Director of Brand + Content Marketing

About the Opportunity

Chelsea Piers is seeking a Director of Brand & Content Marketing to lead brand storytelling, organic content strategy, social media, and PR across our sports venues in New York, Brooklyn, and Connecticut. Reporting to the VP of Sports Marketing, this role is the creative and strategic engine behind how Chelsea Piers Sports shows up in the world-shaping our voice, building our audience, and driving brand equity across every channel and touchpoint.


This is a pivotal hire at an exciting moment. Chelsea Piers Sports is embarking on a brand refresh, and this Director will play an integral role in shaping and executing that work-partnering closely with an external branding agency. Beyond the rebrand, they will own our day-to-day content and social presence and serve as a key strategic partner to both our Performance and Lifecycle Marketing directors, ensuring brand consistency and compelling storytelling across all channels.


The ideal candidate is first and foremost a strong writer and executor-someone who can craft a social caption and a brand framework in the same day, and finds energy in both. This is a hands-on role as much as a strategic one. The right person is as comfortable writing a social caption or briefing a shoot as they are developing a messaging framework. They bring experience across brand, content, and social, and thrive in a lean, fast-moving environment where collaboration and initiative are equally valued.

Responsibilities

Organic Content Strategy & Execution

• Own Chelsea Piers Sports' organic content strategy-setting the vision for how we show up across channels, defining content priorities, and building and optimizing the content calendar.

• Co-own SEO strategy with the Performance Marketing team, leading organic content efforts (blog, website copy, landing pages) that improve search visibility and drive qualified traffic.

• Develop and maintain Chelsea Piers Sports' editorial voice and tone-ensuring consistency across all content outputs, from social captions to program descriptions to seasonal campaigns.

• Direct and personally contribute to content creation across formats: written copy, video scripts, photo art direction, and short-form social content. Balance content leadership with hands-on execution.

• Partner with the in-house creative team and external production partners to brief, develop, and deliver high-quality content assets that support campaigns, programs, and brand moments.

• Build content feedback loops-tracking performance, surfacing insights, and continuously optimizing the content mix to drive engagement and brand affinity.

Social Media

• Own Chelsea Piers Sports' social media strategy and presence across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn-setting the vision, managing the content calendar, and driving growth in reach, engagement, and community.

• Manage and develop 1-2 Social Content Managers (in-house and consultants), providing clear direction, creative guidance, and professional development opportunities-with an eye toward growing the team as the business scales.

• Help create and guide the creation of social content-writing captions, reviewing posts, and contributing to shoots and production as needed. Lead by doing.

• Define social KPIs, build reporting frameworks, and consistently track and share performance with leadership-identifying what's working and where to optimize.

• Stay on top of platform trends, algorithm changes, and emerging formats (particularly on TikTok and Instagram Reels) to ensure Chelsea Piers remains culturally relevant and competitive.

Brand Strategy & Rebrand

• Partner closely with the VP of Sports Marketing to shape and execute Chelsea Piers Sports' brand strategy, serving as the internal lead on all brand-related initiatives.

• Own the day-to-day management of the external branding agency relationship-leading communications, ensuring work stays on strategy and on schedule, and serving as the primary point of contact for all rebrand deliverables.

• Help develop and maintain the brand architecture: messaging frameworks, brand pillars, tone of voice guidelines, and audience-specific value propositions for our programs, memberships, and experiences.

• Serve as the internal steward of brand standards-ensuring guidelines are applied consistently across all marketing channels, in-venue materials, and partner communications.

• Collaborate with Performance and Lifecycle Marketing to ensure brand messaging is reflected consistently across paid campaigns, CRM communications, and customer touchpoints.

PR & Communications

• Lead Chelsea Piers Sports' PR strategy-identifying earned media opportunities, developing story angles, and managing relationships with press, journalists, and media contacts.

• Oversee PR and events budget, ensuring resources are allocated to initiatives that drive brand awareness and community engagement.

• Partner with the Partnerships Manager on brand collaborations and sponsorships, ensuring activations align with brand strategy and are amplified effectively across owned and earned channels.

• Manage PR and event activations-from media moments and press releases to community events and program launches-that reinforce Chelsea Piers Sports' brand positioning.

• Serve as a key voice in crisis communications planning, ensuring the brand responds quickly and consistently when needed.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Performance Marketing to align brand creative with paid media campaigns-ensuring visual and messaging consistency from top-of-funnel awareness through conversion.

• Collaborate with Lifecycle Marketing to ensure brand voice and storytelling are reflected in CRM, email, in-venue, and customer retention efforts.

• Work with Operations (GMs and program directors) across NY, BK, and CT to stay close to the on-the-ground experience-gathering stories, program updates, and community moments that fuel content.

• Brief the in-house creative team on brand and content needs, ensuring assets are delivered on time and on brand across all channels and formats.

• Support other key priorities as they relate to brand, content, PR, and Chelsea Piers Sports' overall marketing strategy.

Location

This role is based in New York and works in-person four days per week across our NYC, Brooklyn, and Connecticut locations. Mondays and Wednesdays are anchor days in the NYC office; the remaining in-person days may be spent at any of our three venues depending on the needs of the business.

• 7-10 years of experience in brand, content, and/or social media marketing, with a track record of building brands and audiences across multiple channels.
• Exceptional writer and storyteller-able to craft compelling copy across formats, from social captions and press releases to campaign messaging and brand frameworks.
• Proven experience developing and executing organic content and social media strategies, with a deep understanding of Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
• Experience managing agency or external partner relationships, with the ability to drive accountability, provide clear creative direction, and keep projects on strategy.
• Familiarity with SEO best practices and experience collaborating on organic search content strategy.
• Experience managing and developing direct reports, with a collaborative and hands-on leadership style.
• Strong project management skills-able to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and stakeholders simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
• Analytical mindset; ability to use data and performance insights to optimize content, social, and campaign strategy.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to translate brand strategy into clear, actionable direction for internal teams and external partners.
• Passion for sports, fitness, and community engagement a plus.
• A self-starter who thrives in lean, fast-moving environments-comfortable owning a lot, moving quickly, and building structure.