Youth Fan Development Lead

Youth Fan Development Lead

The Team Marketing & Business Operations (TMBO) Department is a unique in-house consulting group within the NBA league office that drives best practices and innovation across all NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, and NBA2K teams. TMBO is a fast-paced, collaborative department focused on all aspects of team business operations, and seeks dynamic, intellectually curious, and organized team members who believe and live TMBO's core values:
Add Value, Build Trusted Relationships, and Root for Each Other.

The Youth Fan Development Lead will serve as TMBO's primary day-to-day subject matter expert and strategic advisor on youth fan development, helping NBA, WNBA, and NBA G League teams use youth participation and engagement to grow their businesses and develop the next generation of fans. Working closely with the senior leader responsible for TMBO's Marketing & Digital Strategy function, the Lead will advise teams using research, benchmarking, best-practice development, and innovation;

translate league priorities into practical team strategies and business opportunities; and lead league-managed resources and forums that enable teams to execute effectively. The Lead will advise teams on engagements across youth touchpoints spanning grassroots basketball participation; content, social media, gaming, and digital experiences; live and in-arena experiences; school and community programs; and other channels, helping teams connect these efforts to measurable outcomes across fan acquisition, first-party data acquisition, CRM growth, ticket sales, partnership value, and long-term customer development.

The Lead will accomplish this by building trusted relationships across the youth basketball and broader youth sports ecosystem; identifying emerging trends, technologies, and external partners; and advising on the creation of a broader content and digital ecosystem across league and team platforms. While Youth Fan Development will represent the primary focus of the role, the Lead will also advise teams on broader Marketing & Digital Strategy initiatives and contribute to TMBO advisory efforts as department priorities evolve.

In addition, the Lead will collaborate across Marketing & Digital, Ticketing & Game Experience, Partnerships, Basketball Operations, Social Responsibility, Data Strategy & Analytics, Digital Consumer Products (DTC), WNBA, NBA G League, and other league departments on cross-functional projects. The role requires strong strategic consulting, project management, communication, analytical, and relationship-building skills.

Major Responsibilities

• Serve as TMBO's primary day-to-day subject matter expert and strategic consultant on Youth Fan Development, advising NBA, WNBA, and NBA G League teams on how youth participation and engagement can drive team business growth and develop the next generation of NBA, WNBA, and NBA G League fans
• Lead TMBO's Youth Fan Development research, benchmarking, best-practice development, and innovation agenda, identifying emerging trends, technologies, external partners, and market opportunities relevant to teams
• Build and maintain trusted relationships across the youth basketball and youth sports ecosystem
• Develop and share practical playbooks, toolkits, benchmarks, case studies, and executive-ready recommendations that help team and league leadership implement integrated strategies across participation, marketing, content, digital, CRM, ticketing, partnerships, and broader fan development
• Advise teams on acquiring, engaging, and retaining youth and family audiences, and on connecting youth strategies to measurable business outcomes, including fan acquisition, first-party data acquisition, CRM growth, group ticket sales, partnership value, attendance, and long-term customer development
• Identify and share best practices related to public-private partnerships, grants, municipalities, school systems, and other external resources that can expand accessible participation and support sustainable Youth Fan Development strategies
• Serve as TMBO's primary day-to-day liaison with league colleagues across Basketball Operations, Social Responsibility, Marketing,…