Head of Marketing, Americas

Job description

About SailGP: SailGP is the world’s most exciting race on water, where anything can happen in short, adrenaline-fueled battles between national teams at iconic stadium venues worldwide. Top athletes fly identical, high-tech F50 boats faster than the wind at speeds approaching 100 km/h – racing for the future, championing a world powered by nature. We want to deliver Grand Prix racing and sporting stories to captivate fans across the world. Create spectacular, shareable moments by elevating the personality in our sport. Showcase the pinnacle of on-water racing, innovative technology and world-class waterside event experiences in iconic cities around the world, to captivate audiences and inspire the next generation of fans. Overview: SailGP is seeking a full-time Head of Marketing to join its team in New York City to lead the brand growth and awareness of SailGP in the Americas region. The role will be responsible for developing the annual marketing strategy for North and South America, with a specific focus on the US, Canada and Brazil. Oversight of key activations including event marketing, ticketing promotion, broadcast tune-in, social and digital media and partnership marketing. Working alongside the Head of Communications in the region, as well as the Global Marketing team (headquartered in London) you will lead a small but growing team to deliver premium, high‑impact events and marketing campaigns. Key Responsibilities: 1. Regional Marketing Leadership Americas marketing strategy - Own the end‑to‑end marketing strategy for all Americas markets, ensuring SailGP’s brand grows consistently across the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and LATAM. Global-to-regional translation - Translate global brand and audience strategy into regional plans tailored to regional markets. Planning & performance - Lead annual and event‑specific marketing planning, budgeting, forecasting and performance management for the region. Host city & stakeholder leadership - Serve as senior marketing lead for host city relationships, government stakeholders, tourism boards and local market partners. 2. Event Marketing Lead the full marketing lifecycle for SailGP’s Americas events. In 2027, this includes New York, San Francisco, Bermuda and Rio (plus 2028 LATAM market planning), with a focus on: Event specific go‑to‑market plans - Including advertising, brand activations, social, ticketing promotion, partnerships and localised creative. Working in close collaboration with cross-functional teams, to drive event awareness and 90%+ ticket sell-through across paid, owned, and earned channels. Create 'must attend' events - Working closely with the Experience & Event Operations teams on event positioning, creative campaigns and a world-class event experience. Ticketing campaigns - Leading promotional campaigns, segmentation, sales pacing and key stakeholder activation - using data‑driven insights to optimise performance and deliver a seamless buyer journey from pre‑sale to sell‑out. On‑site fan experience - Including content capture, influencer campaigns, user generated content and partner activations. Budget ownership - Build & manage budgets across advertising, brand activations, content production, and marketing partnerships to maximise impact and ROI. Agency & Supplier management - To ensure premium, on-brand delivery, efficient procurement and disciplined financial and invoice management. Reporting & optimisation - Lead continuous campaign optimisation and real‑time performance tracking, followed by post‑event analysis covering campaign results, ticketing performance, brand impact, fan engagement and partner value delivery. 3. Audience Growth & Brand Activation Regional brand growth - Drive measurable growth in brand awareness and engagement across key markets, identifying and activating in‑market stakeholders and partners who can amplify event visibility, support ticket sales and accelerate fan growth. Cultural relevance - Identify and deliver fan‑first, culturally relevant content and experiences that connect SailGP with sport, lifestyle and entertainment communities. SailGP+ audience growth - Grow the SailGP+ fanbase through compelling event narratives, brand activations, entertaining campaigns and locally resonant content, collaborating with cross‑functional teams to create unique fan experiences and optimise digital marketing performance. Data-led optimisation — Champion data‑driven decision‑making and continuous optimisation across all marketing activity. 4. Cross-functional Leadership Partner & commercial delivery - Work with the Commercial team to execute partner rights, co‑marketing campaigns and measurable value across all Americas events. Team alignment - Collaborate with all 13 SailGP teams to support regional marketing needs and ensure alignment with SailGP fan engagement strategy. SailGP team development - As a senior leader within the NYC team, you should lead, coach and develop a high‑performing regional marketing team and foster a culture of creativity, accountability and operational excellence. Event activation - During an event period, ensure that the global team are briefed on local market strategy with a clear cross-functional working team assembled to deliver. Skills and Experience: Proven leadership experience managing high‑performing marketing teams within sport, entertainment or fast‑growth consumer brands. Expertise in multi‑market, multi‑channel campaigns, including brand, digital, social, content, media and experiential. Strong event marketing, ticketing and digital capability, including performance marketing, CRM, analytics and optimisation, with a track record of driving attendance, revenue and fan engagement. Ability to operate in a fast‑paced, global environment, managing multiple projects with precision and creativity. Exceptional stakeholder management, including host cities, agencies, partners and cross‑functional teams. Commitment to SailGP’s values, including balancing high performance with sustainable working practices. Location: New York City, with ability to travel to regional markets as required. SailGP is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace committed to building a team culture that celebrates diversity, equity and inclusion.