Director, Cafe Marketing Operations

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa; United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Hard Rock Cafe is seeking a Director of Marketing to lead digital and brand marketing across its cafe properties. You will conceive, plan, direct and implement marketing activities that drive revenue, guest engagement and brand excellence, while aligning with operations, sales and PR teams.

The role requires 8+ years in marketing for international brands, strong OpenTable, SEO and CRM experience, AI literacy, and a hands-on leadership style.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years of work experience in Marketing Digital Director Role for an international brand.
• Restaurant or multi-location business experience preferred.
• Strong command of OpenTable, paid media, SEO, and CRM.
• AI literacy and agency management experience.
• Strategic thinker who is also hands-on in execution.
• Bachelor in marketing with experience in entertainment and food and beverage event marketing segment.
• Develop and maintain positive relationships within the business and social community.
• Proven capabilities in managing media plans and initiatives in an international organization.
• High-energy individual with effective and influential digital media skills.
• Knowledge of creative, public relations and e-commerce environment.
• Strong understanding of customer engagement through digital channels for brands.
• Ability to multitask and manage in a fast paced, changing environment.
• Ability to effectively drive results via coaching and leading a group of Regional Marketing Managers and Cafe Sales & Marketing Managers.
• Must possess strong communication and listening skills, excellent speaking, reading and writing.
• Fluency in English is required.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and execution of the digital marketing plan, budget and strategies for Cafes.
• Collaborate with agency partners for online campaigns (website, SEM, social media) and ensure on-property availability.
• Coordinate with sales, revenue and operations to align marketing with other dept plans.
• Drive digital programs to maximize ROI while maintaining brand standards.
• Promote Hard Rock Cafe through digital channels and events to increase sales and profits.
• Provide insights and recommendations based on industry trends and KPI results.
• Manage relationships with new digital agencies and daily coordination.
• Monitor campaign results and adjust strategies to optimize performance.
• Coordinate with cafe brand marketing and PR agencies on creative campaigns and media buys.
• Drive paid media, SEO and Unity loyalty/CRM integrations to enhance guest personalization.

Skills

Digital marketing leadership

English fluency

Strategic thinking

Team leadership

AI literacy

Education

Bachelor's in marketing

Tools

OpenTable

CRM

SEO tools

Job description

Our team members are the key to our company's success, and their health and well-being, as well as that of their families, is very important to us. We offer a comprehensive benefits package that allows our team members stay healthy, plan for their future and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Benefits may vary with employment status. To see our fill list of Team Member Benefits please visit our career site: https://www.gotoworkhappy.com/benefits

Job Description:

The Director of Marketing - Hard Rock Cafe will be responsible for conceiving, planning, directing, controlling and implementing the activities that generate revenues and contribute to the profitability of multiple designated properties. Using a mix of marketing, promotional, advertising, social media and public relation activities, the Director of Marketing will take an integrated approach to marketing planning and implementation. Acting as a brand ambassador the person must harmonize the culture, mission, values, and quality standards to ensure that all Cafes maximum potential is achieved. Interacting with employees, guests, agencies and owners this person must contribute to a positive and professional work environment.

Responsibilities:

