Manager, Field Marketing

The Manager, Field Marketing will be the marketing owner and advocate for Sarku Japan's mall business - our largest and most established channel. This role is accountable for building marketing strategies and programs that grow mall sales and traffic, strengthen local execution, and ensure the realities and opportunities of our mall locations are represented in company-wide marketing decisions.

You will work across Brand, Creative, Digital, Social, Loyalty/CRM, Analytics and Operations to create integrated programs that drive measurable business results. You will also own the processes, tools and communication cadence that make it easier for restaurant and field leaders to understand what is happening, what they need to do and how each program is performing. The ideal candidate combines strong business judgment with field empathy: someone who understands restaurant realities, can translate strategy into turnkey execution, communicates clearly with a distributed organization and is comfortable being accountable for sales, traffic and marketing effectiveness.

Key Responsibilities:

Own the Mall Marketing Strategy and Sales Growth

• Own the marketing strategy and execution for Sarku Japan's mall portfolio, with a clear focus on growing comparable sales, transactions and guest frequency.
• Build annual and quarterly mall marketing priorities that align with company sales goals, the brand calendar and the needs of mall restaurants.
• Use store, market and cohort-level performance to identify opportunities, diagnose softness and recommend actions to improve results.
• Develop proactive plans for key mall traffic periods, seasonal moments, competitive threats and location-specific sales opportunities.

Lead Integrated Mall Marketing Programs

• Build and maintain a centralized Print-on-Demand Marketing Toolkit and repeatable templates that reduce one-off requests and local reinvention.
• Own and continuously improve the Mall Local Store Marketing Playbook, including Always-On tactics, traffic-driving programs and Competitive Intrusion responses.
• Build and maintain relationships with mall management companies and create a portfolio-wide mall event calendar so Sarku Japan captures relevant traffic-driving opportunities.
• Develop scalable community, co-tenant and mall-employee programs that can be deployed consistently across locations.

Measure Results and Build a Smarter Playbook

• Own reporting and performance analysis for mall marketing programs, including sales, transactions, traffic, offer performance, digital adoption and other agreed KPIs.
• Design tests with clear objectives, control/comparison logic and success criteria so Sarku Japan can distinguish true incrementality from activity.
• Partner with Analytics and Finance to connect marketing activity to sales and profitability and establish practical performance benchmarks.

Lead Cross-Functional Execution

• Build strong relationships with field and restaurant leaders and serve as a trusted, responsive marketing partner to the mall organization.
• Lead cross-functional workstreams and influence partners across Marketing, Operations, Digital, Analytics, Finance and external vendors without direct reporting authority.
• Manage multiple programs, timelines and stakeholders simultaneously while maintaining clear ownership, deadlines and follow-through.
• Spend meaningful time in restaurants and malls to understand the guest experience, field realities and execution opportunities firsthand.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of field, local or integrated marketing experience, preferably within QSR, fast casual, restaurants, retail, hospitality or another multi-unit consumer business.
• Previous mall, retail-center or multi-unit field marketing experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience using sales, traffic and marketing performance data to diagnose business opportunities and make recommendations.
• Strong understanding of integrated marketing across brand, creative, digital, social, CRM/loyalty, local marketing and third-party delivery.
• Experience creating turnkey programs, toolkits and communication processes that can scale across a large distributed field organization.
• Strong communicator who can build trust with restaurant and field teams while effectively representing their needs to cross-functional and senior leadership partners.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence teams without direct authority.
• Strong project-management skills with the ability to manage multiple programs, deadlines and stakeholders simultaneously.
• Ability to travel 50%+ as required to spend time with field teams, restaurant locations, mall partners and key markets.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Sarku Japan strongly supports equal employment opportunity for all applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, veteran status, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.

Founded in 1987, Sarku Japan began with four entrepreneurs who saw an opportunity to introduce Japanese teppanyaki cooking to the United States. Starting with a single location in the Liberty Tree Mall in Boston, Massachusetts, they built the company through hard work, shared responsibility, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
From the beginning, the vision was simple: serve fresh, made-to-order meals cooked directly in front of customers while delivering an experience that stood apart from traditional food court dining. Through energy, showmanship, and quality, Sarku Japan quickly built a loyal customer following.
The early years required determination, long hours, and an unwavering belief in the brand. As the company grew throughout the Northeast, Florida, Texas, and eventually across the country, the founders stayed committed to the philosophy of Kaizen — continuous improvement. That mindset continues to shape how we operate today, from refining recipes and operations to investing in our people and guest experience.
Today, Sarku Japan has grown into a nationally recognized brand with locations across the United States, including shopping centers, street-front restaurants, and military bases. While we have grown significantly since 1987, our commitment to quality, teamwork, innovation, and growth remains at the center of everything we do.