Director, Operations

Hometown Soccer Holdings; New Jersey; On-site; USD 81,000 - 99,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Time Off

Medical, Dental, Vision insurance

Retirement Plan

Employee Assistance Program

Flexible Spending Accounts

Life insurance & Disability

Voluntary benefits

Job summary

Hometown Soccer Holdings is seeking a Director, Game Day & Business Operations to lead gameday execution, venue relations, and the club's day-to-day business functions in New Jersey. You will serve as the senior on-site decision-maker on matchdays and act as the primary liaison with the venue, the league, and local authorities.

Reporting to the Club President, you will build out operations plans, manage finance and people processes, and stand up a new urban live entertainment venue with a

Qualifications

• 5+ years in club, venue, or event operations, ideally within sports or live entertainment.
• Demonstrated success running gameday operations, including safety and emergency planning.
• Comfort translating financial reporting into operational decisions.
• Ability to translate data into clear, actionable recommendations for leadership.
• Strong relationship management with venue partners and leadership.
• Entrepreneurial spirit, adaptable in a rapid-growth start-up environment.
• Authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship and able to work non-traditional hours.

Responsibilities

• Build out and improve gameday operations plans, staffing, load-in/out, and activation templates.
• Own the club's gameday operations compliance and staff credentialing.
• Own the MLS NEXT Pro home calendar and venue coordination needs.
• Consolidate department data into a unified local business view and support budgeting.
• Lead local people operations, onboarding, and the intern program end-to-end.

Skills

Gameday operations

Gameday execution

Finance liaison

People operations

Scheduling coordination

Data-driven decision making

Stakeholder management

Work authorization (US)

Job description

Hometown Soccer Holdings (HSH) is building a portfolio of locally rooted MLS NEXT Pro clubs, each deeply embedded in its community and built to create lasting connections with fans. New Jersey MLS NEXT Pro, launched in partnership with Middlesex County and New York City FC, will play at NEXUS beginning with its inaugural season. The Director, Game Day & Business Operations owns gameday operational execution, the Club's business planning and finance liaison functions, and the day-to-day people, venue, and compliance operations that keep the club running.

Reporting to the Club President, this foundational role is built for someone who thrives on the ground, solving real operational and administrative problems in a fast-moving, start-up style sports environment based out of a new urban live entertainment venue. The Director serves as the senior on-site operational decision-maker on matchdays and as the Club's primary day-to-day contact with the venue, the league, and local authorities.

This is a compelling opportunity for a hands‑on, highly organized operations and business leader to help stand up a professional club from a blank page. The ideal candidate brings direct experience managing gameday execution and internal business functions, comfort working across finance, people operations, and scheduling without a large back office, and a genuine passion for soccer and sports.

Key Responsibilities

Gameday Operations

• Build out and continuously improve all gameday operations plans, including staffing, load‑in and load‑out procedures, sponsor and marketing activation setup templates, and contingency plans
• Serve as the key club contact into the venue's gameday staffing plan
• Own MLS NEXT Pro gameday operations compliance
• Own access control and credentialing for staff, media, sponsors, and VIPs
• Serve as the senior on-site operational decision-maker on matchdays

Venue Relationship Management & Scheduling

• Own the day‑to‑day relationship with venue ownership and the MLS NEXT Pro home match calendar, coordinating match dates and event windows with the league and the venue
• Serve as key coordinator with New York City FC soccer operations on shared facility and scheduling needs
• Serve as the day‑to‑day coordination contact with co‑tenants and other venue users on scheduling and shared‑use logistics
• Serve as operations liaison and strategy lead for other live events in the venue

Finance, People & Administration

• Serve as the Club's finance liaison to HSH central, translating central financial reporting into operational context for the Club President and consolidating department‑level data across ticketing, partnerships, merchandise, concessions, and attendance into a unified local business view
• Own the Club's annual planning and goal‑setting process, consolidating department‑level goals into a single view for the Club President, tracking progress against them throughout the year, and owning end‑of‑year reporting with the Club President and HSH central
• Own local financial controls and purchasing standards, including credit card access, spending limits, vendor onboarding, and bill payment, and support budget‑vs‑actual variance tracking in partnership with the HSH CFO
• Own local people operations and office administration, including hiring and onboarding logistics, HR compliance with applicable New Jersey employment law, the annual performance review cycle, the front office's physical home, and the Club's teambuilding and culture cadence
• Build and administer the Club's intern program end to end, including onboarding, department rotation, and a structured conversion pipeline into full‑time roles
• Own recruiting relationships with local universities

You Have These

• 5+ years in club, venue, or event operations, ideally within sports or live entertainment, with direct experience managing gameday execution and internal business functions
• Demonstrated success running gameday operations, including safety and emergency planning, in a regulated, multi‑stakeholder environment
• Comfort working across finance, people operations, and scheduling without a large back‑office team, with the ability to translate financial reporting into operational decisions
• Comfort working with data across multiple business functions and translating it into clear, actionable recommendations for executive leadership
• Strong relationship‑management skills, with the ability to represent the Club confidently with venue partners, community partners, and HSH central leadership
• An entrepreneurial spirit comfortable with ambiguity, operating with high agility in a rapid‑growth, start‑up style sports environment
• Must be authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship and able to work non‑traditional hours, including evenings, weekends, and matchdays

Compensation & Total Rewards

• Base Salary Range: $90,000 per year. (Base salary at the time of an offer will be determined based on job‑related knowledge, skills, expert experience, and current market conditions.)
• Bonus Eligibility: This position is eligible to participate in a discretionary bonus structure based on individual performance and overall organizational goals.
• 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.

What We Offer

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.

AI DISCLAIMER

As part of our hiring process, Hometown Soccer Holdings may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist in screening applications and/or resumes. These tools help our recruiting team identify candidates whose qualifications match the role, but do not make final hiring decisions. These tools are used to support, not replace, human judgment. A human recruiter or hiring manager reviews all recommendations generated by these tools, and no applicant is automatically rejected or advanced based solely on an automated output. If you would like more information about how AI is used in our hiring process, or wish to request an alternative process or accommodation, please contact [e-mail].