Director of Marketing & Sales - Kennywood & Sandcastle

Our story began 75 years ago when the Herschend family discovered wonder deep in an Ozark Mountain cave—and chose to share it with the world. Today, Herschend is the largest family-held themed attractions company, with 49 leading attractions and immersive experiences that reach audiences worldwide.

While each brand offers something unique, all are united by a shared purpose: Bringing Families Closer Together by Creating Memories Worth Repeating®. Our passionate hosts make this purpose possible through everyday acts of love and service—what we call Heartspitality®—the intersection of heart and hospitality.

As an equal-opportunity employer, we strive to provide environments where every host, guest, and partner feel welcome, valued, and loved. We firmly believe that words and actions matter, which is why all individuals are to be treated equally and with respect. 

The Director, Marketing & Sales mission and objective will be to drive park visitation and ticket sales while elevating awareness and positive brand image.



This position will take a leadership role and will be responsible for orchestrating and managing the strategic planning, delivery and execution of all group sales and ticket sales budgets, marketing plans and advertising plan activities. The ideal candidate will have the ability to orchestrate and execute a plan with all areas of marketing and sales, along with the orchestration of all departments and Park Support functions. 



This role requires leadership skills, cross-group collaboration with other departments in Corporate and Park Marketing teams to oversee plan execution and distribution with outside agencies. It is critical to have an open mind and be flexible but also with a great capability to prioritize and focus on execution timings. Requires a well-organized person, that plans ahead, hands-on and with attention to details.

We are currently looking for a:

 

Director of Marketing & Sales - Kennywood & Sandcastle

Roles & Responsibilities:

 

Roles & Responsibilities:

• Coordinate and oversee the development of the individual park marketing and media budgets, marketing plans and activities to meet Attendance and Revenue goals
• Analyze Program execution to achieve objectives: Online sales, park attendance, promotion redemption, and social media engagement through all channels while maintaining the budgeted criteria by month
• Collaborate with key stakeholders to develop annual plans; parks and agencies
• Understand local marketing activity, gain local market knowledge and insight to key market nuances to help develop plans
• Personally responsible for ticketing revenue and attendance growth for Kennywood and Sandcastle, establishing a holistic and integrated approach to marketing, sales, public relations and promotions
• Direct, mentor and develop the sales and marketing team
• Responsible for owned channel digital efforts for both parks, collaborate with Park Support Center on Paid media plans
• Responsible for all sales functions including B2C, B2B/group sales and special events. Build detailed plans to close new business and drive high retention rates on existing group clients
• Develop a deep understanding of the local market with a focus on opportunities to grow business with new and developing segments
• Develop a comprehensive annual sales and marketing strategic plan that promotes regional growth for all three parks
• Coordinate with agencies, Park Support Center, and park stakeholders to ensure fluidity of the marketing plans and execution
• Research, analyze, and monitor financial, technological, and demographic factors so that market opportunities may be capitalized on and the effects of competitive activity may be minimized
• Execute weekly performance analysis identifying short and long term challenges, solutions and opportunities
• Develop and administer park expense and attendance budgets
• Represent Kennywood and Sandcastle with partners, sales clients, PR/earned media efforts and in the community  
• Lead and ensure proper marketing brand and standards are being utilized at the parks, including signage, printed materials, etc.
• Support Kennywood and Sandcastle events and entertainment teams with planning and activating marketable consumer events/activations
• Collaborate with other park departments to continually improve and deliver quality guest experiences to customers throughout all areas of operation
• Participate in the Manager on Duty program, as needed

Skills:

Communication: Highly developed interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills, including customer service skills; ability to communicate clearly, concisely and persuasively with a wide range of diverse populations. Represent the Company well internally and externally and convey a professional and positive image of the organization and business affiliates

Leadership: Sales Strategist with the ability to lead a regional team in attracting new sales groups and maintaining current groups

Problem Solving/Analysis:  Define problems, research and collect data, draw valid conclusions and execute remedial strategies in a timely manner

Executive Presence: Represent the Company well internally and externally; convey a professional and positive image of the organization and business affiliates

Flexibility: Handle multiple priorities simultaneously; maintain a flexible work schedule to meet changing demands for multiple concurrent projects

Flexibility: Handle multiple priorities simultaneously; maintain a flexible work schedule to meet changing demands for multiple concurrent projects, and ability to adapt to changing events and strategies in a fast-paced, evolving environment

Computer Proficiency: MS Office Suite (Excel, Word, Outlook, Access, Powerpoint), Experience with Salesforce CRM

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Sales and/or Marketing, Advertising, Communications or related discipline; Equivalent work experience will be also be considered
• 7-10 years of progressive leadership and work experience in marketing required
• Previous hospitality, amusement park, theme park, or waterpark experience preferred

Language: Ability to read, write, and speak fluent English; Spanish or other bilingual language skills are a plus.

Requirements: 

• Must be at least 18 years of age to comply with [State] Child Labor Laws
• Ability to frequently work hours that extend beyond 9 AM to 5 PM during the operating season
• Ability to frequently travel to local and domestic US park locations (up to 30% expected travel)
• Must possess excellent customer service skills, with an ability to resolve questions, problems, issues, and concerns in a positive and professional manner

• Must possess extensive knowledge in a wide array of marketing concepts, including, but not limited to, Consumer Insights, Marketing Strategies, Communication, and Promotions

• Must possess strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to communicate complex concepts to audiences of varying skill and knowledge levels
• Ability to effectively engage and collaborate with all internal and external stakeholders
• Strong negotiating skills are required
• Outstanding knowledge of social media tools and platforms.
• Ability to facilitate and coordinate projects across multiple cross functional teams to successfully execute plans
• Ability to effectively manage allocated departmental budgets
• Ability to analyze and appropriately react to operational trends
• Must be proficient in Microsoft Outlook, Excel, Word, and Power Point.
• Ability to work as part of a team as well as independently.
• Ability to think creatively while maintaining accordance with business constraints.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to remain seated and use computer for several hours of the workday
• Ability to carry, push, pull, lift, and hold objects weighing 30 pounds or more.
• Occasional bending, squatting and reaching above shoulders

Working Conditions:

• This role will primarily be based in a corporate office setting
• Frequent travel to local and domestic U.S. parks may be required
• Frequent sedentary motion, while sitting and using computer
• Subject to frequent interruptions and may need to reprioritize activities

Team member benefits: