Overview
The U.S. Soccer Foundation helps young people embrace an active and healthy lifestyle and cultivate critical life skills through soccer. The Foundation’s programs are the national model for sports-based youth development in underserved communities. Since its founding in 1994, the Foundation has impacted thousands of children through its cost-effective, high-impact initiatives, which offer safe environments where kids and communities thrive. For more information, visit www.ussoccerfoundation.org. The Foundation’s headquarters are located in Washington, D.C. Remote candidates will be considered.
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The U.S. Soccer Foundation’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) is at the core of our mission and who we are. It fuels our work as we continue to create opportunities for underrepresented populations and fight systemic inequalities through soccer. This is a shared commitment with our partners, within our organizational systems, across all the programs we offer, and within the communities we work with, as we continue to do our part to build a better future for children. We value our diverse team and are committed to creating and sustaining a culture of respect and inclusivity in which they can thrive. To read the Foundation’s detailed goals, please visit our website.
About the Role
The Marketing & Communications Manager will be responsible for managing a variety of the Foundation’s public-facing events, such as mini-pitch openings and activations, with a keen focus on building the Foundation’s brand presence, increasing brand visibility, and positively stewarding the Foundation’s partners and funders. The primary responsibilities of this role will be the development of event, marketing, and communications strategies that deliver intended results, managing the planning and tactical execution of these Foundation public-facing events, and memorializing and recording stories and impact resulting from these events. This person will also serve as a key member of the Foundation’s Marketing & Communications team working to creatively promote the Foundation and its work to key audiences and contribute to larger Foundation campaigns and initiatives. This role will serve as a lead on multi-partner and stakeholder events and manage projects that are co-led by outside organizations.
About the Team
The Marketing & Communications Department is a six-person team, responsible for shaping the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s brand, overseeing all external communications, and showcasing the organization’s work to engage key audiences. The Marketing and Communications Team is part of the Revenue Group and is critical to the positioning of the Foundation to external stakeholders—including corporate partners and individual donors. The Marketing & Communications Department works collaboratively with all other Departments to enhance their unique content, while ensuring the organization communicates a consistent narrative. The Marketing & Communications Department is responsible for organizational messaging and branding, program and organizational marketing strategies, digital strategy, media relations, speechwriting, thought leadership, storytelling, public event planning and execution, graphic design, video production, and annual individual campaigns.
Responsibilities
- Lead event strategy, project and budget management, and planning for all Foundation public-facing events, including mini-pitch openings, World Cup host city activations and events, Just Ball events, thought leadership panels (in person and digital) and other publicly attended and promoted events.
- Serve as lead project/event manager and lead convener for events that involve multiple partners (funders and community partners) to ensure successful event execution that meets marketing, communications/PR, and social impact objectives. Sample tasks include leading partner planning calls, minute-by-minute or run-of-show creation, prepping executives, developing key metrics to evaluate success, managing event budgets, hiring and sourcing event vendors, and liaising with both internal and external team members and partners to ensure execution of all event elements.
- Manage all funder marketing and events related deliverables and report results back to key internal and external parties.
- Prepare and distribute media and marketing materials (i.e. media alerts, press releases, event flyers, etc.) to garner increased visibility of events.
- Work collaboratively with the Marketing & Communications team to capture content, stories, and other assets from events.
- Develop dashboards or other mechanisms to track both quantitative and qualitative results of events and other marketing and communications/PR strategies. Evaluate and provide recommendations to improve or enhance strategy or tactics based on data and partner and participant feedback.
- Develop strong relationships with external partners, such as corporate partner marketing and communications teams and consultant groups and work collaboratively to execute events and other marketing deliverables that achieve social impact and business objectives.
- Contribute to potential corporate partnership and other funder proposals, leveraging events and marketing expertise to craft competitive proposals and pitch new ideas for future partnerships.
- Support the Marketing & Communications team in larger campaigns and initiatives, including providing expertise and counsel about how to ensure event and marketing strategy and build the brand presence and supporter engagement, enhance larger Foundation initiatives, and support the team on ad hoc projects and additional tasks, as assigned.
- Travel, evening, and weekend work is sometimes required (approximately 25% travel; approximately 10 events a year occur on weekends or evenings).
About You
- At least five years of experience in at least one of the following areas: marketing, communications, events, and/or project management
- Bachelor’s degree or higher, or equivalent experience
- Excellent project management and organizational skills; ability to manage projects from ideation through execution.
- Proven ability to manage complex events with multiple partners and priorities and multiple events at one time (estimated 20+ events per year nationwide with multiple events happening in NYC, LA, Miami, and DC during a typical year).
- Strong oral and written communication skills.
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to professionally represent the Foundation to key partners, executives, funders, community representatives, and other stakeholders.
- Enjoys and excels in the fast-paced environment of public-facing events and initiatives
- Ability to multi-task and prioritize multiple projects with an open, innovative, and efficient perspective; possesses a strong work ethic as well as the ability to work independently or as part of a team
- Experience managing other team members and consultants and vendors. Ability to mentor more junior level team members.
- Committed to bettering the lives of children though sports-based youth development.
- Committed to working on a diverse team and helping build a culture of inclusion internally and externally.
- Ability to travel up to 25% of schedule, inclusive of evenings, weekend and holiday travel/events, as needed.
The U.S. Soccer Foundation isn’t a typical organization, and the right candidate for this role isn’t typical either. The ideal candidate is looking for opportunities to improve themselves and the organization. We want go-getters. We want candidates with high expectations for themselves, hungry for the next opportunity to learn and grow.
Salary
The Foundation offers a market competitive compensation package. We are committed to incorporating DEI practices and accounting for inequities as we conduct an annual salary planning process to include merit increases, promotions, bonuses, and equity analysis across the entire organization. Foundation benefits include generous medical and dental insurance plans; 401(k) retirement plans with employer match; professional development; mobile data plan reimbursement; and flexible time off.
If you need an accommodation during the interview/hiring process, please email jaime@myhrconsultantllc.com.