Join Runnings as our Senior Marketing Manager – Customer Engagement and lead the strategy behind promotions, digital marketing, e-commerce growth, and customer acquisition. Partner with Merchandising, Buying, and vendor partners to shape impactful campaigns, drive revenue growth, and enhance the customer experience both in-store and online. Influence key business decisions through data-driven insights while developing a high-performing team and managing a dynamic 12-month marketing calendar. If you're a strategic marketer who thrives in a fast-paced retail environment and is passionate about delivering measurable results, this is your chance to make a significant impact.
Why This Role is Special
- Opportunity to Lead: Build and develop a high-performing team.
- Make an Impact: Shape the promotional and customer engagement strategy for one of the Midwest’s leading retail brands.
- Visibility: Enjoy the variety of a fast-paced retail environment where no two weeks are the same and your work is visible across the entire organization.
About the Position
The Senior Marketing Manager – Customer Engagement provides leadership for customer acquisition, merchandise promotion, e-commerce, digital marketing, and trade advertising/co-op programs. This role develops and leads cross-functional processes that align Marketing, Merchandising, Buying, Analytics, and vendor partners to improve promotional effectiveness, consistency, and execution.
Responsible for managing the company’s rolling 12-month marketing calendar, this position establishes promotional strategies and guides offer development across weekly flyers, e-commerce, digital, social media, and other customer-facing channels. The role is also responsible for optimizing marketing investments, including vendor co-op and trade advertising funds, to maximize return on investment, drive revenue growth, increase store traffic and online engagement, strengthen customer retention, and improve profitability.
Primary areas of responsibility include:
- Merchandise Promotion & Planning;
- Merchandising Partnership & Collaboration;
- Trade, Co-op & Advertising;
- Performance & Analytics; and
Essential Job Functions
The essential job duties include the following. Additional duties may be assigned as business requires.
- Merchandise Promotion & Planning
- Develop and manage an integrated 12-month promotional calendar across all channels.
- Define promotional objectives, offer strategies, and execution plans to support sales, customer acquisition, retention, inventory objectives, and profitability.
- Direct the timing, structure, and deployment of promotional offers across customer-facing channels.
- Lead promotional planning meetings and facilitate alignment among Marketing, Merchandising, Buying, and other stakeholders.
- Merchandising Partnership & Collaboration
- Partner with Merchandising and Buying teams to align promotional and business objectives.
- Establish processes that support coordinated planning and execution of promotions across all channels.
- Provide guidance on pricing events, bundles, rebates, gift card offers, and other promotional tactics.
- Trade, Co-op & Advertising
- Develop annual strategies to maximize vendor co-op funds, trade advertising investments, and promotional support, while tracking performance against established goals.
- Establish and maintain strong relationships with key vendor partners, alongside Buyers, to identify, secure, and maximize co-op funding and participation in promotional programs.
- Align vendor investments with promotional priorities and business objectives.
- Integrate vendor-funded promotions into the annual marketing calendar and optimize return on investment.
- E-Commerce
- Integrate e-commerce initiatives into the marketing calendar.
- Lead strategies to improve online sales, customer engagement, conversion, and customer satisfaction.
- Oversee website merchandising, pricing, promotions, content, and customer experience optimization.
- Digital Marketing
- Develop and execute digital marketing strategies that drive customer acquisition, retention, store traffic, and e-commerce sales.
- Manage digital marketing budgets, agency relationships, and campaign performance.
- Align digital initiatives with promotional, loyalty, and credit card programs.
- Performance & Analytics
- Promote a data-driven culture that supports both performance improvement and innovation.
- Analyze customer, sales, and promotional data to identify opportunities and improve results.
- Develop and monitor key performance indicators and communicate actionable insights to stakeholders.
- People Leadership
- Lead, coach, and develop direct reports to achieve departmental goals.
- Set performance expectations, provide feedback, and promote accountability.
- Foster a collaborative, customer-focused, and results-driven team culture.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Merchandising, or related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience. MBA or advanced business degree preferred.
- 5–7 years of experience in retail marketing, merchandising, promotional planning, e-commerce, or related disciplines.
- Experience working in a promotional or event-driven retail environment. Experience with co-op advertising, vendor-funded marketing programs, or retail merchandising preferred.
- Experience managing cross-functional projects and influencing stakeholders.
Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Ability to lead structured planning discussions among diverse stakeholder groups.
- Analytical mindset focused on business results and actionable insights.
- Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced retail environment.
- Collaborative, team-oriented, and solutions-focused leadership style.
- Proficiency in marketing technologies, reporting tools, and business systems relevant to the position.
Success Metrics
- Timely execution of weekly flyers, promotions, and key marketing initiatives.
- Improved visibility, coordination, and effectiveness of promotional planning processes.
- Increased vendor participation and co-op funding for major marketing events.
- Achievement of annual co-op funding and trade advertising goals.
- Positive store traffic, customer engagement, and revenue trends during promotional periods.
- Growth in online traffic, conversion, and e-commerce sales.
- Stable or improved gross margin performance during promotional activities.
- Reduction in last-minute promotional changes and execution issues.
- Growth in customer acquisition, retention, and overall marketing return on investment.
- Develop and maintain a high-performing team through effective coaching, accountability, and professional development.
Work Environment
This position is primarily performed in an office environment and requires frequent use of a computer and other standard office technology. The role requires regular communication and collaboration with internal and external stakeholders, participation in meetings, and occasional travel to stores, events, vendor meetings, or industry functions as business needs require.
Equal Opportunity & Accessibility
Runnings is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace. We provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with applicable laws. If you require assistance or accommodation during the application process or in performing essential job functions, please contact Human Resources.
Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunity employer. For further information, please review the DOL the Know Your Rights notice. We are also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at [email protected].
