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 Responsibilities

Client 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.