VP of Marketing

Scheels Company Goals:

We strive to be the best retailer in the USA in the eyes and minds of our customers, associates, and business partners. 

Overview:

The Vice President of Marketing is responsible for protecting, strengthening, and advancing the SCHEELS brand across markets, stores, media channels, community partnerships, and customer touchpoints.

This leader will establish the marketing vision alongside SCHEELS business priorities to strengthen brand preference, increase store traffic, support sales growth, deepen customer relationships, enhance vendor partnerships, and reinforce SCHEELS reputation as a trusted leader in sports, outdoor, fashion, and community involvement.

The VP of Marketing will directly lead a broad team encompassing direct mail, vendor marketing partnerships, in-store graphic design, creative media production, copywriting, company and store events, sports sponsorships, youth sports, retail media, out-of-home advertising, connected television placement, public relations, and related marketing functions.

What We Commit To – Our Employee Ownership Values

As an employee-owner, you’re expected to actively contribute to a culture that thrives on:

• Delivering a Personalized WOW Customer Experience

• Every customer interaction is an opportunity to exceed expectations
• We focus on making every visit memorable, personalized, and impactful

• Having a Team-First, Winning Mentality

•  We succeed together by supporting one another and celebrating team wins
• Collaboration and unity drive our performance and customer experience

• Learning and Adapting to Constant Change

• We embrace growth, innovation, and feedback
• Change is not a barrier–it’s a catalyst for improvement and excellence

• Taking Pride in Our Work and Thinking Like Owners

•  Every task matters, and we take full responsibility for the results
• Ownership means accountability, care, and drive to go above and beyond

• Expecting Honesty and Integrity in All That We Do

•  Trust is the foundation of our relationships–with customers and with each other
• We act with transparency, fairness, and respect at all times

Responsibilities: 

Marketing Strategy and Brand Stewardship

• Establish and communicate a clear multi-year vision for SCHEELS marketing that supports the strategic, financial, and customer priorities
• Lead and develop the annual marketing plan, investment strategy, campaign calendar, and performance expectations
• Serve as a primary steward of the SCHEELS brand, ensuring messaging, creative execution, partnerships, events, and customer communications reflect the company’s values and differentiated market position 
• Balance SCHEELS brand strategies with the flexibility stores need to remain relevant and responsive within their local communities
• Advise senior leadership on brand strategy, customer trends, reputation, competitive positioning, marketing investment, emerging channels, and future growth opportunities
• Ensure marketing priorities remain closely connected to merchandising strategies, store initiatives, customer needs, and company financial objectives
•  Lead, develop, and hold accountable high-performing marketing leaders, specialists, creative professionals, and support teams with standards of excellence across the marketing office
• Ensure marketing leaders understand both the strategic purpose of their work and the operational realities of stores, merchants, customers, and local markets
• Evaluate the organizational structure regularly and evolve capabilities as marketing disciplines, customer expectations, media channels, and company priorities change.

Core Supervisory Responsibilities

• Direct Mail and Print Marketing:  Lead SCHEELS strategy for direct mail, catalogs, and vendor communications, overseeing customer data selection, segmentation, and purchase behavior.  Manage production quality, print schedules, working alongside stores, merchants, ecomm, digital, and data team
• Vendor Relationships and Partnerships:  Maximize vendor co-op funding and strategic vendor relationships in close collaboration with the merchant buying team developing mutually beneficial marketing partnerships, joint business plans, sponsorship packages, product-launch programs, content initiatives, and customer engagement opportunities
• In-Store Graphic Design and Visual Communications:  Direct the strategy, standards, and execution of in-store marketing graphics, promotional signage, campaign materials, and customer-facing visual communications
• Creative Media Production and Copywriting:  Lead internal creative development of brand campaigns, photography, video, television, connected television, audio, print, in-store content, event content, and other creative assets
• Events and Experiential Marketing:  Establish strategy for major events, store-level activations, grand openings, product experiences, community events, and customer engagement programs. Partner with store leaders to improve event quality while preserving local creativity, relationships, and market relevance
• Sports Sponsorships and Youth Sports:  Lead the strategy for sports sponsorships at the national and regional levels and oversee relationships with professional, collegiate, conservation, and other partners as appropriate
• Media Planning, Placement, and Optimization:  Lead strategy and investment across assigned paid-media channels, including connected television, out-of-home, traditional television, radio, emerging formats through established audiences and markets
• Public Relations and Reputation Management:  Lead SCHEELS’ public relations strategy, including corporate media relations, store and market publicity, earned-media opportunities, announcements, and reputation management including processes for press releases, etc.

Education & Experience: 

• 10+ years of leadership experience in marketing, brand management, media, communications, retail, or an equivalent combination of relevant leadership and business experience
• Proven leadership experience developing leaders and managing a large marketing office with effective relationships across the organization
• Proven ability to establish a company vision and translate it into actionable plans, operating structures, budgets, and measurable outcomes
• Experience managing substantial investments and making disciplined decisions
• Experience working effectively with ecommerce, digital, social, merchandising, technology, store operations, finance, legal, and executive leadership teams
• Exceptional executive communication, presentation, negotiation, and relationship skills
• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, communications, or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and senior-level experience
• Multi-location retail, consumer, sports, outdoor, entertainment, hospitality, or related industry experience is strongly preferred
• Ability and willingness to travel regularly to SCHEELS stores, markets, events, sponsorship properties, vendor meetings, and other business locations

Location:

This is not a remote position. This position is located on the Scheels Campus in Fargo, ND.

Physical Requirements/Lifting Requirements:

Must be able to sit, stand, bend at the waist, climb, stoop, kneel, crouch, reach, walk, push/pull, lift, talk, and hear with or without reasonable accommodation.

Sedentary work - Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time, but may involve walking or standing for brief periods of time. Roles are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.

Scheels cares about the health and safety of our Associates.  Associates are expected to follow all safety procedures and perform their job duties in a fashion that minimizes the risk of injury. 

Benefits:
At SCHEELS, we offer a full range of benefits, including an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), 401(k) with Roth options, associate discounts, and full health coverage—including medical, HSA, dental, and vision. We also offer accident and hospital indemnity insurance, an Employee Assistance Program, and time to recharge through paid time off, holiday pay, maternity leave, and bereavement leave.  (Note: Additional leave benefits may apply based on your state of employment.)  
 Learn more about what it means to be an owner at SCHEELS on our Careers Page.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY 

Scheels is an equal employment opportunity employer providing equal employment opportunities to individuals regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, Scheels will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals when appropriate.