Overview
Major League Soccer (“MLS”) is the top-flight men’s professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. We aspire to be one of the top leagues in the world, as defined by our quality of play, the passion of our fans, the relevance of our clubs and the value of our enterprise. In 2025, the League will be comprised of 30 clubs and is experiencing unprecedented growth and marketing momentum as it enters the 2026 FIFA World Cup cycle. In addition to entering a 10yr partnership with Apple to broadcast matches in over 100 countries, MLS is now home to Lionel Messi and a world-class base of players from over 80 countries. With the tailwinds of Leagues Cup, growing global audience and major international tournaments coming to North America, we’re working to deliver for new and existing fans through innovation, creativity and big thinking.
We are looking for a Senior Director, Marketing Strategy & Operations to:
- Author and manage full funnel marketing plans and guide day-to-day prioritization.
- Create, test, and refine end to end fan journeys.
- Work across marketing and crossfunctionally to tie digital product strategy to fan journeys.
This person will author marketing plans and fan journeys, facilitate marketing and multi-department alignment, track progress against the planning of marketing programs, and manage stakeholders through the planning and delivery of major MLS moments, including MLS is Back, MLS All-Star and MLS Cup. We are looking for a big thinker with an eye for detail, who loves organizing, orchestrating and inspiring groups to great outcomes.
Responsibilities
- Develop and manage full funnel annual marketing and “moments” plans, including the identification of priorities, quantitative objectives, test plans and executional tiers.
- Facilitate cross-functional fan journey mapping sessions to outline, test, and iterate on the role of MLS marketing and physical and digital experiences within the fan lifecyle
- Partner with analytics team to analyze fan data to gain insights into and action on fan behavior, challenges, and opportunities for improvement
- Support MLS leadership and CMO in managing weekly alignment meetings with Marketing, Communications, Media, Business Intelligence, Events, Data leadership and other Soccer United Marketing (“SUM”) leadership to maintain focus and resource on priorities.
- Support CMO and marketing leadership in managing weekly department meetings, highlighting near and long term priorities, progress reports and timelines.
- Lead constituents through Big Event planning (MLS All-Star, MLS Cup and other moments), setting and managing meetings, aligning targets and timelines, and authoring (and aggregating) integrated marketing plans.
- Attend meetings to understand and structure new opportunities, onboarding Marketing constituents as needed.
- Author marketing plans under the direction of CMO, marketing leadership and matrixed constituents.
- Connect dots between core collaborators and identify new ideas and opportunities to unlock scale.
- Collaborate with Creative Director on focused ideation and development of ideas and programs.
- In coordination with Business Intelligence, track and report on marketing department projects, including status, progress against targets.
- Manage, coach and develop direct report(s).
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s Degree, MBA Preferred
- 10+ years of experience with 8+ years in marketing, media, creative and consumer insights roles, and experience managing large groups of constituents to successful outcomes.
Required Skills:
- Strong executive presence with experience working with:
- Marketing and digital product leadership
- Large companies and fast growing startups
- Brand, acquisition, and engagement marketing
- Excellent people skills, with the desire to build effective relationships and an ability to interact effectively in a professional and diplomatic manner with internal and external clients at all levels.
- Experience effectively managing both direct reports as well as external contractors or agencies.
- Superior organization, project management skills and attention to detail.
- Innovative approach, excellent communication skills, and the ability to direct multiple team members in a fast-paced environment.
- Strong data and analytical capabilities, with the ability to identify insights and supported recommendations.
- The ability to coach and develop staff at all levels, both direct reports and staff on project teams.
- High level of commitment to quality work product and organizational ethics, integrity, compliance, promptness, and timeliness.
- Must be proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook
- Must be outstanding at building Power Point presentations
- Understanding of visual design and presentation aesthetics.
- Ability to work non-traditional hours during peak planning moments.
- English fluency required. Fluency or proficiency in Spanish and/or French preferred.
Total Rewards
Starting Base Salary: $145,000 – $185,000. MLS/SUM base salaries are contingent upon several factors including individual qualifications, market financials, and operational business needs.
We are committed to providing a Total Rewards package that attracts, supports, engages, and retains talent through the following:
- Benefits – comprehensive and competitive medical, dental, and vision benefits, as well as a suite of programs to promote well-being including a $500 Wellness Reimbursement. A generous PTO offering, and hybrid Office/Remote Work Schedule are also offered to promote Work-Life balance.
- Career & Professional Development – on the job training, feedback, and on-going educational opportunities to continue your personal and professional development.
- Employee Engagement – office perks, discounts and employee events that go “beyond the traditional paycheck” to make you feel a part of our team and inspire you to elevate the Game!
We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
We are committed to providing equal opportunity and reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities. MLS/SUM complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and all other applicable federal, state, and local laws regarding disability discrimination and accommodation.
