ACF, Inc Chicago Lead, City Brand & Retail Marketing - Jordan Basketball & Sportswear Remote · Full time Company website

Apply for Chicago Lead, City Brand & Retail Marketing - Jordan Basketball & Sportswear

We help brands bring the power of sport to every community, everywhere. From Strategy & Ideation to Live Events & Retail Experience, we build from the ground up. We don’t just study the culture, we help shape it from within. Together, we are A Creative Force. We are the Sport Authenticator Agency.

What You’ll Do

• Champion the Player and Community Truth: You serve as a primary source of player and community insight. You uncover the “why” behind local behaviors and translate those truths into strategies that move the sport forward.
• Master the Marketplace: You inform and shape how the sport and Jordan Brand shows up in the Chicago marketplace, ensuring the energy of the community is reflected in key retail doors so product and storytelling feel like an authentic extension of local culture. You explore new opportunities and continuously calibrate the marketplace to unlock what is next.
• Elevate Youth and High School Connections: You stay closely connected to the next generation of players. You know the coaches and athletes pushing the game forward and find ways to elevate and inspire them.
• Elevate Women: You recognize the momentum and opportunity in the women’s game and actively work to uplift women athletes, creatives, and cultural voices shaping its future.
• Drive Sneaker Culture: You fuel sport expression through product, storytelling, and creative partnerships by bringing energy to drops and ensuring they land with cultural relevance.
• Collaborate: You move ideas from concept to execution by building strong partnerships across visual merchandising, brand, retail, and internal teams.
• Future-Proof Insights: You validate ideas against the lived reality of the city and the marketplace before they go to market.

Own the Ground Game

• People: You stay connected to the people who move Chicago basketball and culture; players, teams, street leagues, grassroots organizations, and the creatives shaping how the game is expressed. You vet partnerships to ensure we work with those who carry real cultural weight and have a positive impact on the community.
• Places: You know where the game actually happens, from the arena to the blacktop. You identify the environments where basketball and style intersect and ensure our presence feels natural within them.
• Moments: You’re present where the game and culture meet on the court, in the street, and across key moments in the city. You have a deep understanding of the calendar across the WNBA and NBA, high school basketball, grassroots play, and everything in between. You also look beyond the official calendar to identify pickup and neighborhood moments that carry weight, creating experiences that bring people into the game and closer to the culture.
• Community Pulse: You know the photographers, stylists, and creators that embody a defiant spirit of sport. You stay close to the voices shaping the conversation and understand what matters to the community.

Who You Are

• You’re deeply connected to basketball, sneaker culture, and the creative community
• You have taste, credibility, and a strong point of view
• You have the instinct to identify what’s next and move early, with intention
• You understand Chicago’s neighborhoods and the cultures that define them
• You move naturally across sport, culture, and community
• You act as an authenticity filter by sharpening ideas to ensure they resonate with the city and the moment

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in sport or lifestyle brands across brand management, marketing, or retail
• Experience in event planning, production, and execution 
• Deep understanding of the Chicago market
• Proven ability to translate community insights into clear, impactful plans
• Experience collaborating with retail or sales teams
• Willingness to work the hours culture-building requires, including evenings and weekends