Channel Manager, Players' Association Programs

Location: Chicago, IL Hybrid (In-office min. 3 days/week) About Campus Ink & The NIL Store: Campus Ink is the collegiate merchandise company that turns campus culture into commerce, empowering athletes, students, and communities through a house of brands, all powered by its own production engine. The NIL Store is our flagship brand and the fastest-growing athlete-first apparel company in the country. We design, produce and ship from our own facility in Urbana, Illinois, which lets us move from idea to product in days, not months. Our licenses now extend beyond college to the Players' Associations of the MLB, WNBA, and other leages, so fans can rep today's pros in the college gear where they made their name. About the role: The Channel Manager, Players' Association Programs owns the success of our MLB, WNBA, and other leagues/programs across direct-to-consumer and wholesale channels. This is a brand-new vertical, and you'll be its first dedicated owner. The role is part account manager, part marketing manager. You'll take projects from first idea to live campaign: shaping product concepts with our design and licensing teams, arming our wholesale team with fresh product and catalogs, and telling the stories that drive fans to buy online. You'll also be the day-to-day face of the program to our partners at the PA offices, and to the athletes, agents and influencers who bring it to life. The company is fully committed to this vertical and will keep investing in it. The right person can build it from the ground up and grow with it. What you'll do: Own the PA strategy and results • Build and run the annual and seasonal marketing strategy for the NBPA, MLBPA and WNBPA programs. • Own revenue goals for the vertical across D2C and wholesale, and report on progress to leadership. • Track sales, traffic, conversion and campaign data weekly; use it to decide which players, products and channels get more investment. • Spot "hot moments" — milestones, playoff runs, viral plays — and move fast to get product to market first. Drive the product pipeline • Lead projects from ideation through launch with our art, design and licensing teams. • Build a calendar of drops tied to each league's season, draft and marquee events. • Keep every product within PA and university licensing approvals, from concept to final art. Arm the wholesale team • Make sure wholesale always has fresh product to sell, timed to buyer calendars. • Create and maintain product catalogs, line sheets and sell-in materials for retail partners. • Feed sell-through and retailer insights back into the next round of product. Lead D2C marketing • Plan and run campaigns across email, social, paid and site merchandising with our marketing team. • Tell players' stories in ways that connect their college roots to their pro careers. • Brief creative, approve assets and hold the work to a high bar for eye-catching design. Manage key partners • Serve as the main day-to-day contact for our partners at the NBPA, MLBPA and WNBPA offices. • Build relationships with athletes, agents and influencers to drive launches and content. • Coordinate approvals, promotional commitments and co-marketing with each PA. What success looks like: First 90 days • Know every active PA product, partner contact and approval process. • Ship a go-to-market plan for each PA, covering D2C and wholesale. • Launch at least one new drop with full marketing support and a wholesale catalog behind it. • Set up a regular performance report the team can act on. First year • PA programs are a growing, reliable revenue line in both channels. • Wholesale has a steady flow of new product and partners reorder. • The NIL Store is known as one of the go-to destinations for pro players' college gear. • Strong, trusted relationships with all three PA offices and a roster of active athletes. Why join us: • Build something new. You'll be the first dedicated owner of a vertical the whole company is betting on. • Move fast. Our own production center means your ideas become real product in days. • Work at the center of sports culture. Partner with the PAs, pro athletes and their agents every week. • Grow with us. As the vertical grows, so does your team and your scope. If you love sports, have an eye for great marketing and want to help build the fastest-growing athlete-first apparel company in the country, we want to hear from you. Requirements What you bring: • 2–3+ years in sports marketing at a brand, league, team, players' association, agency or licensed merchandise company. • Comfort with data: you can pull apart sales and campaign numbers and make a confident call from them. • Experience taking projects from idea to launch across creative, product and external partners. • Strong writing and storytelling, with a sharp eye for design and what makes fans stop scrolling. • A self-starter who thrives with ambiguity and wants to build something new. • A genuine love of sports and fluency in the MLB, WNBA, and other leagues. Benefits Annual salary: $55,000–$65,000 • 401(k) matching • Paid time off • Paid training • Health insurance • Dental insurance • Vision insurance • Life insurance Full-time, salaried position