The Director of Digital Marketing is an integral partner developing, engaging, and monetizing direct/digital relationships with fans and growing our fan base. At the intersection of digital marketing, content, media, and commercial marketing, this role is a collaborative and flexible leader who will shape processes while leading and implementing integrated digital marketing campaigns. This role is both strategic and hands-on, equal parts creative and analytical, and an excellent communicator and storyteller with business partners.    2023 marked the launch of MLS Season Pass as part of a 10-year partnership with Apple as the exclusive global streaming service of MLS. Fueling outstanding popularity in the League among both new and core fans. The Director of Marketing will help capitalize on this surge in demand and define how we reach and serve MLS fans through owned, partner, and paid digital channels.   Success requires a positive, adaptable, collaborative attitude that thrives in ambiguity and new ways of working. The Director of Digital Marketing leads without authority, project manage deliverables and timelines, and influence across organizational silos independent of control or ownership of specific marketing channels or teams.

Major League Soccer is the top-flight men’s professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. We aspire to be one of the top leagues in the world, as defined by our quality of play, the passion of our fans, the relevance of our clubs and the value of our enterprise.  In 2023, the league will be comprised of 29 clubs, with ongoing plans to expand to 30 clubs.   The growth of our business and fan base happens at both national and local levels. To drive collaboration, best practices, innovation, solutions and league-wide growth, Major League Soccer is building a Club Performance Department. Based in New York, the group will serve as an in-house advisory and resource, working in close partnership with club leadership in areas of business operations, including ticketing, sponsorship, media, content, marketing, business intelligence and fan development.  

The Senior Director, Match Production is responsible for the creative development and production of soccer matches. They are accountable for content quality, budget performance, and market share for several assigned competitions, including MLS and MLS Next Pro. This role is primarily assigned to matches, with various other assignments in the off-season.

Length of Temporary Engagement: December 2023 through September 2024   The Events department oversees the strategic development, planning and execution for the 2024 Copa America tournament. 2024 Copa America will be the 48th edition organized by South America’s football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament will be held in the United States and co-organized by Concacaf. SUM is the hired agency to operate ticket sales, and operations for the 2024 tournament.   The Senior Coordinator, Ticketing Operations will manage all ticketing operations for 2024 Copa America. SUM holds the exclusive Ticketing rights to Major League Soccer, the Mexican National Team (for the United States market), and CONCACAF Properties (Gold Cup™, Nations League Finals & 2024 Copa America).

The Paid Media Manager will lead strategy and buying around key areas of the MLS business. Operating as an in-house media strategist and buyer, this position will oversee the spending to support League Marketing efforts and offer strategic counsel for Clubs as needed.   The position will suit an out of the box problem solver who is fascinated by the changing nature of the space and how brands connect with audiences and will be a highly motivated and entrepreneurial individual who is comfortable working across various initiatives to deliver against fan growth goals.

The Vice President, Consumer Products – Gaming, Collectibles and Emerging Technology will build a new team to lead the strategic product development, marketing, and community management of MLS Centralized NFT marketplace and manage the existing team responsible for MLS gaming and collectibles partnerships.

MLS is seeking a Vice President to lead MLS’s efforts in production/broadcast operations, technological planning and development, and business process management.   This position is responsible for coordination and implementation of strategic technology and operations initiatives associated with studio and remote match productions in line with the League's standards and objectives.   This pivotal role will involve collaboration with various departments to drive the adoption of new technologies and workflow development to facilitate high-quality, fast-paced content creation. The incumbent will lead the technical aspects of MLS's productions, disaster recovery, and resiliency across all platforms.

Position Summary The MLS Consumer Products department is seeking a Director of Licensing Products. The MLS Consumer Products team is responsible for the licensing business, e-commerce, and retailer relationships, supporting on-field equipment needs for MLS clubs and the relationship with Electronic Arts. Video gaming and emerging digital products related to AR, VR, Blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) represent key growth opportunities for the league. The candidate will work closely with the VP of Licensing, Consumer Products in a highly collaborative role including business development and execution of the League’s licensees of consumer products strategy. As part of these responsibilities, the Director will drive the identification, execution, and license management to meet the strategic, commercial, and fan engagement objectives. The Director will be responsible for establishing best practices and developing new partnerships to ensure MLS is set for growth as we evolve heading to the 2026 World Cup. The ideal candidate will have significant experience evaluating category opportunities, identifying soft and hard goods licensees, deep understanding of deal terms, ability to drive the deal execution including acquiring internal buy in and managing partners post execution.   This is an exciting opportunity to support one of MLS’s key business units and work with stakeholders, partners, and clubs across the league. The Director is responsible for managing aspects of licensing relationships including communicating consumer product strategy, directing product development process, and supporting retail placement and promotions in conjunction with SUM CP’s Retail Development Team. The Director will manage our Fanatics Brands relationship, while closely partnering with the Fanatics Business Development team.

