Senior Manager, Cultural Marketing

Chicago Fire FC; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 70,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus eligible

Official Chicago Fire FC Website

Job summary

Chicago Fire FC is hiring a Senior Manager, Cultural Marketing to lead the club's cultural strategy, create partnerships, and drive fan growth. You will blend marketing leadership with hands-on execution across campaigns and events in Chicago and beyond.

The role focuses on translating insights into culturally relevant programs, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and building an influencer ecosystem to amplify brand moments.

Qualifications

• 6-8+ years of experience in marketing, brand strategy, cultural marketing, or a related field.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of Chicago Fire FC's cultural marketing strategy to increase relevance, affinity, and participation among priority audiences.
• Translate brand strategy and audience insights into culturally relevant programs, partnerships, and experiences that drive measurable business impact.
• Develop breakthrough ideas, experiences, and moments to generate organic buzz and earned media coverage.
• Lead cultural amplification of Club, MLS, and commercial moments, coordinating messaging and timing across teams.
• Build and manage influencer and creator ecosystems with local tastemakers, celebrities, and community voices.
• Foster partnerships that expand reach with brands, artists, retailers, and community organizations.
• Ensure cultural programs reflect Chicago's diversity and strengthen relationships with underserved audiences.
• Collaborate with Ticketing, Partnerships, Content, Digital, and Retail to align cultural initiatives with revenue goals.
• Establish metrics to evaluate cultural marketing initiatives against engagement, growth, business impact, and revenue.
• Integrate cultural programming into matchdays and events with influential guests and media.

Skills

Marketing strategy

Cultural marketing

Influencer programs

Cross-functional collaboration

Data-driven decisions

Job description

Position Summary

Chicago Fire Football Club is seeking a dynamic and experienced Senior Manager, Cultural Marketing, to help define and operationalize how the Club shows up in culture – driving relevance, participation, and growth across the city and beyond. Reporting into the Brand & Communications team within Marketing, this role blends cultural strategy, integrated marketing leadership, and hands‑on execution.

The Senior Manager will be responsible for further building the foundation that connects brand, campaigns, and community – ensuring the Club consistently appears in the right spaces, with the right voices, at the right moments.

This individual will lead efforts to reach new audiences and deepen connection with priority fan segments through influencer ecosystems, cultural collaborations, third-space activations, and buzz‑driving moments. In parallel, they will help shape and activate key commercial and Club initiatives – including kit launches, major announcements, and league moments – ensuring they break through in culture, not just traditional channels.

This is a highly cross‑functional role for a strategic operator and cultural connector who can both set direction and deliver impact, contributing to broader goals of fan growth, engagement, and revenue generation. The ideal candidate has experience developing and executing marketing plans while being able to adapt swiftly and quickly in a fast‑paced environment.

The ideal candidate has experience developing and executing marketing plans while being able to adapt swiftly and quickly in a fast-paced environment.

Key Responsibilities

Cultural Strategy & Fan Growth:

• Lead the development and execution of Chicago Fire FC's cultural marketing strategy, identifying opportunities to increase relevance, affinity, and participation among priority audiences.
• Translate brand strategy and audience insights into culturally relevant programs, partnerships, and experiences that drive measurable business impact.

Earned Attention & Cultural Storytelling

• Develop breakthrough ideas, experiences, and moments that generate organic buzz, social conversation, and earned media coverage.
• Partner closely with Communications to transform cultural activations into compelling stories and high‑impact media opportunities.

Integrated Campaign Leadership

• Lead the cultural amplification of key Club, MLS, and commercial moments, ensuring campaigns extend beyond owned channels to generate conversation, earned media, and community engagement.
• Partner across Marketing, Content, Social Media, Creative, and Communications to align messaging, timing, and execution.

Influencer, Creator & Partnership Strategy

• Build and scale a strategic influencer and creator ecosystem spanning local tastemakers, celebrities, media personalities, athletes, and community voices.
• Develop and manage cultural collaborations with brands, artists, retailers, “third spaces,” and community organizations to expand the Club's reach and relevance.

Community & Diversity Marketing

• Ensure cultural programs authentically reflect the diversity of Chicago and strengthen relationships with underserved and emerging audiences.
• Build meaningful partnerships that increase community credibility and help broaden who sees themselves in the Club.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Collaborate with Ticketing, Corporate Partnerships, Content, Digital Marketing, and Retail to align cultural initiatives with Club objectives and revenue goals.
• Ensure initiatives support ticket sales, retail performance, and partner objectives without losing authenticity.

Measurement & Optimization

• Establish performance metrics and evaluate cultural marketing initiatives against engagement, audience growth, business impact, and revenue objectives.
• Leverage audience insights, consumer trends, and data to continuously refine strategy.

Matchday & Events

• Integrate cultural programming into matchdays, events, and key Club moments, including the cultivation and hosting of influential guests, partners, creators, and media.

Required Qualifications

• 6-8+ years of experience in marketing, brand strategy, cultural marketing, or a related field.
• Proven ability to develop and execute integrated marketing strategies that advance business objectives.
• Experience leading influencer programs, strategic partnerships, and culturally driven campaigns.
• Strong ability to translate consumer insights, audience behavior, and business priorities into actionable marketing plans. Demonstrated success building and managing relationships with creators, brands, media partners, and community organizations.
• Experience working cross-functionally with creative, content, partnerships, ticketing, and other stakeholders to deliver integrated campaigns and align competing priorities.
• Strong verbal, written, and presentation skills, with the ability to influence and communicate effectively with senior leaders and external partners.
• Exceptional project management skills, with the ability to lead complex initiatives from concept through execution in a fast-paced environment.
• Commitment to inclusive, community-driven marketing.

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of soccer and a clear understanding of its cultural relevance both locally and globally.
• Deep understanding of the intersection of sports, music, fashion, lifestyle, and community culture, with a strong perspective on Chicago's cultural landscape.
• Ability to work non-traditional hours, in non-traditional settings, including all home games (or other work events) that fall on nights, weekends, and/or holidays.
• Conversational bilingual language fluency preferred.

Compensation

• This role offers a salary range of $70,000.00 - $80,000.00. Final salary is determined by carefully considering the applicant's background, experience, and qualifications. Base pay may vary significantly based on geographic location, job-specific knowledge, skills, and overall experience. This role is classified as Full-time, exempt.
• This role is bonus eligible based on club-wide goals.
• Additional benefits & perks: Official Chicago Fire FC Website

Additional Notes

• Chicago Fire FC is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion. Our diversity initiatives start with the recruitment and selection process; therefore, we’d like to welcome all diverse candidates to apply to opportunities within our Club.
• CFFC is committed to providing equal employment opportunity and maintaining a workplace for employees and applicants for employment that is free from discrimination. The Company does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, citizenship, age, veteran or military status, disability, sexual orientation, sexual orientation or expression, marital status or any other characteristic protected by law. This policy governs all aspects of employment, including hiring, promotion, compensation, discipline, termination, and access to benefits and training.
• If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, please contact the People & Culture Department at [email protected] to let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.