U.S. Soccer Overview 

We are U.S. Soccer and we are the future of sport in the United States. Our mission is to make soccer the preeminent sport in the United States. We embrace diversity, technology and global connections to drive the growth of our sport and serve our athletes and fans. We seek motivated, passionate, skilled people who can think, create and work on a team. 

U.S. Soccer is a growing company that looks for team members to grow with it. U.S. Soccer offers a comprehensive compensation package, casual work environment, an inclusive culture and an atmosphere for professional development.

The Federation’s core principles set organization-wide standards to identify and foster our culture and inform how we interact and hold each other accountable. These principles guide U.S. Soccer: We Win Together. We Aim High. We Champion Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. To be successful as a USSF employee, it is critical to demonstrate and live up to these principles every day and with every interaction with peers, stakeholders, and partners. 

The Federation’s core values are the individual attributes and characteristics that staff embody to uphold the organization’s principles and succeed. These values guide our employees: Integrity. Commitment. Teamwork. Respect.

Position Description 

 U.S. Soccer is seeking a Senior Manager, Third-Party Retail to join our industry-leading team to help drive the growth of soccer in the United States and be a leader within U.S. Soccer’s growing commercial team. The primary responsibility for this role will be to develop and execute strategies focused on maximizing our relationships with key retail partners. Our retail strategy is focused on driving the licensing business, extending brand messaging, and integrating other U.S. Soccer business objectives into retail activations with our third-party retail partners. We will measure success through establishing baseline retail KPI’s while connecting our retail partners’ objectives with U.S. Soccer programming from both the commercial and sport development areas. 

Primary Responsibilities 

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Planning:

• Execute and refine the long-term strategy for U.S. Soccer’s overall third-party retail businesses focused on traditional retail goals as well as retail partner integrations that advance U.S. Soccer objectives such as sport development and fan engagement.  
• Researching and understanding retail partners’ goals and objectives in the sports licensed space in order to maximize the U.S. Soccer licensing program. 
• Create retailer-specific strategies to create value-added programming that supports the licensing business and other U.S. Soccer objectives. 

Management and Execution:

• Grow U.S. Soccer licensed product placement with key third-party retail partners (e.g. Walmart, Target, Amazon, etc.) 
• Monitor marketplace trends and collaborate with the licensing team to assure retailers are engaged with our current and future product assortment offering.
• Proactively manage communication flow between retailers, licensees, and internal stakeholders.
• Maintain regular communication cadence with retailers focused on current performance, long-term planning, and other programming opportunities.
• Collaborate with retailers to create partner-specific marketing programs to support U.S. Soccer r and retailer objectives for U.S. Soccer licensed programs. 

Measurement:

• Collect, track, and analyze relevant KPI’s such as door count, SKU count, sell-thru, etc. to aid in planning and future partner executions.
• Develop measurement tools and KIP’s for integrated partnerships with retailers and U.S. Soccer initiatives. 
• Collaborate with internal team to create periodic reporting for U.S. Soccer overall retail business.

Minimum Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field of expertise.
• 5+ years of experience in retail the retail space or related fields. A focus on mass retail and sports licensing is a plus. 
• A background in, and passion for, soccer, sports and/or entertainment is a plus.
• Strong analytic skills and experience interpreting quantitative and qualitative data and research
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Able and willing to travel up to 25% of the time for retail partner meetings.
• Able and willing to work non-traditional hours including evenings, weekends & holidays.
• Able and willing to lift and move items weighing up to 50 pounds.

Desired Qualifications 

• Strong understanding of mass market retail buying, merchandising, and marketing initiatives.
• Creative strategist with an ability to track and leverage marketplace trends.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent events through multi-tasking and prioritizing efficiently.
• Ability to work both independently and as a part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Desire to be part of a team and ability to build consensus.
• ”Student of the Game” mentality and desire for continual growth.
• Accountable for actions/decisions and does not make excuses.
• Excellent computer skills, including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and advanced Excel capabilities.
• Exceptional attention to detail.
• Multi-lingual a plus.

U.S. Soccer is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, citizenship, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, genetic information, military status, political belief, or any other characteristic protected under the law. This policy applies to all our employment practices within our organization. 

We strongly encourage women, people of color, LGBTQIA, veterans, parents, and persons with disabilities to apply.