What are the responsibilities and job description for the Manager, Digital Marketing position at Chicago Fire?
The Chicago Fire Football Club (Chicago Fire FC) is an American professional soccer club that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top U.S. domestic league. Founded on October 8, 1997, on the 126th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, the Club began play in 1998 as one of the League’s first expansion franchises. The Fire have won six major domestic titles, including the 1998 MLS Cup; the 1998, 2000, 2003, and 2006 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups; as well as the 2003 MLS Supporters’ Shield.
The Club recently announced plans to build a $750M privately financed downtown stadium in Chicago in 2028. The stadium will anchor Chicago’s newest neighborhood, the 78, a 62-acre development and entertainment district located along the Chicago River just south of Roosevelt Road. For more information on our bold plans, visit DearChicago.com.
Additionally, the Club recently opened the state-of-the-art $100M Endeavor Health Performance Center in March 2025 that has set the standard for North American training facilities. With tremendous growth and expansion, the Club is laying the foundation for an audacious and ambitious vision that will transform the brand and the company in the coming years.
At Chicago Fire FC, we’re on a mission to entertain, serve, and unite Chicago by delivering excellence on and off the pitch to ensure a world-class experience. As a club we let our values guide everything we do: we uphold uncompromising integrity, show respect for all at all times, never settle for less, constantly innovate, and hold ourselves relentlessly accountable.
Position Overview:
Chicago Fire Football Club is seeking a Manager, Digital Marketing to join the Marketing team. This role will report to the Sr. Director, Marketing and serve as the internal lead for developing and executing the Club’s digital advertising strategy across Paid Social, Programmatic and Connected TV.
In this role, the individual will be responsible for scaling paid media campaigns to drive lead generation, fan acquisition and revenue growth for Marketing, Ticketing, Corporate Partnerships and Soccer Business initiatives. They will design and optimize full-funnel, data-driven campaigns, collaborating with internal teams to ensure all efforts are measurable, efficient and profitable.
Job Responsibilities:
- Digital Advertising Strategy & Execution
- Develop and oversee all digital advertising campaigns across Paid Social, Programmatic and Connected TV to drive leads, fan growth and revenue.
- Lead paid media strategy and execution, managing the digital budget and optimizing spend to meet performance and revenue goals.
- Build and manage full-funnel, cross-channel campaigns to attract new fans, retarget existing ones and nurture long-term engagement.
- Implement efficient A/B testing to optimize creative, copy and audience targeting.
- Optimization & Measurement
- Oversee backend pixel tracking, tagging and campaign attribution to accurately measure digital performance and revenue impact.
- Continuously evaluate campaign effectiveness and ROI, optimizing engagement, revenue, leads, spend and other key metrics.
- Collaborate with the Business Strategy & Analytics team to report on digital attributed revenue, lead volume and conversion rates.
- Channel Expansion & Growth
- Identify and test new paid channels and technologies to expand reach and efficiency.
- Develop integrated strategies that connect paid, owned and earned channels to support holistic marketing objectives.
- Partner with internal teams to ensure creative assets, messaging and targeting align across platforms.
- Reporting & Insights
- Own KPI reporting, including weekly and monthly updates on paid campaign performance.
- Translate campaign results into actionable insights and recommendations for Marketing leadership.
- Support forecasting, pacing and budget allocation based on historical performance and business goals.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner closely with Ticketing, Soccer Business and Creative teams to align digital advertising with sales priorities and brand initiatives.
- Work collaboratively with Lifecycle Marketing and Marketing Operations to ensure cohesive campaigns across all fan touchpoints.
- Manage external agencies and vendors to ensure best-in-class execution and measurement.
- Completion of other duties as assigned
Required Qualifications:
- At least 3-5 years of experience with advertising technology and tools (Meta Ads, Google Ads, Pixels, Facebook Business Manager).
- Expertise in digital marketing across paid social, display and search as well as experience driving ad operations and marketing measurement.
- Ability to leverage a technical mindset with a creative and analytical approach to problem solving.
- Ability to manage priorities and coordinate tasks to solve day-to-day challenges in a dynamic environment.
- Possess executive presence, ability to partner with senior leaders as well as operationalize ideas and best practices.
- Excellent written and verbal communication, organizational and project management skills.
- Must display a strong work ethic and desire to build a career in professional sports
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- 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
Preferred Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience in marketing, digital marketing, business or technology.
- Experience with programmatic/CTV advertising platforms and/or other marketing technology products and systems.
- Experience working in a fast paced or start-up environment
Compensation:
- This role offers a salary range of $70,000-$75,000 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
Please note:
- 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 and Culture Department at peopleandculture@chicagofirefc.com to let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.
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