Director of New Club Opening Market Growth

VASA FITNESS•Warrenville, IL

6d•$146,000 - $161,000•Hybrid

About The Position

VASA Fitness is seeking a strategic, entrepreneurial Director of New Market Growth to lead the marketing strategy, community integration, and launch execution for every new club opening. This role owns the marketing success of each new market--from the day construction begins through the first year of operation--ensuring every club launches with strong community awareness, a robust founding member base, and sustained membership growth. The Director of New Market Growth will serve as the quarterback for all local marketing efforts, partnering across Brand, Paid Media, CRM, PR, Social, Operations, Real Estate, Sales and Club Leadership to bring each market to life. This leader will also build meaningful community relationships before opening, develop scalable market launch playbooks, oversee grand opening events, and lead a Field & Experience Marketing Specialist responsible for executing local initiatives. Success in this role will be measured by one thing: Helping every new VASA club achieve aggressive membership growth goals and become an integral part of its community. This position is ideally based in the Chicago area but we will also consider candidates based in Denver. This role will require heavy travel to support new club openings.

Requirements

8--10+ years of experience in field marketing, growth marketing, retail marketing, new market development or experiential marketing
Experience launching multiple brick-and-mortar locations
Proven success driving customer acquisition in new markets
Experience leading cross-functional initiatives involving Marketing, Operations and Sales
Strong project management and organizational skills
Exceptional communication and executive presentation skills
Experience managing budgets and external partners
Willingness to travel regularly to support market launches

Nice To Haves

Multi-unit retail
Fitness
Restaurants
Consumer brands
Franchise organizations
Hospitality
Health & wellness
Grand openings
Local partnerships
Community marketing
Grassroots marketing
Experiential events
New market launches

Responsibilities

Lead the end-to-end marketing strategy for every new VASA market.
Develop comprehensive market launch plans from site acquisition through the first 12 months after opening.
Develop a Market Launch Playbook that captures best practices, timelines, partnership strategies, media plans, event templates, communication cadences, and post-opening growth tactics after every opening. Each new club should make the playbook smarter, creating a repeatable engine that accelerates future launches.
Build scalable launch playbooks that can be replicated across future markets.
Coordinate launch timelines across Marketing, Operations, Sales, Real Estate and executive leadership.
Identify launch risks and proactively solve issues before they impact performance.
Create executive launch scorecards and communicate market readiness across the organization.
Ensure all marketing initiatives are launched accurately and on schedule.
Own the marketing strategy that supports aggressive membership growth during the first year.
Partner with Paid Media, CRM, Social, PR and Brand teams to maximize lead generation and membership sales.
Ensure marketing campaigns are coordinated and visible to club leadership.
Optimize launch strategies based on market performance and member acquisition trends.
Identify opportunities to increase awareness and improve conversion throughout the first year.
Support club teams with local marketing initiatives that continue momentum well beyond grand opening.
Develop local partnership strategies unique to each market.
Build relationships with Chambers of Commerce, city officials, schools, employers and nonprofit organizations.
Secure sponsorships and community partnerships that increase local awareness.
Identify opportunities for VASA to make a meaningful impact through volunteerism, charitable initiatives and local events.
Cultivate relationships with local influencers, media outlets and community leaders.
Ensure VASA becomes part of the fabric of each community--not simply another business opening its doors.
Plan and execute grand openings, VIP previews, founder events and ribbon cuttings.
Coordinate media outreach alongside PR.
Manage event budgets, vendors and timelines.
Develop scalable event playbooks that elevate every opening.
Partner with Operations to deliver exceptional member experiences during launch.
Maintain launch calendars and project timelines.
Communicate campaign status, paid media launches and promotional activity to internal stakeholders.
Ensure club leadership understands what marketing is live, what is coming next and how they can maximize local opportunities.
Coordinate regular cross-functional launch meetings.
Maintain documentation, reporting and best practices for every market.
Lead and develop the Field & Experience Marketing Specialist responsible for executing local marketing initiatives.
Coach and mentor team members.
Establish priorities and market execution plans.
Oversee local events, partnerships and grassroots marketing efforts.
Build scalable processes that support future team growth as VASA expands.