Marketing Manager

About the role

Help build a new national donor recruitment platform through sport

Canadian Blood Services is looking for an experienced Marketing Manager to lead the marketing strategy and integrated execution of a new national sport-based donor recruitment initiative.

This is more than a campaign or sponsorship. It is a community-based recruitment platform designed to use the reach, culture and influence of sport to inspire participation, strengthen connections with younger and more diverse audiences, and build a sustainable pipeline of new donors and Partners for Life teams.

The initiative will come to life through athletes, teams, sport organizations, clubs, schools, community partners and grassroots networks across Canada. Basketball will be an initial area of focus, with the opportunity to support and strengthen existing work in hockey and help shape a model that can expand into other sports over time.

This is a unique opportunity for a strategic and highly collaborative marketer to help build a national program from the ground up. The successful candidate will understand sport culture, fan and community engagement, athlete and partner marketing, and how to translate a significant strategic ambition into coordinated work that drives measurable participation.

Formula for success

• Lead the integrated marketing strategy and multi-year roadmap for a new national sport-based donor recruitment initiative, connecting it to broader brand, donor growth and go to market strategies.
• Bring together interconnected internal teams including Partnerships, Recruitment, Brand, Paid Media, Digital, CRM, Communications, Analytics and regional stakeholders to deliver one cohesive national program.
• Translate the strategy into an integrated marketing ecosystem across creative, content, storytelling, paid media, social, CRM, public relations, partner amplification and local activation, working alongside functional teams.
• Collaborate to lead the creative, storytelling and always on content strategy across athletes, donor and community stories, partner channels, program milestones and national moments to support awareness, participation, recruitment and retention.
• Develop national and audience specific marketing opportunities across basketball and hockey communities, campuses, clubs, schools, priority markets and culturally relevant community networks.
• Develop integrated launch and always on marketing plans across paid, earned, owned and partner channels, ensuring awareness connects to a strong donor ask and clear pathways for individuals, teams, schools, clubs and organizations to participate.
• Establish measurement and optimization plans across reach, engagement, leads, participation, donor acquisition and longer-term growth, using audience insights, program results and market intelligence to continually improve the strategy and participant experience.
• Lead the operational delivery and evolution of the marketing program, managing budgets, agency scopes, timelines, approvals, risks and competing priorities while helping build a scalable sport marketing and recruitment model that can grow across basketball, hockey and other sports over time.

What will make someone successful in this role

• The strongest candidate will be comfortable building while delivering. They will be able to move between long term strategy and immediate execution, understand both national scale and grassroots relevance, and bring structure to an initiative with many interconnected partners and workstreams.
• They will understand that sport marketing is not simply about securing visibility or placing a logo beside a well-known athlete. Success will depend on turning the credibility, reach and community infrastructure of sport into meaningful opportunities for people to participate, recruit others and become donors.
• This person will bring the credibility to operate within the sport ecosystem, the marketing depth to lead an integrated national initiative, and the collaborative style required to build something lasting across Canadian Blood Services and its partners.

Desired education and skills

• Significant marketing experience within sport, entertainment, community engagement or a related environment, with a strong understanding of the Canadian sport landscape and how athletes, teams, governing bodies, media partners and grassroots organizations work together.
• Demonstrated experience leading integrated marketing strategies across brand, audience engagement, creative, content, social media, paid media, communications and experiential activation.
• Strong sport sector experience, with direct experience in basketball considered a significant asset and experience across both basketball and hockey particularly valuable.
• Experience working across the sport partnership ecosystem, including athletes, talent, agents, leagues, teams, rights holders and media partners, and turning sponsorship assets into meaningful audience engagement and participation.
• Proven ability to lead complex, interconnected internal and external teams, including agencies and specialist partners, creating clarity across roles and keeping multiple workstreams moving toward a shared outcome.
• Strong strategic judgment with an ability to translate strategy into action, solve problems and make progress in a complex and evolving environment.
• A data informed and audience led approach, with experience developing culturally relevant marketing, establishing objectives, evaluating performance and optimizing based on audience insights and results.
• Excellent communication and relationship building skills, with the ability to influence senior leaders, internal teams and external partners, paired with a genuine passion for sport and its ability to create belonging, mobilize communities and inspire action.

What we offer you

• Payment in lieu of vacation.
• Payment in lieu of benefits.
• Defined benefit pension plan.
• Employee discounts, wellness program, professional resources.

What you can expect

• This role requires a minimum of 40% on-site presence. Additional on-site work may be required based on business needs. On-site expectations are subject to change and may be adjusted on a temporary or permanent basis. The successful candidate will work at our Toronto (67 College Street) major site office.
• You may be required to travel monthly, and as required.