The Director, Community Impact will work directly with the Vice President of Community Impact to develop strategic platforms and national programs aimed at enhancing the MLS brand and raising the visibility of the League, players and clubs. This position supports the creation of programs that target key social causes for fans while leading the execution of Community Impact initiatives and serving as the primary liaison with all MLS clubs. The ideal candidate should have strong executional skills, possess creative thinking to add value in program concepting, have experience with digital, experiential and cause related programs, ability to provide innovative solutions and work collaboratively across various departments within an organization

Contract Length: - Seasonal with the eligibility for renewal (7 - 11 months) Work Location: - Arlington, TX

MLS is seeking an attorney to develop, implement and manage player safeguarding policies and processes for MLS, MLS NEXT PRO and MLS NEXT. The role includes reviewing, revising and updating player safeguarding policies, training programs and reporting guidelines. In addition, the attorney may assist with other compliance matters, including investigations and supporting MLS’s compliance function.

The Motion Artist & Graphic Designer & will sit within MLS Creative Services. The Creative department is an in-house team – part of the Brand & Integrated Marketing Department – that services all internal constituents of the League, including Clubs and Soccer United Marketing, the commercial and operational subsidiary representing other non-MLS soccer-related properties.   The Motion Artist & Graphic Designer is responsible for conceptualization and design of solutions from ideation to completion, with a focus on producing animations and motion graphics in After Effects and HTML 5. Candidate should have strong communication and management skills and understanding of layout, typography and color theory. Some projects are print-based and require knowledge of print design and production. Other projects are for static digital assets such as web banners, social graphics and video slates. Position requires working with both internal and external clients, and there is frequent interaction with other functional departments (e.g. Marketing, Communications, Events, Media, Community Relations).

Major League Soccer’s Strategy and Business Intelligence group is tasked with supporting strategic decision making and resource allocation across the League – with a focus on driving fan growth, revenue collection, and operating efficiencies – by providing impactful data driven insights, analysis, and recommendations.   The group is seeking a Senior Manager, Fan & Market Insights who will lead the design and management of an online MLS fan panel/community and manage qualitative and quantitative research projects from start to finish.   The ideal candidate has a deep interest and curiosity in consumer behaviors and the analytical background to interpret and develop new insights that will be shared across the organization.  

The Manager, Events will support the Events team with the planning, project management and production of all MLS events, including MLS All-Star, MLS Cup, Media and Marketing Tour.   The role will also support the team by leading various media events (e.g., expansion market announcements, press conferences) and community / pro-social events hosted by MLS Community Impact group.  

Department Summary The Properties and Events department manages Soccer United Marketing (“SUM”) Property partnerships (U.S. Soccer Federation (“USSF”), Federacion Mexicana de Futbol, CONCACAF, Liga MX, eMLS, and others).  It oversees the development, planning, and execution of Major League Soccer (“MLS”) and SUM platforms in North America, including marquee events like MLS All-Star, CONCACAF Gold Cup, MLS Cup, the Mexican National Team U.S. Tour, MLS Heineken Rivalry Week, eMLS Cup, and Liga MX programming. The group also spearheads organization-wide initiatives, including hospitality/B2B programming, press/media events, department/executive meetings, competition events and the development of new platforms / partnerships for the enterprise. The Events department also supports cross-departmental initiatives including press announcements, department/executive meetings, competition events and strategy projects.     Position Summary The manager position will manage the execution of marketing strategies for the promotions of SUM marquee events and activities including the Mexican National Team US Tour, Concacaf Nations League and Gold Cup, and other international friendlies as assigned. This role will act as a key stakeholder in the marketing initiatives to maximize event revenue opportunities.  

Major League Soccer is seeking an entrepreneurial Digital Product Director to drive Fan growth through prospect nurturing, acquisition and retention experiences. This person will collaborate with leadership and the cross functional team to develop vision, short and long-term growth strategies, manage roadmaps and implement best in class processes to deliver impactful web solutions.   The Director will identify growth opportunities and create measurable value for our Fans and our League through three core areas: a) Fan data acquisition, b) product innovation, and c) personalization.   The Director will work closely with the VP and leadership team to promote a culture anchored in data, consumer insights, experimentation and validation. The person in this role will mentor and coach junior product managers in product craft, and position the team to innovate and build inspirational experiences for our Fans.   The candidate will operate in a high-growth space with a fast-changing landscape that will require flexibility and continual adaptation. The Director will continuously evolve digital product strategy accounting for industry trends, emerging solutions, new insights, and changing Fan and League needs.