Director - Category Marketing
Coraopolis, Pennsylvania
At DICK'S Sporting Goods, we believe in how positively sports can change lives. On our team, everyone plays a critical role in creating confidence and excitement by personally equipping all athletes to achieve their dreams. We are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workforce, reflecting the communities we serve.
If you are ready to make a difference as part of the world's greatest sports team, apply to join our team today!
OVERVIEW:
The Director of Category Marketing - This sports fanatic will lead licensed seasonal strategy, storytelling, and campaign execution for key product categories-including officially licensed league products (NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, NCAA) like fan gear, trading cards, and memorabilia-while partnering closely with Merchandising, Creative, Media and other cross-functional teams. This teammate acts as a crucial pulse for the broader Marketing team on happenings throughout the sports landscape. Thus, they must be culturally plugged-in, sports-obsessed and command a deep understanding of the major sports leagues and players. They will need to track daily sports news and major moments in order to quickly translate cultural sports happenings into relevant, real-time marketing opportunities. This role ensures the brand and categories show up authentically and impactfully across the entire sports calendar.
Go-to-Market Strategy:
- Oversee the development and strategic direction for all seasonal campaigns related to the Licensed category
- Synthesize merchandising initiatives, consumer insights, sports culture trends and last year's results to write clear, actionable business/creative briefs and establish the strategic direction for category campaigns.
- Drive media and communication plans through knowledge of consumer behavior and meaningful data insights to develop customized consumer target segments
- Ensure consistent and effective messaging is produced and delivered across all internal channels and ultimately to customers
- Identify whitespace opportunities for new stories, emerging audience segments, and category growth drivers.
Innovation and Analysis:
- Capture key digital marketing metrics for campaigns and analyze trends to optimize performance of future campaigns
- Partner with the Marketing Analytics/Research group to identify trends in fan behavior, category demand spikes, and conversion patterns around sports events.
- Surface real-time opportunities and turn them into actionable marketing briefs or content moments.
Ensure Operational Excellence:
- Manage campaign workflow, quality and service levels for all channel deliverables, ensuring alignment with corporate objectives and marketing strategy
- Closely collaborate, and serve as the primary contact for, the external creative agency working on category campaigns (if applicable)
- Responsible for planning and executing annual financial plan including oversight for all financial documents to ensure compliance with all accounting rules and regulations
Drive Multi-Channel Effectiveness:
- Act as the connector between Merchandising, Brand, Creative, Social, Media, PR, In-Store/Visual and E commerce to align on category priorities and sports moment plans.
- Work closely with key brand vendors to integrate product launches, athlete stories, and in-market activations into category and moment-based plans.
Developing Talent and Teammate Engagement:
- Manage execution responsibilities and workload of direct/indirect reports (teams of 2-6) to achieve department deliverables on time and with quality.
- Provide direct reports with timely and regular feedback to support teammate development/ growth in role.
- Establish strategic staffing and succession plans (0-2-year horizon) within span of control and gain SVP support; successfully deliver on proposed staffing objectives.
- Drive the talent selection process in alignment with the company's talent philosophy for open direct/indirect reporting positions; Ensure all direct reports are appropriately trained and on-boarded.
- Demonstrate a high level of passion and commitment to enhancing the overall teammate experience by displaying integrity, inclusion and empowering direct/indirect reports to be their best.
QUALIFICATIONS:
VIRTUAL REQUIREMENTS:
At DICK'S, we thrive on innovation and authenticity. That said, to protect the integrity and security of our hiring process, we ask that candidates do not use AI tools (like ChatGPT or others) during interviews or assessments.
To ensure a smooth and secure experience, please note the following:
Cameras must be on during all virtual interviews.
AI tools are not permitted to be used by the candidate during any part of the interview process.
Offers are contingent upon a satisfactory background check which may include ID verification.
If you have any questions or need accommodations, we're here to help. Thanks for helping us keep the process fair and secure for everyone!
