Director, Field Marketing - Buffalo Wild Wings

Job description

PURPOSE OF POSITION As the Director of Field Marketing, you will lead the team responsible for connecting national marketing strategy with local market execution across Buffalo Wild Wings. This role provides strategic leadership for Franchise Field Marketing, National Field Programs, local marketing platforms, franchisee engagement, and field enablement initiatives. You will lead a team of Field Marketing professionals responsible for supporting franchisees, developing local marketing resources, managing National Field Programs, and driving adoption of marketing tools and platforms. Through leadership of the National Field Programs team, you will oversee the development of marketing resources, tools, communications, training, and activation support. This highly visible role serves as a key liaison between franchisees, operations, marketing, media, analytics, legal, finance, agency partners, and executive leadership. Success in this position requires strong leadership, strategic thinking, relationship management, organizational influence, and the ability to build scalable processes that support both business and franchisee needs. WORK LOCATION Atlanta, GA or Remote TRAVEL Up to 30% REPORTS TO Vice President, Integrated Marketing Communications EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATIONS Bachelor's degree in Marketing , Communications, Business, or related field, or equivalent experience, 8+ years of experience in field marketing, franchise marketing, brand marketing, retail marketing, restaurant marketing, or a related field. 5 + years ( preferred of leadership experience, including coaching, development, and performance management. Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and influencing stakeholders without direct authority. Experience managing agency relationships, vendor partnerships, and marketing budgets. Experience working within franchise organizations or multi-unit business environments preferred. Strong strategic planning, communication, organizational, and relationship management skills. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Field Marketing Leadership Lead the overall Field Marketing strategy, priorities, and roadmap in support of growth and business objectives; translate national marketing initiatives into scalable, locally relevant programs and resources; identify opportunities to drive sales, guest engagement, local relevance, and success across the system; establish strategic priorities and ensure resources are aligned to achieve business goals; serve as the primary bridge between national brand strategy and local market execution. Team Leadership & Development Lead, develop, and mentor a team of Field Marketing professionals responsible for franchise support, National Field Programs, local marketing enablement, communications, training, and platform adoption while providing strategic direction, prioritization, coaching, and performance management to ensure excellence across all field marketing workstreams. Foster a collaborative, high-performing culture focused on accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement; create development opportunities and succession plans that strengthen organizational capability and future leadership pipelines; establish clear ownership, accountability, and priorities across the Field Marketing organization. National Field Programs Leadership Provide strategic leadership and oversight for the National Field Programs function while empowering the team to execute program planning, deployment, communications, training, playbook development, and field support; establish long-term vision, annual planning priorities, investment strategies, and roadmap development for National Field Programs. Ensure the team has the resources, support, and cross-functional alignment necessary to successfully deliver field marketing programs, tools, and resources across the Buffalo Wild Wings system; oversee the creation and distribution of local marketing resources, activation materials, field communications, training tools, and support materials utilized by Buffalo Wild Wings operators and local marketers. Review program performance, franchisee feedback, and business results to identify opportunities for optimization, innovation, and future growth while championing scalable solutions, tools, and processes that improve field execution and maintain alignment to brand and business objectives . Franchisee Support & Relationship Management Serve as a marketing partner to franchisees and franchise leadership; build and maintain strong relationships with franchise operators/marketers, ownership groups, Business Coaches, Directors of Franchise Operations, and operations leadership. Provide strategic guidance on local marketing opportunities, sponsorships, community engagement, local media, loyalty initiatives, and marketing best practices while partnering with franchisees to identify opportunities, solve challenges, and improve local market performance. Serve as an advocate for franchise needs while maintaining alignment with brand strategy and business objectives; ability to exercise sound judgment when managing sensitive or confidential business information and appropriately escalate risks, issues, concerns, or opportunities to leadership when additional visibility, guidance, or decision making is required. Local Marketing Ecosystem Provide strategic oversight of HubKonnect and related local marketing platforms; drive platform adoption, governance, continuous improvement, and long-term roadmap planning. Partner with analytics and technology teams to strengthen reporting capabilities, measurement, and platform effectiveness; champion tools and resources that simplify local marketing execution, improve franchisee adoption, and ensure local marketing solutions remain scalable, effective, and aligned with evolving business needs. Vendor, Agency & Budget Management Oversee agency and vendor relationships supporting Field Marketing initiatives and ensure partnerships align with business objectives , budget expectations, and franchisee needs. Support annual planning, budget management, forecasting, resource allocation, local marketing group governance, agency management, and related administrative processes; evaluate opportunities for process improvement, efficiency, and business impact across vendor and agency partnerships. Cross-Functional Leadership Partner closely with Brand Marketing, IMC, Media, Analytics, Operations, Legal, Finance, and Technology teams to support successful execution of marketing initiatives. Ensure field needs and franchisee perspectives are represented in business planning and decision making; influence decision making and drive alignment across multiple stakeholder groups to achieve business objectives ; lead through collaboration and influence while balancing competing priorities across the organization. DIRECT REPORTS (1) Field Marketing Manager (Franchise) (1) National Field Programs Manager Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,300 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC restaurants worldwide. We’re made up of some of the world’s most iconic restaurant brands, but we’re much more than just a restaurant company. We’re a team of hundreds of thousands who individually and collectively are changing the way people eat, drink, and gather around the table. We know that food is much more than a staple—it’s an experience. At Inspire, that’s our purpose: to ignite and nourish flavorful experiences.