Manager of Marketing Operations
Fontana Village Resort – Fontana Dam, NC
Department: Sales & Marketing
Reports To: Director of Sales
FLSA Status: Exempt | Full-Time
Position Summary
Fontana Village Resort is seeking a creative, strategic, and results-oriented Manager of Marketing Operations to lead the execution of the resort's marketing, branding, demand generation, guest communications, and reputation management initiatives.
This position is responsible for increasing brand awareness, generating qualified demand, supporting occupancy growth, strengthening direct bookings, promoting resort experiences, protecting the Fontana brand, and supporting overall resort revenue.
The Manager of Marketing Operations works closely with the Director of Sales and operational leaders to ensure marketing initiatives support business objectives, operational readiness, and exceptional guest experiences.
Marketing and Sales operate as one unified revenue team. Marketing creates demand. Sales converts demand. Together they share responsibility for increasing occupancy, group business, guest engagement, and long-term guest loyalty.
All responsibilities are performed in accordance with Fontana Village Resort's Core Values:
- Always Helpful
- Always Welcoming
- Always Accountable
Essential ResponsibilitiesStrategic Marketing Leadership
- Develop, execute, and continuously improve the resort's annual marketing strategy.
- Maintain a current, adaptable marketing plan that responds to occupancy trends, market conditions, guest behavior, and business needs.
- Support occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, direct booking growth, and total resort revenue.
- Develop marketing calendars, promotional schedules, and seasonal campaigns.
- Evaluate campaign performance and recommend improvements based on analytics and ROI.
Brand Management
- Protect and strengthen the Fontana Village Resort brand.
- Ensure consistency across all guest-facing communications.
- Maintain corporate communication standards across digital, print, social media, signage, advertising, and promotional materials.
- Ensure all marketing accurately reflects current resort operations, amenities, pricing, programming, and guest experiences.
Demand Generation
Develop integrated campaigns that generate measurable demand for:
- Lodge accommodations
- Cabins
- Weddings
- Meetings
- Corporate retreats
- Family reunions
- Recreation
- Marina
- Dining
- Retail
- Seasonal events
- Resort experiences
Continuously evaluate marketing performance and adjust campaigns to maximize visibility, qualified leads, and bookings.
Sales Partnership
Marketing and Sales function as one revenue team.
Partner with the Director of Sales to:
- Generate qualified leads.
- Support group business development.
- Improve lead quality and booking conversion.
- Develop presentations, proposals, digital assets, and sales collateral.
- Package lodging, recreation, dining, and special events into compelling resort experiences.
- Support occupancy during need periods.
Group revenue is a shared responsibility between Marketing and Sales.
Recreation Marketing Partnership
Serve as the primary marketing partner for the Recreation Department.
Responsibilities include:
- Promote resort activities and special events.
- Assist Recreation leadership in communicating guest programming.
- Increase visibility of seasonal activities.
- Develop promotional campaigns that increase guest participation.
- Incorporate Recreation programming into resort marketing and guest communications.
- Showcase resort experiences through photography, video, storytelling, and social media.
Operational ownership of Recreation programming remains with the Recreation Department.
Guest Recovery & Reputation Management
Partner with Front Desk, Guest Services, and operational leadership to protect and strengthen Fontana Village Resort's reputation.
Responsibilities include:
- Monitor online reviews and social media daily.
- Respond professionally and empathetically to guest feedback.
- Assist with proactive guest recovery initiatives.
- Contact dissatisfied guests when appropriate.
- Utilize LAST guest recovery principles:
- Listen
- Apologize
- Solve
- Thank
- Reinforce Fontana's EIO guest recovery philosophy:
- Empathize
- Isolate
- Overcome
- Identify recurring operational concerns and communicate trends to leadership.
- Develop marketing campaigns highlighting operational improvements, new amenities, renovations, and guest experience enhancements.
- Showcase positive guest experiences, employee recognition, and community involvement.
Strategic Marketing & Community Engagement
Develop creative marketing initiatives that increase awareness and generate qualified demand.
Represent Fontana Village Resort at:
- Chamber of Commerce events
- Tourism meetings
- Industry conferences
- Trade shows
- Community events
- Networking functions
- Business organizations
Develop strategic partnerships with:
- Tourism organizations
- Meeting planners
- Wedding professionals
- Corporate partners
- Universities
- Community organizations
- Local businesses
- Destination marketing organizations
Identify referral sources and partnership opportunities that generate long-term business.
Digital Marketing
Oversee:
- Website content and optimization
- SEO
- Email marketing
- Paid advertising
- Social media
- Content creation
- Photography and video
- Promotional campaigns
- Online reputation
Continuously improve digital performance through analytics and optimization.
Resort Storytelling
Develop compelling content showcasing:
- Resort history
- Cabins
- Lodge
- Marina
- Recreation
- Dining
- Weddings
- Meetings
- Outdoor adventures
- Family traditions
- Seasonal events
- Employee stories
- Guest experiences
Marketing should sell experiences—not simply accommodations.
Marketing Technology & Analytics
Maintain proficiency with the resort's marketing and hospitality systems, including Stayntouch PMS and Tripleseat.
Utilize available systems to analyze:
- Occupancy trends
- Booking pace
- Source markets
- Guest demographics
- Group production
- Event trends
- Campaign performance
- Direct booking performance
Use analytics to guide strategic decisions and improve marketing performance.
Leadership & Team Development
- Develop SMART goals for the Marketing Department.
- Coach and mentor team members.
- Foster innovation, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
- Build strong working relationships across all resort departments.
- Maintain executive-level professionalism and communication standards.
Resort Leadership Responsibilities
As a member of the resort leadership team, the Manager of Marketing Operations is expected to:
- Provide occasional Manager on Duty (MOD) coverage as assigned.
- Maintain a visible presence throughout the resort.
- Support major holidays, special events, VIP visits, and resort initiatives.
- Assist with crisis communications when necessary.
- Support departments outside Marketing when needed to ensure an exceptional guest experience.
- Represent Fontana Village Resort professionally on property and throughout the community.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, Hospitality, or a related field preferred.
- Five (5) or more years of progressive marketing leadership experience, preferably in hospitality, tourism, destination marketing, or resort operations.
- Experience managing integrated marketing campaigns and digital marketing platforms.
- Strong understanding of branding, SEO, social media, analytics, email marketing, and demand generation.
- Experience supporting sales initiatives and revenue generation.
- Experience using hospitality technology platforms such as Stayntouch PMS, Tripleseat, CRM systems, or similar software preferred.
- Excellent written, verbal, organizational, and presentation skills.
- Ability to manage multiple projects while meeting deadlines in a fast-paced hospitality environment.
Success Measures
Performance will be evaluated using the following key performance indicators:
- Qualified leads generated
- Direct booking growth
- Occupancy contribution
- Campaign ROI
- Website conversion
- Marketing-generated group leads
- Campaign-attributed revenue
- Brand awareness
- Online reputation and review sentiment
- Recreation event promotion effectiveness
- Strategic partnerships developed
- Community engagement
- Cross-department collaboration
- Accuracy and timeliness of marketing communications
- Support of Operational Excellence and Sales Excellence initiatives
Why Join Fontana Village Resort?
Fontana Village Resort offers an opportunity to help shape the future of one of the Southeast's premier mountain destinations. You'll join a collaborative leadership team committed to innovation, continuous improvement, exceptional guest service, and creating Guests for Life while enjoying the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains.
Pay: $50,000.00 - $60,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Employee discount
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
Work Location: In person
