Manager Sports Experience - Full-time

WHY JOIN BUFFALO WILD WINGS

Buffalo Wild Wings is THE great American Sports Bar. We sell more wings, beer, and have games on more TVs than any other restaurant brand. Buffalo Wild Wings has the potential to be a truly unique brand in culture that bridges food, beverage, sports and experience.

We're in the middle of an amazing brand turn around. We work hard, we're direct, and we intend to have a great time together in the process, possibly over a few cold beers.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Sports are in Buffalo Wild Wings' blood.

And thus, are at the root of our brand turnaround. But just saying we show the game is not enough for THE Great American Sports Bar, we need to deliver the best game day experience for our guests regardless the sport.

This is where this role comes in. Across the calendar year, we make a big deal about sports. From NFL Playoffs, to March Madness, through the Kentucky Derby, and culminating with the NFL Regular season, Buffalo Wild Wings needs to be the place to watch the game.

We are also embracing "gaming" in our sports bars. Gaming is a word that means a lot of things, but in this role the focus will be launching eSports and building and scaling Bar Games across our 1230+ locations.

We're looking for an individual to own and operate 3 core pillars of our business.

Game Day Experience -- Creating the most fun sports viewing party in the business eSports -- Help define and launch eSports experience at Buffalo Wild Wings Bar Games -- Investigate, test, and scale the role of Bar Games in our experience. (Shuffleboard, Corn Hole, etc.)

This is a unique position that will entertain, engage, and gamify the customer experience of THE great American Sports Bar, Buffalo Wild Wings

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION:
Create unique and engaging game day, eSports, and Bar Game experiences that scale across our 1200+ locations and engage our wide variety of guests.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Act as Day-to-Day Marketing Manager with responsibility and accountability for all Core Sports Experiences (NFL Playoffs, March Madness, NBA/NHL Playoffs, and NFL Regular Season)
• Responsible for holistic Game Day strategy and execution while working across verticalized business owners (e.g. Experience and Environment, Sports Betting, Brand, etc.)
• Partner with Single Day Activation owner to build unique experience for sports single days like NFL Draft or Kentucky Derby
• Partner with Gaming Manager to build out and launch regionalized Sports Gaming experiences via BetMGM partnership
• Build innovative solutions but execute with excellence across all game day marketing initiatives

• Support Director in developing eSports strategy focused on viewing parties for major eSports titles and events
• Identify core partners and events for targeted partnerships
• Accountable and responsible eSports events and activations
• Co-manage on-going eSports partnerships
• To investigate in bar e-gaming

• Partner with Director to evaluate and define new bar gamification experiences
• Build test and learn process to understand business impact of in bar games
• Responsible for scaling Bar Games across the system as dictated by test results
• Partner with Architecture and Design to design and scope bar games into our environment
• Partner with brand and experience to leverage bar gaming into broader business strategies
• Maintain expertise in bar gaming monitoring innovations and delivering recommendations to leadership

• Create process around ideating, developing, iterating and bringing programs to life in the restaurants, including throughout the franchise community.
• Manage system wide communications of programs including partnering with training and operations to scale programs across owned and franchise Sports Bars
• Build differentiated customer experience programs based on customer needs and observational research of customer driven data and insights.
• Work cross-functionally across the company, including Consumer Insights, Advertising/Content, Operations, Technology and Restaurant Development, to create seamless, engaging experiences that can be scaled system-wide to deliver maximum business impact.
• Help develop a culture of finding innovative solutions to business and brand challenges.

EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree. MBA valued but not required. Preference in Marketing, Business, or Communications

EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATION:

• Minimum 5 years of experience.
• Mandatory experience in one of three areas: 1) Product or UX Development 2) Sports Marketing 3) Experience Marketing

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS or ABILITIES:

• Passionate about sports and games; specifically, creating the best experiences for fun competition
• Passionate and knowledgeable about eSports. Enjoy watching and/or playing the games we would stream in bars
• A Builder -- someone who can create defining experiences -- Strategically sounds and flawlessly executed
• A vision to merge innovative & digital trends into IRL environment
• Ability to develop scalable concepts and ensure delivery across complex network of Franchise and Company restaurants
• Influencing skills that lend to building positive relationships and collaborating with internal and external partners.
• Experience managing multiple, significant budgets supporting complex projects with precision and detail orientation.
• Ability to create and present strategies in partnership with Director to senior leadership and manage large scale multifaceted projects.
• Knack for delivering the Big Idea as part of a partnership/program.
• Swift, high-quality decision making, informed by insights, but not paralyzed when faced with a lack of it.
• Experience in leading innovation -- first, best, only.
• Project management experience with ability to drive on time delivery and motivate peer to peer.
• An entrepreneurial attitude. Pro-active thinking. Ability to drive thoughtful dialog and roll with the punches.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Availability to travel up to 10%