Director, Marketing and Communications

Hometown Soccer Holdings; Washington; On-site; USD 83,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Hometown Soccer Holdings is launching a Pacific Northwest MLS NEXT Pro club. We seek a Director of Marketing and Communications to lead marketing, creative, communications, and grassroots efforts, with ownership of brand identity and gameday experiences. This role reports to the President and is based predominantly on-site in the Pacific Northwest.

You will oversee a small team, drive fan engagement, media relations, and community partnerships, shaping a new club's presence from day one.

Qualifications

• Five+ years in marketing/creative roles with team leadership.
• Experience across brand, media relations, grassroots or live-event marketing.
• Strong creative point of view and ability to direct designers and agencies.
• Experience owning digital properties (website, app, or email/CRM).
• Comfort managing multiple live events, including evenings/weekends.

Responsibilities

• Lead Marketing department and four direct reports.
• Execute marketing/creative vision across channels.
• Own visual identity across touchpoints.
• Direct design/content production for in-venue and digital assets.
• Oversee club communications including press releases and statements.
• Lead media relations and local press coverage.
• Prepare leadership/staff for media opportunities.
• Own gameday entertainment and in-stadium fan experience.
• Own grassroots events and year-round calendar.
• Grow awareness through community programming.
• Guide merchandise operation from design to retail.
• Direct social media, content strategy and engagement.
• Own website, app, and email communications.

Skills

Brand marketing

Media relations

Live-event production

Content strategy

Gameday entertainment

Digital channels

Design direction

Leadership

Adobe Creative Suite

Photography/videography

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Job description

Who We Are

Hometown Soccer Holdings (HSH) is building locally rooted MLS NEXT Pro clubs, deeply connected to their communities and poised for long-term success.

Who We Are

Hometown Soccer Holdings (HSH) is building locally rooted MLS NEXT Pro clubs, deeply connected to their communities and poised for long-term success.

We're launching a new professional soccer club in the Pacific Northwest region and seeking talented individuals to join us. We're looking for builders — entrepreneurial operators who thrive with real ownership of their work, are comfortable moving fast, and are energized rather than intimidated by a blank slate. This is not an environment for people who need an established playbook; it's for people who want to write one, and who see the scrappiness of building something from scratch as an incredible opportunity. In return, you'll get outsized responsibility, direct exposure to club leadership, and the chance to leave your fingerprints on a new organization from day one.

Reporting to the President, the Director of Marketing and Communications owns how the club shows up for fans and the community, in the stadium, on game day, in the press, in the neighborhoods, and across our digital channels. This role leads the club's marketing, creative, communications, and grassroots functions, setting direction for a small team across those areas while staying close enough to the work to shape it personally. The ideal candidate pairs a strong creative point of view with the operational range to run gameday entertainment, media relations, and a full calendar of community events alongside brand and content work.

This position is based in the Pacific Northwest region and will be predominantly on-site. The exact location of this new club will be announced publicly in the near future. Qualified candidates who advance to the interview stage will be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before receiving additional details about the location.

This is a rare opportunity to help shape a professional soccer organization at a foundational moment — contributing to a new club launch, front office, systems, and team culture that will carry the club for years to come.

Who You Are

We’re looking for someone with uncommon curiosity and taste. Someone who can get equally excited about vintage advertising, typography, the way a room is lit, or the tiny details that make an experience feel unforgettable. Someone who walks into meetings with ideas that came to them overnight, learns about things simply because they’re interesting, and sees obstacles as invitations to ask, “What if?”

This person should love bouncing concepts around, pulling inspiration from places far outside traditional sports marketing, and be constantly asking how something could be made more surprising, beautiful, memorable or fun. They should understand that music can change the feeling of a room, design can change the way an organization is perceived, and one strange idea executed brilliantly often matters more than a hundred safe ones. This is not a role for someone whose first question is, “How do we make people care?” We intend to build something worth caring about.

The question is: “How do we make sure they know about it?”

