Manager, Activations - Fandango (People Leader)

VERSANT is seeking an Activations Manager to lead the Fandango1 Activation team and own the full activation lifecycle, from capacity planning and pre-sale consultation through implementation, go-live, stabilization, and handoff to Support.This role operates in a high-growth, high-complexity environment supporting larger, multi-location partner launches and an expanding activation pipeline. As Fandango1 continues to scale, this leader will be responsible not only for managing day-to-day activation delivery, but also for building the processes, standards, workflows, and team capabilities needed to support long-term growth.The Activations Manager will partner closely with Sales, Customer Experience, Product, Technology, Customer Success, Support, Creative, Sales Operations, and Account Management to ensure commitments made during the sales process translate into successful implementations and strong partner outcomes. This leader will also serve as a senior escalation point for complex activations and help represent the voice of the partner in product and operational decisions.Why This Role Matters: This leader will help shape how Fandango1 Activation operates as the product and partner base continue to grow. The role requires an experienced people leader who can manage increasing activation volume and complexity while simultaneously building a more scalable operating model. Success will mean anticipating demand, strengthening Sales-to-Activation handoffs, improving launch readiness, developing Activation Specialists, reducing manual work, and creating a consistent partner experience from initial planning through ongoing support.What You'll DoLead, coach, and develop a team of Activation Specialists, including workload management, performance feedback, career development, and day-to-day support, while building deeper Fandango1 and Indy expertise across the team.Own the activation pipeline and capacity strategy by reviewing the Sales pipeline, forecasting upcoming circuit and cinema demand, balancing assignments based on specialist capacity and expertise, and identifying staffing or scheduling constraints before they impact launches.Partner with Sales before the sale on complex opportunities, advising on implementation requirements, timing, dependencies, risks, and resource needs to ensure commitments can be operationally supported.Lead the Sales-to-Activation handoff and activation lifecycle from planning through post-launch stabilization, including confirming scope, products, locations, integrations, timelines, ownership, launch sequencing, readiness, and structured transition to Support.Provide direct oversight for complex, strategic, multi-location, or high-profile partner activations and serve as the senior escalation point for implementation blockers and client concerns, coordinating Product, Technology, Sales, Support, and other stakeholders through resolution.Build and scale Activation processes, including implementation standards, readiness criteria, playbooks, documentation, partner communications, training resources, performance reporting, automation, and AI-enabled efficiencies that improve consistency, visibility, team capacity, and onboarding timelines.