Demo

Partnerships & Influencer Manager

SteelSeries
SteelSeries Salary
Chicago, IL Full Time
POSTED ON 6/2/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 7/1/2026
We’re looking for a Partnerships & Influencer Manager for North America who can turn players, creators, and affiliates into a real community—not just a set of followers.

You’ll be responsible for building and nurturing KontrolFreek’s North American community through Influencers, content creators and affiliates while you build up KontrolFreek’s FreekNation.

You’ll identify, initiate outreach and secure partnerships with content creators either with a defined long term program or setting them up as a participant in our Affiliate Freek Nation program. With your conversations, you will deepen engagement with our most important audiences and make them feel like part of the brand’s success!

Key Responsibilities

  • Define how KontrolFreek shows up for players beyond one‑way posts—UGC challenges, “best plays,” setup spotlights, and community events.
  • Identify and recruit high‑potential affiliates and creators in NA into FreekNation.
  • Bring their content and personalities into community spaces and social (e.g., reposts, spotlights, Discord/UGC features).
  • Act as a point of contact for affiliates on community-related activities (UGC campaigns, map drops, challenges).
  • Plan and execute community beats around key campaigns with affiliates (e.g., Heist launch, Fortnite collection, EA FC, holiday).
  • Identify high‑potential creators in NA that align with KF’s direct and retail initiatives (e.g., Target, Walmart, Amazon, key game tie‑ins).
  • Secure relationships (typically 3 months) that deliver consistent educational and performance-focused content for our key products.
  • Work with internal teams to define expectations and deliverables (e.g., setup videos, “best plays,” launch day content) and ensure usage rights for paid/social/PDP.
  • Bring influencer content into the broader community and social ecosystem (e.g., FreekNation campaigns, “Heist” and Fortnite activations).

Partnership with Social & Marketing

Collaborate Closely With The Social Media Specialist To Ensure

  • Community and creator content is consistently highlighted on main channels.
  • Social campaigns include participation mechanics (UGC prompts, challenges, Discord/FreekNation integration).
  • Support cross-channel programs
  • Work with broader Marketing, Product, and Sales to align creator/affiliate activity with GTM plans.

Measurement & Reporting

  • Track and report on NA community health, including:
  • Engagement: active participants, message volume, UGC submissions, challenge participation.
  • Impact: traffic/sales influenced by community and affiliate programs where trackable (clicks, code usage, attributed revenue).
  • Provide regular (e.g., monthly) updates on:
  • Affiliate/influencer pipeline and performance.
  • Community program performance and learnings.

What We’re Looking For

  • 3–5 years’ experience managing online communities and/or creator/affiliate programs, ideally in gaming or adjacent youth culture.
  • Strong understanding of gaming culture, creators, and how communities actually behave (not just what decks say).
  • Experience building and managing affiliate or creator programs
  • Experience working directly with creators, streamers, or esports personalities.
  • Excellent written communication and interpersonal skills; comfortable being a visible, human presence for the brand.
  • Highly organized and able to juggle multiple community threads, campaigns, and relationships at once.
  • Comfortable working cross-functionally with Marketing, Product, Sales, and Social/Affiliate teams.

What To Expect In The First 90 Days

Within 30 Days – Learn the Ecosystem & Start Showing Up

  • Get onboarded to KontrolFreek, FreekNation, and current community footprint (Discord, socials, affiliate/creator programs, key retail partners).
  • Deep dive into existing creator and affiliate relationships: who they are, what content they make, how they currently work with KontrolFreek.
  • Review recent and upcoming campaigns (e.g., Heist launch, Fortnite collection, EA FC/MLB beats, holiday plans) to understand priorities and opportunities.
  • Shadow current community, social, and influencer workflows to learn how content moves from idea → creators → community → main channels.
  • Begin actively participating in community spaces (Discord, social replies/DMs) as a human, recognizable voice for KontrolFreek.
  • Partner with the Social Media Specialist to understand what content gets highlighted today and how UGC/creator content is currently used.
  • Support small-scale community moments (e.g., a simple UGC prompt, a low-lift challenge, or a creator spotlight) to get a feel for response and volume.

Within 60 Days – Own Community Beats & Creator Pipelines

  • Define and start running recurring community “beats” beyond one-way posts, such as: setup spotlights, “best plays,” weekly community clips, or themed UGC challenges.
  • Build and maintain a pipeline of high-potential creators who align with KF’s brand and key game/retail priorities (Target, Walmart, Amazon, tentpole titles).
  • Begin outreach and relationship-building with target creators and affiliates.
  • Act as a primary point of contact for community-facing affiliates on UGC campaigns, challenges, map drops, and content needs for upcoming launches.
  • Work with Marketing, Product, and Sales to align creator/affiliate activity to GTM plans (e.g., making sure key launches have the right creators and formats supporting them).
  • Summarize early learnings on what types of prompts, formats, and creators drive the strongest engagement and participation.

Within 90 Days – Drive a Connected Community & Creator Engine

  • Own the vision for how KontrolFreek “shows up” for players in NA beyond posts—establishing a cadence of UGC challenges, community events, setup spotlights, and “best play” beats.
  • Run structured, multi-week creator/affiliate programs around key campaigns (Heist, Fortnite, EA FC/MLB, holiday):
  • Be the central connector between creators, community spaces, and the main social channels:
  • Partner with Social & Marketing to build cross-channel programs that feel cohesive:
  • Own regular measurement and reporting
  • Use insights to iterate: double down on formats and creators that work and experiment with new participation mechanics, content types, and community touchpoints.
  • Serve as a visible, trusted, and human presence for NA players and creators—someone community members recognize, and creators see as a reliable partner and advocate inside KontrolFreek.

Salary.com Estimation for Partnerships & Influencer Manager in Chicago, IL
$158,151 to $211,783
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