Senior Performance Marketing Manager - Atlanta United F.C.

Atlanta United FC is a professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia, competing in Major League Soccer (MLS). Known for its passionate fanbase, record-breaking attendance, and success on the field, Atlanta United is committed to becoming a leader in the sports entertainment industry. We are looking for a seasoned Senior Performance Marketing Manager to drive growth and engagement across our digital marketing platforms.

The Atlanta United Integrated Marketing & Fan Engagement team is charged with developing and delivering a strategic, comprehensive direction for Atlanta United's brand. Aspects of this direction include, but are not limited to, brand narrative and creative direction development, ticket sales and service marketing, sponsorship marketing, grassroots marketing, retail marketing, influencer marketing and much more. This talented group leverages the entire marketing mix across brand strategy, advertising, digital engagement and media outreach to create emotional connections with our fans.

Reporting to the Director of Integrated Marketing Operations, the Senior Performance Marketing Manager plays an essential role on the team as they will manage people and lead cross-functional, multi-platform initiatives from concept to implementation.

They will lead the strategy, execution, daily management and optimization of all performance marketing initiatives for Atlanta United. This role focuses on (1) driving ticket sales, fan acquisition, merchandise revenue, and fan engagement through paid media channels, (2) and grow our brand presence and interest across multiple channels. As a senior member of the marketing team, the Senior Performance Marketing Manager will manage key relationships with media partners, oversee budget allocation, and deliver data-driven insights to senior leadership. This role requires a deep understanding of digital marketing tools, analytics, audience segmentation, and the ability to optimize campaigns to achieve measurable business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy Development & Execution:

• Develop, lead, and execute comprehensive, data-driven performance marketing strategies across paid search, paid social, display, video, affiliate channels, and programmatic platforms.
• Drive customer acquisition, retention, and engagement initiatives while ensuring alignment with broader business and brand goals.
• Lead and optimize campaigns to drive ticket sales and service, merchandise, and fan engagement using performance marketing techniques like PPC, SEM, and paid social media.
• Oversee and manage budget allocation across platforms, optimizing for maximize ROI, ensuring all campaigns are on budget and on track to achieve KPIs while continuously testing new approaches and channels.
• Full end to end management setup of campaigns across digital platforms, including but not limited to, creative development, messaging approach, audience segmentation, budget oversight, tracking operations and campaign analytics/optimization

Campaign Management:

• Oversee the planning, creation, and optimization of digital marketing campaigns that target various segments of the Atlanta United fan base.
• Manage large-scale digital marketing campaigns with a focus on A/B testing, dynamic content, and audience segmentation to optimize for performance and relevance.
• Partner with internal and external teams (creative, media buying, agencies) to build engaging, personalized, and high-converting ad campaigns.
• Continuously test new digital channels, ad formats, and targeting strategies to optimize marketing efforts.
• Continuously monitor campaign performance and refine strategies based on data-driven insights, emerging trends, and industry best practices.

Data Analysis & Reporting:

• Analyze campaign performance and track KPIs using relevant platforms
• Lead weekly, monthly, and quarterly performance reviews, presenting insights to senior leadership with clear recommendations for strategy adjustments.
• Provide actionable insights and present reports to senior management on campaign effectiveness, including data on customer acquisition, retention, and ROI.
• Partner closely with analytics and CRM teams to enhance targeting, segmentation, and attribution models, ensuring campaigns are tailored for the highest impact.
• Use A/B testing and data analytics to inform decisions on ad spend, messaging, creative formats, and audience targeting.
• Develop and maintain advanced reporting dashboards to provide key stakeholders with visibility into performance metrics, including acquisition costs, lifetime value (LTV), return on ad spend (ROAS), and more.

Collaboration & Leadership:

• Work cross-functionally with integrated marketing team, creative, and CRM to ensure campaigns are cohesive, impactful, and aligned with club initiative and broader organizational goals
• Partner with the CRM and data teams to improve segmentation and targeting for personalized campaigns.
• Manage external agency relationships, ensuring high performance, accountability, and collaboration in delivering campaign success.
• Mentor and guide team members, ensuring the team is well-versed in performance marketing best practices and industry trends.

Innovation & Industry Knowledge:

• Stay at the forefront of digital marketing trends, emerging technologies, and competitive insights, incorporating new strategies and tools into campaigns to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Drive experimentation with new platforms, ad formats, and targeting strategies to consistently innovate and evolve the marketing strategy.
• Champion the use of machine learning, predictive analytics, and automation to enhance campaign performance.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, business, communications, or a related field.

• 7+ years of experience in performance or digital marketing preferably within sports and entertainment with a proven track record of driving revenue growth through multi-channel digital marketing strategies.
• Proven track record of managing and optimizing multi-channel marketing campaigns.
• Expertise in managing significant media budgets with hands-on experience across tools/platforms like Google Ads, Meta, TikTok, programmatic display, and other performance marketing platforms.
• Strong understanding of audience segmentation, data-driven decision-making, and campaign optimization.
• Strong understanding of advanced audience segmentation, targeting, retargeting, and personalization techniques.
• Advanced knowledge of data analytics platforms, including Google Analytics, Tableau, and attribution modeling tools
• Proven experience with campaign attribution models, A/B testing, conversion optimization, tracking, and reporting, including multi-touch attribution and marketing mix modeling.
• Experience conducting regular meetings with other departments to develop cross-functional alignment.
• Proficient in project management, inclusive of strategy development, budget and timeline considerations and proper after-action review

Key Skills

• Strong verbal and written communication and collaboration skills.
• Ability to maintain professionalism when communicating with and managing multiple internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to multitask and prioritize tasks effectively.
• Work in a timely, efficient manner to hit deadlines that come with the dynamic sports industry.
• Dynamic storyteller, with excellent copywriting skills.
• Ability to gather and analyze information to find a solution quickly and effectively.
• Displays skills in advocacy, inclusivity, and innovation for continued growth of the organization.
• Maintain professionalism when communicating with internal and external stakeholders.
• Displays a high level of service and support to all internal departments.

Additional Info:

• Passion for sports, especially soccer, is a plus.
• Must be willing to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends, to accommodate game days and special events.