Traverse City Horse Shows Hiring for Marketing & Communications Manager ( Hybrid ) Job at Traverse City, MI Full Time

Traverse City Horse Shows is growing! Created in 2015, the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival, Flintfields Horse Park and our calendar of events has grown into one of the top destinations for show jumping in the United States. Looking ahead to 2022 and our 8th season, we will host 12 weeks of FEI and National level jumpers, hunters and equitation, and will feature the prestigious North American Youth Championship, the American Gold Cup, Silver Oak Jumper Tournament and two FEI* 5 weeks as part of the Major League Show Jumping series. As our events continue to grow, we are looking for an experienced marketing and communication professional to join our team.

This is a full-time, year-round position, to be based in Traverse City, MI during the season (June – September). Job Description To work with TCHS leadership team to create an annual strategic plan that aligns with overall organizational, marketing and communication objectives: Increase participation and communicate important information to our exhibitors Increase spectator attendance and local community support; To create awareness of sponsorship, hospitality, vendor and advertising opportunities with the goal of generating sales and new business; Drive viewership of livestream; Promote and increase awareness of our sponsors and partners; To work cooperatively with colleagues and across departments to support organizational objectives, including sponsorship support, show office functions, livestream production, community relations and fan promotions; To work collaboratively with outside contractors, agencies and partners; such as USEF, USHJA and HorseNetwork; To create a communication schedule that incorporates press releases, email blasts, competition coverage, and social media; To carefully craft communications targeted to engage with our various audiences: competitors, local spectators, partners and equestrian fans, local and equestrian media; To pitch and generate local and equestrian media coverage; To manage, create content and drive engagement on our social media platforms for Traverse City Horse Shows and American Gold Cup; To work with TCHS leadership to negotiate local media buys and partnerships; to take the lead on execution and management of these partnerships; To manage TraverseCityHorseShows.com to ensure that the website is current and on-brand; assist with the backend and updates as needed; Draft press releases with either the local media or equestrian media in mind; manage media distribution list and lead follow up to ensure that stories are covered; Oversee competition coverage releases and recaps; Manage the press center for major events and championships; Facilitate media requests as needed; Create TCHS newsletters and email blasts; assist with sponsor email blasts as needed; Secure and execute equestrian media partnerships and horse show trade partnerships; Create program editorial and content; Manage the official photographer and the weekly photo list; organize the TCHS photo library; Manage private photographers and their credential process; Plan and execute annual media day; create media kit each year; Design and/or manage the design process of the core artwork each year; create brand guide for the organization and work to ensure consistency in all of our branding and communications; Design all marketing and sales collateral; Track marketing analytics/metrics and create an annual recap report; take a results/performance based approach to make year over year improvements Support the marketing and communication for any outside events at Flintfields Horse Park. Provide support and assistance in other areas as needed; we all work together to ensure the events run as smoothly as possible. Skills & Experience Minimum of three to four years of experience required; the ideal candidate will have experience writing press releases, pitching media, negotiating and executing media agreements, creating content and managing social media, as well and branding and graphic design skills The ideal candidate should have experience in either the equestrian industry, the sports industry or the local Traverse City market; The candidate needs to be comfortable using the Adobe Creative Suite, PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Dropbox; the ideal candidate will also have some video editing skills; The candidate should have strong writing and communication skills; The candidate must have strong interpersonal skills, a friendly personality and excellent customer service skills; The candidate needs to have a teamwork mentality; We are a team that helps each other meet our goals and complete projects; It is critical that the candidate have strong communication skills and an understanding of the team dynamics so that we can all work together cooperatively and efficiently; Ability to work independently and to be a self-starter when needed; the candidate needs to be able manage timelines and work with other team members so that projects continue to move forward The candidate must be organized and detail oriented; This role works on-site at an event for five months each year with long hours and a non-traditional work week; During show/event weeks, we work Tuesday – Sunday.

During the events, we all need to be flexible and provide support as needed, even outside our roles, to make sure the event runs smoothly; Presentation, communication and customer service skills are critical. We want to be the fun horse show and to provide the best experience possible for all guests. This role is a highly visible position and needs to represent our organization in a positive light; the ideal candidate must demonstrate professionalism, positivity, caring, reliability, honesty and friendliness; We work hard to improve each year and to provide the best experience possible for our participants, spectators and partners – The ideal candidate will share in our passion and commitment and will bring their own new ideas, best practices, and energy to the organization. Compensation & Benefits Salary based on experience Reimbursement for travel Employment Type: Full Time Years Experience: 3 – 5 years Bonus/Commission: No