Job Description

The NBA is committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace. To safeguard our employees and their families, our visitors, and the broader community from COVID-19, and in consideration of recommendations from health authorities and the NBA’s own advisors, any individual working onsite in our New York and New Jersey offices must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The NBA will discuss accommodations for individuals who cannot be vaccinated due to a medical reason or sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance.

At the NBA, we’re passionate about growing and celebrating the game of basketball. Through the intensity of the game and the amazing athletic skill of our players, we deliver excitement to hundreds of millions of fans worldwide.

As a global sports and media business, the NBA is so much more. While Basketball Operations runs the league’s on-court activities, other departments manage relationships with television and digital media partners, develop marketing partnerships with some of the world’s most recognizable companies, oversee the licensing of NBA merchandise, and handle a wide range of responsibilities that drive the NBA’s success.

Hybrid at the NBA is defined as a role that is expected to be on-site Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Position Summary:

Digital Media's mission is to bring the world courtside by providing the NBA experience for everyone, everywhere. The department builds and manages digital products (like mobile applications and virtual reality products) that extend the league's global reach. The NBA is the most popular sports league on social media, and the Digital Media team manages all of the league's social platforms. The department also works with NBA Digital (a joint venture between the NBA and Turner Sports) to manage and present outstanding websites and digital products for the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and all teams across the four leagues, and develops strategies for distributing content to our global regional offices and partners. The Digital Media Emerging Technology and Innovation team's mission is to deliver outstanding experiences that fans love and to grow the number of fans who use our products every day. We develop deep subject matter expertise that advocates for innovation, while prioritizing the fan and the NBA's business objectives.

Emerging Technology and Innovation, Strategy Lead will act as a product, project and relationship manager on digital initiatives related to emerging and innovative technologies, including artificial intelligence, web3, XR and more. In this role, you'll be responsible for immersing yourself in new tech spaces, developing expertise and perspective on those technologies, and leading strategic initiatives to execute as applicable. Execution responsibilities include gathering and drafting business, technical and operational requirements across various internal departments, as well as partnering and collaborating with third-party development and partner teams. You will also be encouraged to foster relationships with industry experts, and to lead early-stage communications with potential new partners and vendors.

Major Responsibilities:

• Establish, document and prioritize a strategic innovation roadmap, and track prioritized initiatives through all cycles from planning to launch to ongoing management
• Conceive new product ideas in emerging spaces, including AR/MR/VR, chatbots, voice and more
• Create product/project charters outlining the scope, technical requirements, UX flows, goals, achievements, deliverables, dependencies, budget and timing
• Partner with internal and external partners across business, marketing, design and technology teams
• Maintain relationships with key contacts across the VC community, and lead ongoing conversations with start-ups and established tech platforms.
• Effectively communicate with both technical and non-technical users and produce project documentation
• Monitor and analyze data and insights to model the impact of new features and functionality
• Resolve project issues through direct action or escalation when necessary
• Maintain a strong sense of design and ability to wireframe/prototype concepts
• Learn about and advocate for the user, gathering and sharing insights and best practices regularly
• Communicate regularly with senior executives internally and externally
  
  

Required Skills/Knowledge:

• 8+ years of direct experience in product management with a consistent track record of delivering consumer-facing experiences
• 3-5 years of experience working with emerging media products (AR, AI, VR, MR, voice, etc.)
• Relationship management experience, ideally within tech platform, startup, and/or VC spaces
• Experience in planning, implementing, and driving multiple projects at once
• Understanding of UX/UI frameworks Proficient in new technology (e.g. artificial intelligence), platforms and general digital marketplace
• Ability to clearly communicate technical requirements to engineers and developers
• Experience working in cross-functional teams
• Excellent interpersonal skills, and the ability to build and foster key business relationships
• Comfortable presenting and proposing new ideas to senior management
• Passion for working on consumer/fan-facing applications
• Excellent knowledge of basketball and a passion for the NBA and sports
  
  

Education:

• BA/BS required
  
  

Salary Range:

• $180,000 to $190,000 per year
  
  

The NBA does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms or any other third parties. Any unsolicited resume sent to the NBA will be considered NBA property, and the NBA will not pay a fee should it hire the subject of any unsolicited resume.

The NBA considers applicants for all positions on the basis of merit, qualifications, and business needs, and without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, alienage or citizenship status, ancestry, marital status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, veteran status, familial status, status as a victim of domestic violence, or any other status or characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

About The NBA

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a global sports and media organization with the mission to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball.  Built around five professional sports leagues:  the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and Basketball Africa League, the NBA has established a major international presence with games and programming available in 215 countries and territories in more than 50 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 200 countries and territories on all seven continents.  NBA rosters at the start of the 2021-22 season featured a record 121 international players from 40 countries.  NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA League Pass.  The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with 2.1 billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms.  Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.