules and scouting requirements. • Fluency in written and spoken English. PREFERRED EXPERIENCE • Direct knowledge of the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), elite junior golf, amateur golf, and North American collegiate recruiting pathways. • Experience working with golf athletes, families, coaches, academies, universities, tournament organizations, or athlete representatives. • Familiarity with collegiate Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) regulations, athlete eligibility considerations, and emerging talent recruitment. • Experience supporting athlete scouting, prospect evaluation, talent identification, or sports marketing recruitment initiatives. • Exposure to athlete contract administration, approval workflows, portfolio management, or Contract Approval Form processes. • Experience maintaining prospect databases, relationship-management systems, scouting reports, or athlete performance analytics. • Familiarity with purchasing systems, budget tracking, event logistics, and multi-step operational processes. • Experience collaborating with Legal, Finance, Procurement, Product Marketing, or other cross-functional business partners. • Understanding of the golf equipment marketplace, athlete sponsorship landscape, and competitive sports marketing environment. WORK ENVIRONMENT This position is based in Carlsbad, California, and follows the adidas hybrid work model. Employees are expected to work on-site Monday through Thursday, with flexibility to work remotely on Fridays. In-office attendance may also be required on Fridays for collaborative activities, business priorities, or in-person meetings. The role operates in a collaborative, fast-paced Sports Marketing environment with regular interaction across regional and global teams. Responsibilities combine office-based portfolio operations, athlete relationship management, scouting coordination, and attendance at junior and amateur golf events. Domestic travel is required based on assigned tournament schedules, scouting priorities, and athlete recruitment activities. Evening and weekend availability may be necessary to support competitions, athlete meetings, and other sports marketing commitments. REPORTING STRUCTURE This position supports the Senior Manager, Sports Marketing - Player Portfolio & Contract Management, who provides direction on athlete portfolio priorities, recruitment processes, and contract-management activities. The role works closely with the Manager responsible for European scouting and negotiations, North American Sports Marketing leadership, and the broader adidas Golf Sports Marketing organization. Additional cross-functional partnerships include Athlete Services, Product Marketing, Product, Legal, Finance, Procurement, and Business Affairs. The position is an individual contributor role responsible for assigned scouting coordination, prospect pipeline management, and operational execution within established business priorities and approval guidelines. COMPENSATION & BENEFITS The anticipated low and high end of the base pay range for this position is $86,350 - $94,678. Actual salary will be based on various factors, including a candidate's experience, qualifications, skills, competencies, and proficiency for the role. Employees are eligible to earn an annual bonus based on both company and individual performance. adidas offers a comprehensive benefits package for eligible full-time employees, including: • Comprehensive medical coverage including HSA with employer funding or FSA options, dental, vision, and prescription plans. • Adoption, surrogate, and fertility support programs. • Short and long term disability coverage. • Basic life and AD and D insurance with supplemental employee paid options. • 401(k) plan and Stock Purchase Plan with employer match or applicable adidas contributions. • Education assistance for eligible full time employees. • Paid parental and other eligible leave programs. • Flexible Time Off accrued at 0.4388 hours per day for employees with less than five years of service, increasing with tenure. • Twelve Company-Designated paid holidays, including a Floating Holiday, plus milestone Service Time Off for eligible employees. • Employee product discounts and access to wellness and Employee Assistance programs. Benefits are subject to applicable plan terms, eligibility requirements, company policies, and formal plan documents. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY At adidas, we foster a workplace culture built on respect, collaboration, and opportunity where employees can grow, contribute, and perform at their best. We value diverse perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds because they strengthen our teams, drive innovation, and help us better serve athletes, consumers, and communities around the world. adidas is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.