Director, Cafe Marketing Operations

Responsibilities

• Lead all efforts related to the creation and execution of the Digital marketing plan, budget and strategies for Cafes.
• Work with selected agency partners with the implementation of the online campaign (website, SEM and social media) and ensure all relevant communication is available on property websites.
• Work with sales, revenue & operations teams to ensure that the marketing plan is integrated and in line with the other departments’ strategies and plans.
• Remain fiscally responsible and drive Digital programs to maximize return on investments.
• Ensure marketing and PR tactics align with brand standards, and receive maximum media coverage.
• Build business/market share by thinking of new Digital ways to promote Hard Rock Cafe and by participating in events to increase sales and profits.
• Champion industry research and trends for development of new Digital marketing strategies.
• Provide recommendations that align with marketing strategy success metrics.
• Appoint and manage new digital agencies.
• Manage relationships on a day-to-day basis.
• Monitor Digital campaign results to evaluate KPI's to assess performance and adjust strategies accordingly.
• Liaise with Cafe brand marketing and PR agencies to execute; creative campaign, media buy, press outreach, events, and crisis communications.
• Identify and activate relevant Digital partnerships.
• Drive visitation and revenue in cafes and rock shops, food and beverage and other property outlets through marketing activities.
• Ensure creative Café Brand guidelines are being used on Digital projects and campaigns are approved through the proper channels.
• Report on regional results on a monthly basis to the senior cafe leadership and prepare reports for other key stakeholders as required.
• Own and optimize the website for traffic, conversion, and revenue.
• Drive continuous improvement across content, user experience, and page performance to grow organic and paid traffic, and run structured A/B tests on key pages to lift booking and engagement rates.
• Ensure the site reflects brand standards while directly supporting revenue goals across dining, retail, and events.
• Lead OpenTable strategy and performance; partner with operations and sales on reservations.
• Own the platform end-to-day, setting strategy for table management, waitlist optimization, and reservation flow to maximize covers.
• Track fill rates, no-show trends, and guest satisfaction, and work with operations and sales to align reservation policies with capacity and revenue goals.
• Integrate Unity, Rewards, and CRM.
• Lead integration of the Unity loyalty platform, Rewards program, and CRM systems to build a unified guest profile across touchpoints, and use that data to power personalized marketing, targeted offers, and lifecycle campaigns that drive repeat visitation.
• Partner with IT and data teams to ensure clean data flow and consistent measurement across the ecosystem.
• Drive paid media and SEO.
• Develop and execute paid media strategy across search, social, and display to drive qualified traffic and reservations, managing budgets for maximum ROAS.
• Lead SEO efforts including technical optimization, content strategy, and local search visibility, continually reallocating spend based on channel performance.
• Implement practical AI applications across digital marketing and customer experience.
• Pilot new capabilities in a hands-on way, measuring impact before scaling, and stay current on AI trends relevant to the business.
• Lead PR in partnership with relevant stakeholders.
• Work with brand and PR agencies and internal teams to develop and execute public relations strategy, including press outreach, media relations, and crisis communications.
• Ensure PR efforts align with overall marketing and business goals and coordinate messaging across stakeholders to maintain consistency.
• Design and maintain dashboards that consolidate performance data across web, reservations, loyalty, and paid media into clear, actionable views, defining and tracking key metrics against goals.
• Provide regular reporting to leadership and use dashboard insights to inform ongoing strategy and budget decisions.
• Ensure global-to-local execution.
• Translate global brand and marketing strategy into locally relevant execution across properties, respecting regional differences in guest behavior and market conditions.
• Partner with regional and local teams to adapt campaigns and messaging while maintaining brand consistency, and monitor local performance to confirm global strategy is delivering local results.

  Qualifications

  • Minimum 8 years of work experience in Marketing Digital Director Role for an international brand.
  • Restaurant or multi-location business experience preferred.
  • Strong command of OpenTable, paid media, SEO, and CRM.
  • AI literacy and agency management experience.
  • Strategic thinker who is also hands-on in execution.
  • Bachelor's in marketing with experience in entertainment and food and beverage event marketing segment.
  • Develop and maintain positive relationships within the business and social community.
  • Proven capabilities in managing media plans and initiatives in an international organization.
  • High-energy individual with effective and influential digital media skills.
  • Knowledge of creative, public relations and e-commerce environment.
  • Strong understanding of customer engagement through digital channels for brands.
  • Able to multitask and manage in a fast-paced, changing environment.
  • Able to effectively drive results via coaching and leading a group of Regional Marketing Managers and Cafe Sales & Marketing Managers.
  • Must possess strong communication and listening skills, excellent speaking, reading and writing.
  • Comprehend and use technical or professional language, either written or spoken, to communicate complex ideas.
  • Able to effectively pitch and present information in one-on-one or group situations.
  • Fluency in English is required.