Consumer Products Manager
Department: Consumer Products
Location: Charlotte, NC (In-Person)
Position Type: Full-Time (Exempt)
Reports To: Vice President of Consumer Products
Direct Reports: Event Retail Associates
Position Overview The Consumer Products Manager plays a central creative and leadership role in developing and executing retail sales operations, product design, and brand experiences across Carolina Ascent FC and Charlotte Independence. This position drives revenue through innovative product concepts, artistic visual merchandising, and compelling online and in-person fan experiences while meeting annual sales goals.
The role’s primary duty involves creative work requiring imagination, originality, and artistic talent in designing consumer products, curating online store aesthetics, and crafting promotional retail experiences. Working closely with the Vice President of Consumer Products and the Inventory/Fulfillment Manager, the Consumer Products Manager ensures brand storytelling, design excellence, and operational execution deliver exceptional fan engagement and maximize revenue opportunities.
Key Responsibilities
Creative Product Design & Brand Experience Development (Primary Duty)
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Lead the creative conception, design, and development of original retail and promotional merchandise, including limited-edition items, theme-night products, player activations, and collaborative collections that reflect artistic interpretation of team branding, soccer culture, and fan experiences.
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Direct the artistic vision for the online store, including product photography styling, website layout and visual design, promotional banners, storytelling content, and e-commerce user experience enhancements that incorporate originality and creative talent to drive engagement and sales.
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Create and iterate on visual merchandising concepts, plan-o-grams, booth displays, and in-stadium experiences that utilize artistic design principles to maximize visual appeal, emotional connection, and conversion.
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Exercise discretion and independent judgment in creating digital content, design options, color palettes, packaging, and thematic elements for places such as the website, videoboard/LED Ribbon, newsletter, retail and promotional items to ensure they align with brand strategy while innovating to capture fan interest.
Retail Operations & Event-Day Execution
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Lead planning and supervise setup, execution, and breakdown of in-stadium and pop-up retail operations for Carolina Ascent FC (14+ home games + playoffs) and Charlotte Independence (16 regular season + cup games + playoffs), incorporating creative display installations.
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Coordinate game-day logistics, staffing, booth layout, signage, and real-time inventory, while ensuring creative elements enhance the fan experience.
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Oversee POS systems, applying insights from creative performance metrics.
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Prepare and present exclusive or limited-edition merchandise with custom creative storytelling for events.
Staff Management & Development
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Recruit, train, schedule, and supervise seasonal/game-day retail associates
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4–6 per CAFC game; 2 per CIS game
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Oversee internship learning experiences
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Create postgame report and lead debriefs
Sales Performance, Collaboration & Strategy
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Track and analyze sales performance across channels, providing creative insights and recommendations for future product designs, launches, and pricing.
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Collaborate with Marketing, Sponsorship, and Game Presentation teams on integrated retail promotions that leverage original creative concepts.
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Support e-commerce strategy through creative direction of product data, visuals, and launch timing.
Administrative & Compliance Support
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Exercise discretion to maintain merchandising standards, branding consistency, league guidelines, and design compliance across all channels.
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Assist the VP with special projects, including new product lines and brand partnerships.
Qualifications Education/Experience
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Degree in sports management, marketing, retail and/or graphic design preferred
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Experience in collegiate or professional sports/entertainment preferred
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Experience with Shopify, design tools (e.g., Adobe Creative Suite or equivalent), POS systems, and retail analytics strongly preferred.
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Portfolio of creative product development, visual merchandising, or e-commerce design.
Skills & Abilities
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Strong creative vision with artistic talent and originality in product and experience design.
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Excellent leadership and team management skills, with the ability to inspire creative execution.
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Proficiency in design software, Microsoft Office/Google Workspace, and data analysis.
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Ability to exercise independent judgment and discretion in creative and operational decisions.
Physical Requirements
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Ability to lift up to 40 lbs and participate in game-day setup/teardown.
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Flexibility for evenings, weekends, and holidays.
Additional Qualities
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Passion for sports fan culture, and creative brand storytelling.
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Energetic, proactive, and committed to artistic excellence and fan experiences.
Work Environment & Expectations Full-time, in-person role in Charlotte, NC, with time split between warehouse/office, stadiums, and events. Significant evening/weekend availability required in season.
Full-Time, Exempt
Empower Sports & Entertainment is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
Empower Sports & Entertainment participates in E-Verify. All offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of Form I-9 and verification of employment eligibility through the federal E-Verify system.
