Marketing Manager

This is a build, not a handover. There is no marketing function here to inherit — you would be the person who creates it, with the freedom and the responsibility that comes with that. It is a rare thing in football to get a blank page and a professional platform at the same time.

You would work directly with club leadership across sponsorship activation, digital content, community engagement, matchday experience and partner communications.

• Lead the marketing strategy across digital, social, community and partner channels
• Drive commercial revenue through sponsorship, merchandise and event marketing
• Develop and run content strategies that grow both clubs locally and internationally
• Manage partner and sponsor relationships — value delivery, reporting and communication
• Support the OFC Pro League's media and marketing compliance obligations
• Work with the academy, events and operations teams on campaigns that cross all of them
• Build and hold relationships with media partners, including NZME and broadcaster contacts
• Write and maintain the brand guidelines that keep both clubs consistent everywhere they appear

• At least 3 years in marketing, ideally with a sports, entertainment or lifestyle brand
• Strong digital and social capability — content creation, and the analytics behind it
• Commercial instinct, and experience working with sponsors or commercial partners
• Excellent written and verbal communication, across cultures and contexts
• A self-starter who works independently and can hold several priorities at once
• A real interest in football, and in what sport can do commercially and for a community
• Experience in or around a professional sports club is a strong advantage, not a requirement

Christchurch United is one of New Zealand's most historic and successful clubs, competing through the Southern League and into the National League, the country's Tier 1 competition. Six National League titles. Seven Chatham Cups. The club has been a benchmark in New Zealand football for a long time.

Both clubs run out of the United Sports Centre in Christchurch, alongside a youth academy from U4 through U20, social leagues, holiday programmes and one of the country's largest youth tournaments. The commercial side — sponsorship, events, merchandise and a growing partner ecosystem — is expanding fast, which is why this role exists.

Christchurch United is one of New Zealand's most historic and successful clubs, competing through the Southern League and into the National League, the country's Tier 1 competition. Six National League titles. Seven Chatham Cups. The club has been a benchmark in New Zealand football for a long time.

Both clubs run out of the United Sports Centre in Christchurch, alongside a youth academy from U4 through U20, social leagues, holiday programmes and one of the country's largest youth tournaments. The commercial side — sponsorship, events, merchandise and a growing partner ecosystem — is expanding fast, which is why this role exists.

There are three parts to an application:

1. Your CV — your experience, qualifications and the achievements that matter.
2. A cover letter — a page at most. Why you're the right person, and what interests you about SIU and New Zealand football.
3. A marketing plan for South Island United — the key requirement. The brief is below.

A note on files. Our form takes links rather than attachments, so put your CV and marketing plan somewhere we can open them — Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, your own site — and paste the links in. Check the sharing is set so we can actually view them. If you'd rather send files, email the lot to info@cufc.co.nz with the subject line "Marketing Manager Application — [Your Name]".

Research the club, New Zealand football and the wider Pacific context before you write it. The depth of that research shows in the work, and it matters to us.

• SIU competes in the OFC Pro League, the only South Island-based club at that level.
• Our vision is to become a sports tourism destination for international travellers and sports fans, to lift the game across the South Island, and to represent South Island grassroots football.
• We want to tell raw stories about our people — honest, real and informative. Real stories about our fans, staff and players, about the club and about the region.
• Our home base is Christchurch, a city of roughly 400,000 with a strong community sport culture.
• Alongside the elite campaign we run a growing youth academy, social leagues and a range of community football programmes.
• Commercial operations include sponsorship, events, merchandise and a developing partner ecosystem.
• New Zealand is a sport-passionate nation and football is its largest participation sport — but the professional space here, and in the South Island especially, has long been dominated by rugby, netball and cricket.

• Brand positioning — how should SIU position itself in New Zealand football, and to a Pacific and global audience? What story should the club be telling?
• Audience and community — who are the key audiences, local, national and international, and how should the club engage each of them?
• Digital and social — what platforms, formats and publishing cadence would you prioritise? What does success look like?
• Commercial marketing — how would you support the club's commercial objectives across sponsors, merchandise and events?
• Matchday and fan experience — how would you grow the supporter base and build a matchday culture worth turning up for?
• Key priorities — if you started on day one, what would your first 90 days look like?

• Recommended length 6 to 12 pages — a document or a presentation, either is fine
• Any format: PDF, PowerPoint, Word or equivalent
• Supporting visuals, data references or case studies from comparable clubs are welcome
• No budget constraint is implied. Be ambitious, but be realistic about what matters most

• Evidence of genuine research into SIU, CUFC and the New Zealand football context
• Original thinking, rather than a generic sports marketing template
• Clear priorities — we don't expect everything, we expect good judgement
• Honesty about the challenges and the opportunities specific to a South Island club
• An understanding of the commercial pressure alongside the community mission

We review applications as they arrive and will close the role once we've found the right person, so applying early genuinely helps.