Marketing Manager

Hornblower Corp; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Hornblower Group seeks a Marketing Manager to craft localized strategies for assigned ports, driving revenue and guest engagement while aligning with national initiatives. You will partner with port leadership and corporate teams to execute campaigns, events, and content that resonate locally.

The role requires budget stewardship, data-driven optimization, and strong cross-functional collaboration in a fast-paced environment across multiple regions.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years in B2B and B2C marketing.
• Hospitality industry experience highly desired.
• Experience in matrixed organizations and multi-channel campaigns.
• Strong communication and analytical skills.
• Proven ability to drive revenue growth through local campaigns.

Responsibilities

• Develop localized marketing strategies for assigned ports to drive revenue.
• Manage local budgets, track campaigns, and optimize spend.
• Collaborate with port leadership and corporate teams on campaigns and events.
• Analyze market trends and report KPIs to leadership.
• Lead content production and partner activations as needed.

Skills

Marketing strategy

Budget management

Cross-functional collaboration

Campaign optimization

Job description

Posted Wednesday, August 5, 2026 at 7:00 AM

Hornblower Group is a global leader in experience and transportation. Spanning a 100-year history, Hornblower Group’s portfolio of international offerings includes water- and land-based experiences and ferry and transportation services. City Experiences, Hornblower Group’s premier experience division, offers dining and sightseeing cruises and walking and food tours through the City Cruises, Walks, and Devour brands. City Ferry, part of Hornblower Group’s Ferry and Transportation Division, is the largest private operator of high-speed passenger and vehicle ferries in the United States, carrying more than 10 million passengers annually and operating services including NYC Ferry, Puerto Rico Ferry, and other regional ferry systems . Hornblower Group’s subsidiaries include Hornblower Marine, which provides vessel outhaul and maintenance services at Bridgeport Boatworks in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Seaward Services, Inc., a full-service shipping, waterfrontlogisticsand management company that specializes in the operation and maintenance of government and commercial vessels. Additionally, Anchor Operating System, LLC, a Hornblower Group subsidiary and independent entity, provides reservation,ticketingand website integration services for clients in the transportation,tourismand entertainment industries. Today, Hornblower Group’s global portfolio covers over 10 countries, over 50 U.S. cities and serves more than 20 million guests annually. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Hornblower Group’sadditionalcorporate officesresidein San Francisco, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; London, United Kingdom; New York, New York; Dublin, Ireland; and across Ontario, Canada. For more information, visithornblowercorp.com.

Position Summary:

The Marketing Manager develops and executes localized marketing strategies that drive revenue, increase brand awareness, and enhance guest engagement across assigned ports or regions. This role serves as the local brand ambassador by ensuring brand consistency while adapting national initiatives for local markets. Working closely with port leadership and corporate teams, the position executes campaigns, partnerships, events, and content that support ticket sales and business growth.

The role also manages local marketing budgets, tracks campaign performance, analyzes market trends, and provides strategic recommendations to optimize results. Success in this position requires strong collaboration, project management, communication, and analytical skills to deliver effective marketing initiatives and support revenue growth.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Content & Production Support

• Identify opportunities for local photoshoots and social content development.
• Develop a plan with well thought-out goals and objectives for local content capture need
• Oversee local content capture, including sourcing models and photographers, coordinating locations, and managing production logistics.
• Serve as the local point of contact for full-scale brand photo and video shoots, coordinating crew logistics, talent management, and operational support.
• Collaborate with Social on content capture assignment; be ports content "creator" where applicable.

Budget Management

• Maintain full ownership and accountability for local marketing budgets for assigned port(s) or region(s). Participate in financial port reviews to represent marketing.
• Develop and maintain budget forecasts and projections aligned with marketing plans and revenue goals.
• Track marketing spend across campaigns, partnerships, media buys, and activations to ensure efficient allocation of resources.
• Conduct billing reconciliations and review vendor invoices to ensure accuracy and alignment with approved budgets.
• Identify opportunities to optimize marketing spend and maximize return on investment while maintaining fiscal responsibility.
• Develop local media, community and vendor relationships to supplement budget and expand trade opportunities.

Port/Region performance tracking and analysis

• Monitor local competitive activity, trends, and market shifts through research, observation, and on-the-ground engagement.
• Summarize insights and present findings to VP of Marketing and local port leadership to inform adjustments in positioning, pricing, targeting, and promotional strategy on a quarterly basis.
• Own and track port and regional marketing KPIs including leads, revenue, web traffic, and campaign performance. Share with your manager and port RVP/GM on a weekly basis.
• Analyze marketing performance trends and proactively identify opportunities to improve results.
• Develop and implement tactical marketing plans and solutions when performance is not tracking positively against targets.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE IN THIS ROLE

• Development and execution of clear local marketing plans aligned with the promotional calendar and local demand drivers.
• Demonstrate contribution to port revenue growth across both Indy and Group segments.
• Consistent tracking and reporting of marketing KPIs including leads, revenue, campaign performance, and web engagement to port leadership and your manager.
• Proactive identification of performance gaps and implementation of marketing solutions to improve results.
• Effective management of local marketing budgets with accurate forecasting, responsible spend, and timely reconciliations.
• Strong collaboration with port leadership and corporate marketing teams to ensure local initiatives support broader company goals.
• Successful execution of local campaigns, partnerships, events, and content initiatives that increase brand visibility and demand.
• Collaborate and communicate effectively across teams to support idea generation, creativity and campaigns that produce measurable result

Requirements:

• Hospitality Industry experience highly desired.

Experience (3-5+ years) in both B2B and B2C marketing

Demonstrated success in working in a matrixed organization (achieving through influence vs authority)

• Demonstrated success in building insight driven, metric focused, multi-channel, integrated marketing plans that deliver YOY revenue growth.
• Demonstrated success in innovative, revenue driving partnership development and activation

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills – both written and verbal – to be able to develop relationships

A problem-solver and self-starter, capable of working in a fast-paced environment.

The RESPECT Service System embodies our mission, vision, values and operating principles. By creating a company culture that puts RESPECT at its core, we believe it will drive us to achieve our goal of becoming a Global Experiences and Transportation Leader.

EEO / Disabled / Protected Veteran Employer.

Hornblower is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.

We offer equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals and prohibit discrimination and/or harassment of any type, including but not limited to discrimination and or harassment based upon race, religion, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, pregnancy or relation medical conditions, childbirth, breastfeeding, parental status, veteran and/or military status, disability (physical or mental), medical condition, genetic information or characteristics, political affiliation, domestic violence survivor status, marital status, or other characteristics prohibited by federal, state, or local law.

Additionally, as a federal, state, and local contractor, Hornblower complies with government regulations, including affirmative action responsibilities for qualified individuals, where and as they apply.

The company also participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations.