Head of Marketing

About MLV LA
We are seeking a Head of Marketing for our brand-new professional women's volleyball franchise as part of Major League Volleyball (MLV) in Los Angeles. As a founding member of our team, you will be a part of creating our organization's culture along with our staff and you will establish the baseline for a best-in-class operation. If you are excited about the prospect of unlocking the collective potential of an emerging franchise and shaping the culture of a women's professional team from the ground up, we want you in LA.

About the Position
Reporting to the President, the Head of Marketing will build and lead the marketing function for MLV LA from the ground up. You will define how a new professional sports franchise enters the Los Angeles market, builds a distinctive brand, earns cultural relevance, grows a passionate fan base and converts that fandom into measurable business results. This role will be a builder of strategy, budget, systems, calendar, agency and vendor relationships, measurement frameworks and team needed to scale the function. This leader will be equal parts brand steward, growth marketer, creative leader and hands-on operator, with responsibility spanning brand, content, digital and social, performance marketing, CRM/lifecycle marketing, fan engagement and the live match experience.

What You Will Do

• Create the franchise's launch and annual marketing strategy, including brand, fan acquisition, engagement, ticket marketing, content, digital, social, community/grassroots and match-day priorities, with clear goals, budgets, KPIs and measurement.
• Build and steward the MLV LA brand from day one, establishing positioning, voice, storytelling principles, brand standards and creative systems that make the team distinctive, culturally relevant and unmistakably Los Angeles.
• Develop the go-to-market calendar for major franchise moments - including team and identity launches, player announcements, schedule release, ticket on-sales, opening night, theme nights and other tentpole moments - and lead integrated execution across paid, owned, earned and experiential channels.
• Own fan growth and demand generation, partnering closely with Ticketing to develop full-funnel campaigns that drive awareness, leads, deposits, season memberships, group sales, single-match tickets, attendance and retention.
• Establish the performance marketing engine from the ground up, including paid media strategy, audience targeting, testing, attribution, conversion optimization, budget allocation and reporting across digital and traditional channels.
• Build the franchise's CRM and lifecycle marketing approach in partnership with internal and league resources, including database growth, segmentation, email/SMS strategy, customer journeys, personalization and retention programs.
• Lead content, social and creative strategy across all fan-facing platforms; establish the editorial calendar, creative workflows and production standards for design, photography, video and real-time storytelling.
• Shape the live MLV LA experience in partnership with match operations, including game presentation, in-venue entertainment, promotions, fan engagement, music, talent, street teams and other elements that turn first-time attendees into repeat fans.
• Create a disciplined marketing operating system: annual and campaign planning, briefs, calendars, approval processes, budget tracking, dashboards, post-campaign recaps and test-and-learn practices that can scale as the organization grows.
• Use research, fan data, campaign performance and market insights to define priority audiences, understand fan behavior, optimize investment and continuously improve acquisition, engagement and revenue outcomes.
• Partner cross-functionally with Corporate Partnerships to develop integrated sponsor activations and deliver compelling partner value, and with Ticketing, Communications, Community, Merchandise, Volleyball Operations and league leadership to ensure a cohesive brand and fan experience.
• Build relationships across the Los Angeles sports, entertainment, media, volleyball and cultural communities to expand awareness, develop grassroots programs and identify collaborations that authentically connect the franchise to the market.
• Select and manage agencies, freelancers, media partners, technology platforms and production vendors as needed, balancing speed, quality, cost and the long-term goal of building strong internal capabilities.
• Build the marketing team over time, defining the organizational structure and hiring, developing and leading high-performing talent across growth/performance, content/social, creative and fan experience.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive marketing experience, preferably in professional sports, entertainment, live events or a high-growth consumer brand, with meaningful leadership responsibility.
• Proven experience developing integrated marketing strategies that drive measurable fan/customer growth, engagement and revenue.
• Strong brand-building instincts and a track record of translating positioning into compelling creative, storytelling and experiences across multiple channels.
• Strong command of digital and performance marketing, including paid media, full-funnel campaign strategy, CRM/lifecycle marketing, audience segmentation, analytics, attribution and conversion optimization.
• Experience supporting ticket sales, ecommerce, memberships/subscriptions or another direct-to-consumer revenue model is strongly preferred.
• Experience overseeing social/content, creative production and live event or game presentation functions, whether directly or through internal teams and external partners.
• Demonstrated ability to build strategy, processes and infrastructure rather than simply inherit them; experience launching a new team, brand, venue, product or other start-up environment is a strong plus.
• Strong analytical and commercial mindset, with experience managing budgets, setting KPIs and using data to make investment and optimization decisions.
• Excellent leadership, communication and project management skills, with the ability to move fluidly between strategic planning, creative development and hands-on execution.
• Knowledge and existing network within the Los Angeles sports, business, entertainment, media, cultural or volleyball community is a plus.
• Creative, curious, organized and results-oriented, with excellent judgment, attention to detail and a deep commitment to the fan experience.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and willingness to work hands-on in a growing organization where priorities evolve quickly and no task is beneath the role.
• Ability to work evenings, weekends, holidays and matches as required.

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.