What are the responsibilities and job description for the Club Marketing Specialist - Club Performance Group position at United Soccer League?
United Soccer League
Job Title: Club Marketing Specialist - Club Performance Group
Position Type: Full-Time
Location: Tampa, FL (USL Headquarters)
Overview of the United Soccer League (USL)
The United Soccer League (USL) is the heartbeat of American soccer. Impacting more than 200 communities across the United States, the USL is the first and only soccer organization in the United States to build a youth-to-professional pathway for both men and women within one ecosystem. That structure includes three professional leagues: USL Super League (women), USL Championship (men), and USL League One (men); two pre-professional leagues: USL League Two (men) and the USL W League (women); and two youth platforms: USL Academy and USL Youth.
Authentic, vital, and exciting, the USL is dedicated to providing an inclusive and memorable soccer experience for players, fans, and communities across our growing "soccer nation."
Position Purpose
USL is seeking a Club Marketing Specialist, as part of the USL’s Club Performance Group, the group focused on providing strategic consultative support to optimize business performance. This role will function as a strategic advisor servicing all USL teams throughout the league. The role's primary focus will be to develop and execute data-driven fan engagement strategies, optimize marketing campaigns for revenue generation (ticket sales, sponsorships, and merchandise), and ensure clubs effectively allocate resources for maximum ROI.
The Club Marketing Specialist will partner with key stakeholders on USL teams to understand their individual organizational goals, help identify opportunities for growth and optimize their marketing plans to achieve business objectives. The Club Marketing Specialist will be expected to constantly innovate, combining best practices and unique ideas for fan and community engagement with the ultimate goal of driving revenue.
Focus areas will include developing and sharing strategies aimed at boosting USL Club visibility and exposure, growing fanbases, maximizing the ROI of marketing budgets, advising on marketing budget spends/allocation and building an omnichannel marketing “best practice” resource center. This individual will not have a primary focus on digital marketing efforts but will work closely with department staff members who are leading those digital marketing strategies. The level of engagement with USL teams will vary based on each individual team’s needs.
Duties and Responsibilities
Specific duties include, but are not limited to:
- Create an individualized, strategic roadmap for participating USL teams’ marketing stakeholders to drive revenue and brand awareness.
- Execute against the roadmap and continue to evolve it.
- Establish relationships with teams by meeting regularly and leading discussions.
- Build a library of best practices and learnings.
- Provide training and insight on best practices, industry trends, proposed strategies, tools and platforms.
- Support teams in their efforts to foster and grow mutually beneficial external relationships.
- Share learnings and initiatives from the USL to stakeholders.
- Offer guidance to help teams maximize co-branding activations with corporate and community partners that will lead to increased awareness and visibility.
- Bring creative feedback to the table and brainstorm with individual marketing teams on new ideas and campaigns.
- Establish processes that can help Clubs track the fan journey/lifecycle.
- Advise Clubs on high-performing digital and traditional marketing strategies that optimize fan conversion, ticket sales, and sponsorship activations. This includes insights on paid media allocation, and in-stadium promotions.
- Develop and implement scalable campaign templates and toolkits that Clubs can adapt for local execution, ensuring best practices and case studies can be shared across the league.
- Analyze fan engagement and revenue impact from campaigns, using CRM data and analytics platforms, and provide actionable recommendations for optimization.
- Work at the intersection of written content, marketing, and storytelling to deliver engaging campaigns that drive greater revenue and engagement.
- Identify and implement strategies that encourage fan loyalty and repeat purchases through personalized marketing, season ticket retention programs, and exclusive content strategies.
- Other duties/responsibilities as assigned.
Qualifications
- BA/BS degree in marketing, business, or communications, a related field, or equivalent experience/combined education.
- 2-5 years of professional experience in marketing.
- Must be detailed orientated with strong vendor management/project management skills.
- A passion and track record for customer-centric marketing and campaign management.
- Experience in a service or consultative role is a plus, especially in sports, entertainment, or live events marketing.
- Excellent understanding of marketing execution concepts and metrics; deliverability; audience segmentation; fan engagement best practices.
- Experience working with CRM systems (HubSpot, Salesforce, or similar) and digital marketing analytics platforms (Google Analytics, Meta Ads Manager) to track and optimize fan engagement efforts.
- Strong understanding of traditional and emerging marketing outlets and concepts.
- Excellent writing and presentation skills.
- Proven track record of executing and measuring omnichannel campaigns that drive ticket sales, sponsorship ROI, or merchandise revenue.
- Strong project management and organizational skills, as well as attention to detail.
- Self-starter who can work independently and within a cross-functional team.
- Willingness to take on operations/execution as needed, in addition to strategy.
- Full understanding of the MS Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
- Strong verbal and communication skills, including the ability to influence and persuade others with diplomacy and tact; work with numerous partners of differing levels, flexing interaction style as required.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills to effectively interact with team members, executives, member clubs, and external partners.
- Ability to work independently in a multi-faceted, fast, fluid, and deadline-driven environment.
- Positive attitude and strong work ethic a must.
- Ability to work as business needs require which may include long days, evenings, weekends, occasional holidays, and travel if / when necessary.
- Must have U.S. work authorization.
Work Environment
Based in Tampa, FL, USL Headquarters provides a vibrant and open working environment designed to promote collaboration, the exchange of ideas, and knowledge sharing. We believe in fostering a culture that encourages creativity, communication, and teamwork. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment, enjoys creative problem-solving, and is passionate about growing soccer at all levels through innovative marketing strategies.
Currently, USL HQ operates on a hybrid work model. From Monday to Thursday, team members gather in person to harness the power of face-to-face collaboration. This not only strengthens the bonds within the team but also enhances communication and innovation. On Fridays, we transition to a remote work setup, providing our team with the flexibility to manage their tasks in an environment of their choosing.
Typical USL HQ hours are Monday – Friday 8:30am – 5:30pm ET. Evenings, weekends, occasional holidays, and travel may be necessary based on business demands.
We have great Perks - Comprehensive Benefits Package • Medical, Dental, Vision • Health HSA and FSA • 401k w/ up to 6% company match • Pet Insurance • Corporate Discounts • Paid Vacation, Holiday & Sick Days • Business Casual Dress • Optional Remote Work Fridays • And More!
We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.
