[Hiring] Director of Market Development @PPA Tour

Role Description

As Director, Market Development for our East Coast pod, your primary mission is to turn players into fans — to build the kind of pre-event buzz, local presence, and spectator demand that makes sitting in the stands feel like the obvious next step for anyone who's ever picked up a paddle. You'll own five major events and work alongside the operations team to make sure each tournament feels rooted in its city, not dropped into it.

What You're Driving

• Spectator Tickets & Crowd Building: Convert the millions of recreational players in your markets into ticket buyers. Build campaigns that make the live pro experience feel electric, accessible, and unmissable.
• Build Local Presence: Boots on the ground - building relationships with local news outlets, influencers, pickleball clubs, and community groups so that by the time the tournament arrives, the whole market already knows it's coming.
• Ambassador Program: Connect with clubs and recreational networks to drive tournament entries. A full amateur draw deepens community investment and adds to the atmosphere in the stands.
• Local Event Identity: Work with ops to make each tournament feel like it belongs to its city. A Chicago event should feel nothing like Dallas — local hooks, local media, local energy.

What You'll Own

• Own the full spectator marketing strategy for each event in your region.
• Work with your Senior Director to build out campaigns that drive ticket sales, registration, and pre-event buzz.
• Identify and activate market-specific channels — local media, club networks, influencers, community events.
• Collaborate with operations to create event experiences that feel uniquely tied to each city's identity and culture.
• Drive amateur player registrations through targeted outreach to clubs, facilities, and recreational leagues.
• Report on attendance metrics, campaign performance, and registration numbers to the Senior Director.

Qualifications

• 4–7 years of marketing experience — sports, live events, or entertainment strongly preferred.
• Proven track record of building attendance demand and converting audiences into ticket buyers.
• Deep understanding of how to market in local and regional markets.
• Creative instincts paired with strategic discipline.
• Experience managing at least one direct report.
• Strong working knowledge of social media, email, and grassroots community activation.
• Comfortable being scrappy — this is creative problem-solving, not big-agency budgets.
• Willing to travel to every event and show up personally when it matters most.

Why This Role

• The Biggest Untapped Audience in Sports: 25 million players, a fraction of them in seats. The gap between participation and spectatorship is your opportunity.
• Creative Ownership: You're not executing someone else's playbook. Five different cities, five different audiences — you figure out what works and you own the results.
• Get In While It's Still Being Built: Pro pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the country. The people who join now shape what it becomes.