• Lead all efforts related to the creation and execution of the Digital marketing plan, budget and strategies for Cafes.
• Work with selected agency partners with the implementation of the online campaign (website, SEM and social media) and ensure all relevant communication is available on property websites.
• Work with sales, revenue & operations teams to ensure that the marketing plan is integrated and in line with the other departments’ strategies and plans.
• Remain fiscally responsible and drive Digital programs to maximize return on investments. Ensure marketing and PR tactics align with brand standards, and receive maximum media coverage.
• Build business/market share by thinking of new Digital ways to promote Hard Rock Cafe and by participating in events to increase sales and profits.
• Champion industry research and trends for development of new Digital marketing strategies. Provide recommendations that align with marketing strategy success metrics.
• Appoint and manage new digital agencies. Manage relationships on a day-to-day basis.
• Monitor Digital campaign results to evaluate KPI’s to assess performance and adjust strategies accordingly.
• Liaise with Cafe brand marketing and PR agencies to execute; creative campaign, media buy, press outreach, events, and crisis communications.
• Identify and activate relevant Digital partnerships.
• Drive visitation and revenue in cafes and rock shops, food and beverage and other property outlets through marketing activities.
• Ensure creative Café Brand guidelines are being used on Digital projects and campaigns are approved through the proper channels.
• Work with Hard Rock Café S&M Regional teams to ensure consistent application of the Hard Rock brand on all marketing, communication and media to ensure brand compliance.
• Report on regional results on a monthly basis to the senior cafe leadership and prepare reports for other key stakeholders as required.
• Own and optimize the website for traffic, conversion, and revenue. Drive continuous improvement across content, user experience, and page performance to grow organic and paid traffic, and run structured A/B tests on key pages to lift booking and engagement rates. Ensure the site reflects brand standards while directly supporting revenue goals across dining, retail, and events.
• Lead OpenTable strategy and performance; partner with operations and sales on reservations. Own the platform end-to-end, setting strategy for table management, waitlist optimization, and reservation flow to maximize covers. Track fill rates, no-show trends, and guest satisfaction, and work with operations and sales to align reservation policies with capacity and revenue goals.
• Integrate Unity, Rewards, and CRM. Lead integration of the Unity loyalty platform, Rewards program, and CRM systems to build a unified guest profile across touchpoints, and use that data to power personalized marketing, targeted offers, and lifecycle campaigns that drive repeat visitation. Partner with IT and data teams to ensure clean data flow and consistent measurement across the ecosystem.
• Drive paid media and SEO. Develop and execute paid media strategy across search, social, and display to drive qualified traffic and reservations, managing budgets for maximum ROAS. Lead SEO efforts including technical optimization, content strategy, and local search visibility, continually reallocating spend based on channel performance.
• Implement practical AI applications across digital marketing and customer experience. Identify and deploy AI tools that improve marketing efficiency, personalization, and guest experience, from content generation to predictive analytics and chat-based guest service. Pilot new capabilities in a hands-on way, measuring impact before scaling, and stay current on AI trends relevant to the business.
• Lead PR in partnership with relevant stakeholders. Work with brand and PR agencies and internal teams to develop and execute public relations strategy, including press outreach, media relations, and crisis communications. Ensure PR efforts align with overall marketing and business goals and coordinate messaging across stakeholders to maintain consistency.
• Build analytics dashboards to track performance. Design and maintain dashboards that consolidate performance data across web, reservations, loyalty, and paid media into clear, actionable views, defining and tracking key metrics against goals. Provide regular reporting to leadership and use dashboard insights to inform ongoing strategy and budget decisions.
• Ensure global-to-local execution. Translate global brand and marketing strategy into locally relevant execution across properties, respecting regional differences in guest behavior and market conditions. Partner with regional and local teams to adapt campaigns and messaging while maintaining brand consistency, and monitor local performance to confirm global strategy is delivering local results.

Qualifications:

• Minimum 8 years of work experience in Marketing Digital Director Role for an international brand.
• Restaurant or multi-location business experience preferred.
• Strong command of OpenTable, paid media, SEO, and CRM.
• AI literacy and agency management experience.
• Strategic thinker who is also hands-on in execution.
• Bachelors in marketing with experience in entertainment and food and beverage event marketing segment.
• Develop and maintain positive relationships within the business and social community.
• Proven capabilities in managing media plans and initiatives in an international organization.
• High-energy individual with effective and influential digital media skills.
• Knowledge of creative, public relations and e-commerce environment.
• Strong understanding of customer engagement through digital channels for brands.
• Ability to multitask and manage in a fast paced, changing environment.
• Ability to effectively drive results via coaching and leading a group of Regional Marketing Managers and Cafe Sales & Marketing Managers.
• Must possess strong communication and listening skills, excellent speaking, reading and writing.
• Comprehend and use technical or professional language, either written or spoken, to communicate complex ideas.
• Ability to effectively pitch and present information in one-on-one or group situations.
• Fluency in English is required.