MANAGER, INTEGRATED MARKETING

El Pollo Loco, Inc.; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Great Place to Work

Medical + Dental + Vision Insurance +

401(K) Retirement Plan with company 1:

Paid Vacation + Sick Pay + 12 Paid "H

Job summary

El Pollo Loco, Inc. in Costa Mesa, CA, seeks an Integrated Marketing Manager to serve as the operational backbone of our marketing organization.

This role owns traffic and workflow management across the marketing team, an integrated agency team, and campaign activations—ensuring work moves smoothly from brief to execution to launch. You will help create and manage our brand ambassador program, acting as the connective tissue between strategy and on-the-ground execution.

Qualifications

• 3-5+ years in marketing operations or traffic management.
• Experience managing multiple projects and stakeholders in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience with project management/traffic tools (Asana, Monday, Wrike, or similar).
• Strong communication and organizational skills.
• Experience with ambassador, influencer, or field marketing programs is a plus.
• Retail, restaurant, or CPG marketing experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end traffic and workflow management across the marketing organization.
• Coordinate intake, prioritization, and timelines across the creative and content teams.
• Build and maintain marketing operations systems — project tracking, resourcing, briefs, approvals.
• Manage the brand ambassador program, including recruiting, onboarding, activation logistics, and performance tracking.
• Serve as a central point of contact for status updates, timeline changes, and resource conflicts.
• Identify and implement process improvements to increase team efficiency and campaign velocity.

Skills

Marketing operations

Traffic management

Cross-functional coordination

Strong communication

Tools

Asana

Wrike

Monday.com

Job description

At El Pollo Loco, we are on a mission to be the nation’s leading fire-grilled chicken restaurant. When it comes to our people, we are all about growth. Whether that means specialized training, a clearly laid out career trajectory or collaborating cross-functionally, we are committed to the success of our people the same way we’ve been committed to the success of the El Pollo Loco brand for the last 50 years. In fact, we see you as our secret ingredient. While our chicken is fire, it’s our people who set us ablaze.

Our restaurants are only the tip of the flame! If you’re looking for an innovative, winning, and welcoming workplace, then a flamin’ good career in our Restaurant Support Center is right for you.

At our Support Center, we believe our best work is done Together, when departments collaborate and everyone is confident in contributing their ideas. This is why we are in the office 3 days per week.

Let’s Get Loco!

What’s in it for you!

• STRONG office culture recognized as a Great Place to Work® and driven by our core values: Simple. Together. Relentless. Ownership. Nimble. Growth
• Career growth opportunities
• Competitive pay and bonus potential
• Medical + Dental + Vision Insurance + HSA Savings Account
• 401(K) Retirement Plan with company match and immediate vesting
• Paid Vacation + Sick Pay + 12 Paid Holidays
• Employee Assistance Program
• Free El Pollo Loco food + restaurant discounts
• PerkSpot discounts program

POSITION PURPOSE:

El Pollo Loco is looking for an Integrated Marketing Manager to serve as the operational backbone of our marketing organization. This role owns traffic and workflow management across the marketing team, integrated agency team (IAT) and campaign activations — ensuring work moves smoothly from brief to execution to launch. You’ll will be instrumental in helping to create and manage our brand ambassador program, acting as the connective tissue between strategy and on-the-ground execution.

This is a great fit for someone who thrives on process, loves keeping cross-functional teams aligned, and wants visibility across every marketing initiative from concept through launch.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Own end-to-end traffic and workflow management across the marketing organization, coordinating intake, prioritization, and timelines across the creative and content team and the broader marketing team.
• Partner with project managers and activation leads to keep campaigns, content, and creative on schedule and within scope.
• Build and maintain marketing operations systems — project tracking, resourcing, briefs, approvals — that keep teams aligned and reduce bottlenecks.
• Manage the brand ambassador program, including recruiting, onboarding, activation logistics, and performance tracking.
• Serve as a central point of contact for status updates, timeline changes, and resourcing conflicts across marketing initiatives.
• Identify and implement process improvements to increase team efficiency and campaign velocity.

QUALIFICATIONS – EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, LICENSE/CERTIFICATIONS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to satisfactorily perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. The requirements listed below are representative of the education and/or experience required.

Education/Work Experience:

• 3-5+ years of experience in marketing operations, project/traffic management, or a similar coordination-heavy marketing role, ideally at the manager level.
• Proven ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and stakeholders in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience with project management/traffic tools (Asana, Monday, Wrike, or similar).
• Strong communication and organizational skills; comfortable being the person who keeps everyone on track.
• A go-getter mindset - Proactively anticipates project needs, risks, and potential roadblocks—thinking several steps ahead to identify issues early and develop and present solutions before they impact the work.
• Experience managing ambassador, influencer, or field marketing programs is a plus.
• Retail, restaurant, or CPG marketing experience is a plus.

Our Company

In 1980 the first American El Pollo Loco opened on Alvarado Street in Los Angeles, quickly becoming a destination for the best citrus-marinated, fire-grilled pollo in town. Over the past four decades, El Pollo Loco has grown into more than 500 restaurants across 9 states, becoming an L.A. mainstay and cultural benchmark along the way. Today, we continue to work just as hard to always provide our customers with Quality Chicken. Fast. Easy. Affordable

The pay range identified is the hourly or salary rate El Pollo Loco expects to pay for the posted position. This range does not include any benefits or bonus opportunities that might be available for the position based on position and eligibility criteria. At El Pollo Loco, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at the high end of the range. Individual pay decisions will vary based on a variety of factors including years of experience, industry experience, education, geography, etc.