What You Will Do (we Know, It's a Lot)

• Lead the Marketing department, hiring, managing and developing its four direct reports (Manager, Content & Graphic Design; Manager, Communications; Manager, Fan Experience; and Manager, Merchandise Operations) as the department grows
• Execute the club's marketing and creative vision across every fan-facing channel, turning brand strategy into tangible, on-brand assets
• Own our visual identity and how it's applied consistently across every touchpoint
• Direct design and content production with the Manager, Content & Graphic Design, including in-venue and gameday creative (stadium signage, scoreboard content, printed materials), digital artwork, photography and video
• Oversee all club communications with the Manager, Communications, including announcements, press releases, statements, and internal and external messaging
• Lead media relations: manage relationships with local and regional outlets, coordinate all media interactions and access, and earn media coverage by pitching stories and setting up key interviews
• Prepare club leadership, staff and players for media opportunities, and manage issues and crisis communications as needed
• Own gameday entertainment programming and the in-stadium fan experience with the Manager, Fan Experience, creating an innovative atmosphere for every home match from pre-match through the final whistle
• Own grassroots event strategy and a year-round calendar that brings our brand to schools, youth soccer events, farmers markets, pickup tournaments, festivals and anywhere else our future fans might happen to be
• Use grassroots and community programming to grow awareness, build fan relationships, and drive ticket and membership interest
• Guide a high-performing merchandise operation with the Manager, Merchandise Operations, from design and production through fulfillment and retail experience
• Direct our social media presence, including content strategy, creative production and community engagement
• Own our website, mobile app and email communications, from planning and design through updates, improvements and performance tracking
• Work with Partnerships to bring sponsor activations to life through creative and co-branded content
• Work with Ticketing on campaign materials supporting sales efforts, promotions and renewals

Location: Pacific Northwest Region

Reports To: President

Classification: Full time, exempt

Travel: Up to 5%

What You Have

• 5+ years of experience in marketing, brand, communications or creative roles, including managing or directing a team
• Experience across several marketing disciplines, with demonstrated ownership of at least a few of the following: brand and creative, media relations and communications, grassroots or community marketing, gameday or live-event production, merchandise, and digital channels
• A strong creative point of view and the ability to direct designers, videographers and agencies to a high standard
• Experience owning digital properties (website, app, or email/CRM) alongside traditional brand and creative work
• Comfort managing a high volume of live events and public-facing moments, including evenings and weekends
• Hands‑on design and content skills including as much as possible of: photography and videography, image editing, graphics and motion graphics, Adobe Creative Suite or similar
• Experience with gameday entertainment, event production or live-event programming is a plus
• Established relationships with Pacific Northwest media outlets and community organizations are a plus
• Experience in professional sports, entertainment or consumer brands is a plus

Compensation

WHAT WE OFFER

• Base Salary: $82,500
• Bonus: You will be eligible for an annual performance bonus based on achieving individual and company performance objectives determined by leadership.
• Broad-Based Ownership Pool (BBOP) Eligibility: This position is eligible to participate in a Broad-Based Ownership Pool, a company-wide equity program designed to give employees a stake in the organization’s long‑term success. Additional details on allocation and vesting will be provided as the program is finalized.

Benefits

All Full‑Time Employees are eligible to participate in our standard benefits package. Including, but not limited to:

• Generous Paid Time Off
• Employer Sponsored Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance for employees and their dependents
• Retirement Plan
• Complimentary access to an Employee Assistance Program
• Pre‑Tax Flexible Spending Accounts - both Medical and Dependent Care
• Company provided basic Life insurance and Long Term Disability
• Other voluntary benefits, including Short‑Term Disability and Term Life Insurance

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Hometown Soccer Holdings is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a staff that reflects the communities our clubs play in. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Reasonable accommodations are available at any point in the application or employment process.

E-VERIFY STATEMENT

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States, and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire. Hometown Soccer participates in the E-Verify program to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.e-verify.gov.

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time.