The Fan Development Manager will be responsible for driving the growth and expansion of the NFL fan base in Spain through a highly data-driven and execution-focused digital strategy. This is a specialist role with a strong performance-marketing focus, centered on accelerating fan acquisition, engagement, retention, and reactivation across digital channels. The role will own and optimize the full fan growth engine across social media, 1:1 marketing (CRM & lifecycle), and paid media, ensuring all channels work cohesively to deliver measurable growth.
The role includes shaping fan communication strategies, managing relationships with local influencers, creators, and celebrities, leading 1:1 fan journey and database communication efforts, coordinating promotional inventory across both partner platforms and NFL Spain owned and operated channels, maintaining strong relationships with NFL Clubs, and overseeing local agencies and vendors to ensure flawless execution. The position requires a deep understanding of digital ecosystems, strong experience managing agencies, and the ability to define and deliver against clear performance KPIs, while translating cultural moments, events and storytelling into meaningful fan engagement and long-term fandom growth.
This role reports to the Marketing Lead and is based in Madrid, Spain.
Responsibilities:
- Fan Growth Strategy & Execution: Lead the execution of a fan growth strategy focused on digital performance, driving acquisition, engagement, retention, and reactivation. Own the end-to-end growth engine, ensuring alignment across social media, CRM/lifecycle, and paid media. Translate global and local priorities into actionable, measurable campaigns.
- Social Media & Content Performance: Manage social and content agency with a clear focus on performance metrics, optimizing content strategy across social platforms to maximize audience growth and engagement.
- 1:1 Marketing (CRM & Lifecycle): Lead lifecycle strategy across owned channels, focusing on fan acquisition and database growth, engagement, retention and reactivation of inactive fans. Optimize fan journeys and segmentation strategies to improve conversion and lifetime value.
- Paid Media & Performance Marketing: own paid media strategy and execution, ensuring efficiency and scalability. Drive continuous optimization of campaigns based on performance, conversion rates and ROI. Oversee media agency and ensure delivery against clearly defined performance targets.
- Influencers & Creator Strategy: Ensure creator activity delivers measurable impact on reach, acquisition, and engagement, overseeing the defined strategy as a growth lever.
- KPIs & Performance Management: Define and track a clear performance framework across:
- Fan Base Growth (Active fans growth, active & contactable fans growth, new fan acquisition & fan reactivation)
- Retention & Lifecycle Performance (Churn reduction, email engagement rates, contactability health)
- Campaign Performance (Lead generation, conversion rates, cost per acquisition, paid media ROI)
- Tentpole Integration: Leverage key moments (events, games, local tentpoles) as growth drivers integrated into the acquisition strategy
- Agency & Stakeholder Management: Lead and manage external agencies with clear performance expectations. Establish strong governance, reporting cadence, and optimization processes. Act as the key point of accountability for growth delivery across partners.
Required Qualifications:
- Degree educated (Marketing/Digital, Administration/Business, Finance and/or related)
- Minimum 5 years’ experience in digital marketing, growth or performance marketing roles with strong expertise across social media & content strategy, CRM/lifecycle marketing (1:1) and paid media/performance marketing
- Demonstrated track record of driving audience growth and digital performance KPIs
- 2+ years management experience leading people/teams (agencies, vendors, stakeholders, others)
- Fluent in Spanish and English (both spoken and written)
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret insights and data to drive fan engagement strategies, define KPIs and optimize performance
- Proficient in marketing terms, digital, market research and innovation
- Proven creative problem-solving skills and a solutions-focused mindset.
- Strong communication, drive, and presentation skills
- Proficiency in using PowerPoint, Excel, and Word to develop presentations and budgets.
- Multitasking skills and good time-management skills
- Passport (for international travel)
Other Key Attributes / Characteristics:
- Sports/Entertainment/FMCG/market research/marketing experience preferred but not essential (ideally knowledge of NFL to facilitate the process).
- A strong team player, comfortable working collaboratively, virtually, and independently.
- Deadline and results-driven, with strong organizational skills.
- Ability to effectively manage multiple projects and assignments simultaneously, and communicate effectively, both internally and externally.
- A strong understanding of emerging fan behaviors across digital and social environments, and comfort operating in fast-moving cultural and content ecosystems.
