Membership and Marketing Manager

Role Description:

AFC Wimbledon is a professional football club with a story like no other.

Reformed by fans in 2002 to continue 135 years of Wimbledon sporting representation, the Dons returned home to Plough Lane in 2020 - to the Cherry Red Records Stadium - a 9,000-capacity ground funded predominantly by its own supporters. 

What makes AFC Wimbledon genuinely unique is who owns it. Through The Dons Trust, the club is majority fan-owned - with every one of its 7,500 members holding an equal stake and an equal vote.

The men’s team play in League One. The women’s team also compete in the third tier. The Academy develops the next generation of professional players. And the AFC Wimbledon Foundation delivers award-winning community and charitable programmes across south London.

The Membership & Marketing Manager is an important role within AFC Wimbledon and The Dons Trust, with primary responsibility for growing and nurturing a membership base of more than 7,500 people from matchday regulars to supporters who follow the club from the other side of the world.

The role sits within the club’s communications and marketing team and works closely with The Dons Trust’s elected member directors or trustees, as well as colleagues across ticketing, commercial and events.

The governance and voting elements of membership (i.e. members’ rights) are managed by the Trust; whereas this role focuses on the member experience: the events, communications, benefits and day-to-day running that make membership feel worth having.

We're looking for someone with experience in membership product management or supporter engagement who is ready to take ownership of this programme, develop it, and deliver it.

Key Responsibilities:

Member Experience & Engagement

·       Own the membership proposition end to end - assessing what exists, identifying what’s working, and continuously improving the overall member experience.

·       Develop and deliver a programme of member events and experiences including matchday activations, player and management meet-ups, and other exclusive touchpoints across the season.

·       Create communications that keep members informed, connected and engaged across email, social media, website content and the club app working alongside the wider comms team.

·       Develop engagement approaches that work for all members, including those who attend regularly, those who come occasionally, and those who support the club from further afield.

·       Gather and act on member feedback to continuously improve the experience.

Membership Administration

·       Oversee day-to-day membership operations including new member onboarding, renewals, answering queries, working with the Trust’s volunteer membership secretary.

·       Maintain accurate member records using the club’s CRM and ticketing systems (DataTalks and Secutix respectively), ensuring data integrity and clean reporting.

·       Respond promptly and professionally to member enquiries, resolving issues efficiently.

·       Provide regular reporting on membership performance including numbers, engagement, retention to senior leadership and the Trust board as required.

Benefits & Partnerships

·       Manage and develop the member benefits programme which includes shop discounts, ticket priority, upgrade offers, event discounts, competitions, partner deals and exclusive experiences ensuring benefits feel genuinely valuable and are well communicated.

·       Identify new opportunities to enhance member benefits, working with commercial and operational colleagues to bring them to life.

·       Liaise with club departments to ensure benefits are delivered consistently and members have a joined-up experience.

Membership Growth

·       Bring membership and fan ownership to life, driving engagement and sales.

·       Work to grow the membership base through targeted campaigns and a compelling, well-communicated proposition.

·       Manage the renewals process, keeping it simple and timely to ensure members stay connected to the club.

·       Work with the comms and marketing team on campaigns that recruit new members, particularly around key moments in the football calendar.

Collaboration & Dons Trust Liaison

·       Work closely with The Dons Trust representatives (the fan ownership body) as the day-to-day club contact for membership matters.

·       Support communications around significant membership moments, such as Trust AGMs, elections or major announcements, in coordination with the Trust’s own team.

·       Build strong cross-departmental relationships to ensure membership is considered and integrated across the club’s work.

Budget

·       Manage the membership budget effectively, ensuring spend is purposeful and drives returns.

Other

The successful candidate will also support the wider Marketing team on other non-membership products and services.

What We’re Looking For

The successful candidate will have real experience in membership, supporter engagement or community management, ideally in sport or within a fan- or customer-facing organisation.

Essential

·       Experience in membership management, supporter engagement or community management

·       Proven ability to plan and deliver events and member-facing activities

·       Strong communication and copywriting skills

·       Strong customer service skills

·       Experience working with CRM systems

·       Ability to present and interpret data, to deliver clear reporting

·       Highly organised with strong attention to detail

·       A self-starter who takes initiative and sees things through

·       Warm, personable, and effective at building relationships across departments and with members directly

·       Understanding of the sports landscape and what makes fans feel genuinely connected to a club

Desirable

·       Experience in football, sport, or a fan-owned or membership organisation

·       Familiarity with ticketing or membership back-end platforms (SecuTix or similar)

·       Experience working with or alongside volunteers

·       Wider marketing experience , delivering campaigns across all channels

Our Values

AFC Wimbledon is a club with deep roots in its community. All staff are expected to act as club ambassadors and to embody our values of Togetherness, Constant Improvement and Resilience.

How to Apply

We encourage applicants to find out more about The Dons Trust and fan ownership via: www.afcwimbledon.co.uk and our existing Membership offering via: https://www.afcwimbledon.co.uk/membership

Please send your CV and a cover letter to:

HR@AFCWimbledon.ltd.uk

Please note, applicants who do not meet the essential criteria outlined above will not progress to interview.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if application volumes are high, early applications are encouraged.

Our commitment

AFC Wimbledon is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in employment and its employment policies for recruitment are designed to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender re-assignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

AFC Wimbledon is committed to safeguarding all children, young people and adults are risk involved in its activities and events. The group recognizes its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of vulnerable groups by a commitment to procedures to protect them.  The group additionally expects all staff and volunteers to fully support and promote these commitments.