The Chicago Sky are looking for a strategic, innovative, collaborative, proactive, and results-driven full-time Community Marketing Manager to support the Chicago Sky Foundation’s marketing, promotional, storytelling, and fundraising efforts. The Chicago Sky are committed to giving back to the Chicagoland community around core pillars: Women’s Empowerment, Youth Engagement, and Community Wellbeing. Reporting to the CMO and providing extensive support to the Executive Director of Community, this role will help elevate the Sky Foundation’s role in the community, drive fundraising efforts with key stakeholders, amplify storytelling through Sky’s owned channels and news media, support key events and community-related theme games, drive all community-related in game activities, and act as the liaison between Marketing and the Sky Foundation.
This candidate should be passionate about women's sports, championing equality, connecting with and making an impact in the community, and storytelling. If you are interested in a career in sports marketing with an emphasis on community, this is a great opportunity to design and implement a new role, learn a broad base of skills across a variety of marketing and community programs, and make an immediate impact internally and within the Chicagoland community.
Responsibilities:
Strategic Planning
- Help identify and support the right community and corporate partners to deliver on the Sky Foundation’s mission and align with Sky’s marketing objectives
- Identify, prioritize, and lead key marketing activities to support the Sky Foundation’s key mission and strategic objectives across all key pillars (Women’s Empowerment, Youth Engagement, and Community Wellbeing).
- Partner closely with the Sky Foundation’s Community, Marketing, Corporate Partnerships, Tickets, and Game Presentation teams to deliver fully integrated programs, understand and manage all key deliverables and timelines, and execute against key stakeholder needs. In the offseason, responsibilities will shift to new idea generation.
- Attend all relevant Sky Foundation and Community meetings.
Fundraising
- Identify new content ideas, storytelling, and programs to drive Sky Foundation fundraising (e.g. Giving Tuesday, 50/50, etc) via email, social, newsletter, Sky App, alumni, media, influencers, fan engagement tools, partners, grant proposals, and endowment strategy to secure sustainable funding.
- Monitor fundraising performance vs. objectives
Content Creation & Digital Marketing
- Partner with the Sky’s Marketing & Game Presentation teams (social media, PR/media relations, Graphic Design, Photography, Video, Partnership Marketing) to identify the right resources, issue creative/content requests and manage community-related projects from strategic planning through execution.
- Develop and maintain a multi-platform social, web, and email content calendar (Instagram, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, email, web).
- Partner with Sky Social Media team to manage Sky Foundation’s social channels, to drive engagement, respond to messages/comments, and foster a vibrant online community.
- Partner with Sky’s Digital Marketing team to issue regular email newsletters for donors, partners, and community subscribers.
- Collaborate with the Digital Marketing team to manage the Foundation’s website CMS (WordPress): update pages, upload stories, post recaps, and ensure accuracy.
- Identify, write, and publish community stories spotlighting Sky community partners and members, whether women-owned small businesses or new community initiatives (e.g. court refurbishment)
- Lead and manage all community-related theme games (e.g. health & wellness, mental health awareness, gun violence prevention, etc), including fan engagement, game presentation, and content strategies.
- Develop overarching breakthrough PR, social media, storytelling, and content strategies to elevate the Sky Foundation with key stakeholders.
- Develop marketing toolkits for schools, nonprofits, and community partners to help them promote Foundation programs and events.
Reporting & Tracking
- Create monthly reports to track and measure results
- Track analytics across all platforms: follower growth, engagement, reach, web traffic, email performance, and conversions.
- Maintain organized digital asset libraries of photos, videos, and graphics.
Qualifications
- 4-6+ years of marketing, digital marketing, non-profit/community marketing, partnership marketing, digital storytelling, social media
- Experience leading fundraising and non-profit activities is preferred
- Strong leadership and teamwork skills: agency or general experience balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders is also preferred
- Evidence of strong creativity, innovation, storytelling and idea generation
- Great communicator who enjoys presenting to and interacting with key stakeholders, with strong copywriting, editing, design, and proofreading skills
- Energetic, proactive self-starter who always takes the initiative and is comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, with and without direct supervision
- Passionate about sports marketing and community, with an interest in women's sports and supporting the community
- Flexibility to attend community events (including evenings and weekends) and comfort representing the Foundation publicly
- College degree in marketing, strategy, non-profit management, communications, and/or sports marketing preferred
- Hybrid role: 2+ days/week expected in office, with attendance at all 22+ home games, many community events, and some weekends/evenings. https://sky.wnba.com/schedule
We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.
