Marketing Operations Lead — Campaigns, CRM & Growth

BLUE PLATE CATERING LTD; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 85,000 - 92,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Paid time off (PTO)

Free meals

Wellness programs

Job summary

Blue Plate Catering in Chicago is seeking a Marketing Operations Manager to lead multi-channel marketing initiatives and support sales goals through data-driven campaigns. You will oversee campaign development, lead generation, customer retention, and the creation of sales collateral, working closely with Sales, Culinary, and Operations teams.

The role requires a Bachelor’s in marketing and 5–7 years of progressive marketing experience in hospitality.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing or related field.
• 5–7 years of progressive marketing experience, ideally in restaurant or hospitality.
• Strong affinity for mission and data-driven marketing.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute multi-channel marketing campaigns on time and on brand.
• Lead customer retention efforts and support sales goals with strategic projects.
• Collaborate with Sales, Culinary and other teams to create engaging materials.
• Plan, write, build, and distribute email campaigns and manage external advertising.
• Develop presentations and client-facing materials for new business opportunities.
• Assist in implementing and managing a CRM system for segmentation and lead generation.

Skills

Data analytics

Marketing communications

Cross-functional collaboration

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in marketing or related field

Tools

CRM platform

Adobe Creative Cloud

Canva

Microsoft 365

Job description

Description

Job Title: Marketing Operations Manager Department: Marketing

FLSA: Exempt Status: Full Time

Reports to: VP of Marketing

Customary Days: Monday - Friday

Customary Hours: This role may require occasional work on evenings, holidays, and weekends, depending on business needs.

Blue Plate is looking for an experienced Marketing Operations Manager to drive our marketing initiatives and help us reach new heights. In this role, you’ll develop impactful marketing campaigns, lead customer retention efforts, and support our sales goals through strategic and innovative projects. Collaborate with Sales, Culinary and other teams to bring our brand vision to life!

Position Summary:

Blue Plate Catering is seeking a dynamic and results-oriented Marketing Operations Manager to support the company's growth goals through strategic and creative marketing initiatives. This role will oversee the development and execution of sales and marketing materials, campaigns, lead generation, and customer acquisition and retention efforts that align with our brand standards. Reporting to the VP of Marketing, the Marketing Operations Manager will collaborate with sales, culinary, and other internal teams to create engaging materials, manage multi-channel campaigns, and support our mission to “care more” by delivering food and service experiences that transform our clients’ visions into reality. Balancing creative thinking with interpersonal skills, this person will demonstrate an ability to work with the various teams to successfully develop concepts and ensure they represent the “voice” of the company.

Essential Functions:

• Deliver marketing projects on time, on budget, and with excellence. Ensure compliance of brand standards and maintain consistency of all communication elements across marketing-based activities.
• Manage Blue Plate and Allium Events social media channels across Meta, LinkedIn, and TikTok, including content strategy, content calendars, copywriting, publishing, and community engagement.
• Coordinate photography, videography, and content capture for events, food, venues, team members, and campaigns, including managing external photographers, videographers, and content creators.
• Plan, write, build, and distribute email marketing campaigns for Blue Plate and Allium, including seasonal promotions, event marketing, brand communications, and targeted campaigns
• Manage external advertising initiatives and relationships with media and industry partners, including Modern Luxury, Chicago Style Weddings, Crain’s Chicago Business, and other publications and organizations. Coordinate creative assets, advertising specifications, deadlines, copy, and campaign deliverables.
• Partner with Blue Plate’s Delivery and Workplace Dining teams to develop marketing materials, menus, presentations, promotional campaigns, sales collateral, client-facing materials, and other resources supporting business objectives
• Develop presentations, pitch materials, proposals, RFP content, sales collateral, and other client-facing materials to support new business opportunities and retention efforts.
• Collaborate with leadership, sales, culinary, operations, and other stakeholders to develop marketing content, copy, presentations, and supporting materials for major RFPs.
• Partner with culinary, sales, Delivery, and Workplace Dining teams on menu launches and seasonal promotions, coordinating photography, creative assets, messaging, email, social media, website updates, and supporting collateral.
• Develop marketing communications and materials that keep internal teams informed of campaigns, initiatives, events, new offerings, and brand updates.
• Assist in implementing and managing a CRM system to support customer segmentation, lead generation, and retention efforts.
• Perform other job-related tasks, as assigned.

Requirements

Education and Experience: The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Bachelor’s degree in marketing or related field.

Minimum 5 -7years of progressive marketing experience, ideally in the restaurant or hospitality industry.

Essential Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Blue Plate is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA):

• Ability to demonstrate strong affinity for Blue Plate’s mission: Our mission is to “care more” for others through food and service experiences that turn our partners’ visions into reality.
• Experienced with and enjoy data - including market/segment sizing, forecasting, and working with analytics to understand opportunity sizing.
• Proven experience in collaborating with marketing, sales, operations, and other teams to drive initiatives.
• Up-to-date on marketing communications, analytics best practices, and hospitality market insights.
• Strong project management skills from conception to evaluation, with ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously and to deadline.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to prepare and deliver clear, concise reports and presentations that are understandable by the target audience.
• Ability to function independently and intuitively in a fast-paced environment.
• Highly organized/strong attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal and analytical skills.
• Must be proficient in Microsoft 365; Adobe Creative Cloud, Canva, and CRM platform are a plus.

Language Skills:

Ability to read, write and speak English proficiently. Bilingual skills preferred.

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Blue Plate is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA):

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear.
• Possess the ability to fulfill any and all office activities normally expected in an office setting, to include, but not limited to: remaining seated for periods of time to perform computer entry, participating in filing activity, lifting and carrying office supplies (paper reams, mail, etc.).
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
• This role may occasionally require more than 40 hours per week to complete essential responsibilities, depending on business needs.
• Fine hand manipulation.

Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Blue Plate is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA):

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is exposed to weather conditions prevalent at the time.
• Internal office space.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate

Compensation and Benefits

• Salary Range: $85,000–$92,000, depending on experience and qualifications.
• At Blue Plate Catering, we live our core value: We Care More. Our comprehensive benefits package reflects our commitment to supporting our team’s well-being and growth. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k)-retirement plan, and paid time off (PTO) with sick leave.
• Additional benefits such as commuter benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), free meals, and pet insurance options ensure our team feels valued. We also offer wellness rewards, an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and resources to help you thrive in work and life.