Senior Marketing Operations Manager
Department
Marketing
Location
Onsite in West Sacramento HQ office (Optional remote one day per week)
Reports To
VP of Marketing
Experience
6–10+ years in marketing operations or related senior execution role
Join a Leader in Pet Hospitality
At Wag Hotels, we don’t just offer pet care, we create unforgettable experiences for furry family members. As a fast-growing leader in pet hospitality, we blend operational excellence with a deep passion for dogs and cats. If you’re looking to make an impact in a place that moves fast, values structure, and truly loves its four-legged guests, you’ve found your next home.
Role Summary
Marketing execution today is dependent on leadership bandwidth. There is no senior operator who owns execution rhythm, prioritization, workflow systems, and cross-functional coordination end to end. This creates bottlenecks, limits scalability, and pulls leadership into tactical management instead of growth strategy.
The Senior Marketing Operations Manager will serve as the operational engine of the marketing function. This is not a coordinator role, it is a senior operator responsible for building systems, driving execution, and creating leverage for leadership. This role bridges Marketing, Operations, Finance, BI, and external partners, translating business priorities into structured, on-time execution across all channels and initiatives.
This is a high-visibility role with meaningful ownership and direct impact on how the business grows.
What You Will Own
Marketing Operations & Execution
- Own day-to-day marketing execution across email, signage, pricing collateral, hotel materials, digital assets, and campaigns.
- Develop and manage creative briefs for all marketing output.
- Establish and maintain a clear intake and prioritization process.
- Run weekly execution cadence and ensure deadlines are met across the team.
Content Calendar & Planning
- Own the annual and quarterly marketing calendar.
- Translate business priorities into structured campaign timelines.
- Ensure alignment across events, promotions, partnerships, and hotel initiatives.
Cross-Functional Coordination
- Serve as the primary liaison between Marketing, Operations, Finance, BI, HR, and external vendors.
- Ensure campaigns launch cleanly with correct pricing codes, system setup, and hotel communication.
- Proactively identify operational gaps before they become execution issues.
Vendor & Budget Management
- Manage external vendors including creative, print, digital, and partnership partners.
- Track marketing expenses and ensure execution within approved budgets.
- Improve cost efficiency through process discipline and vendor accountability.
Partnership & Program Operations
- Operationalize B2B partnership program so its process-driven and scalable.
- Build repeatable workflows that reduce person-dependent execution.
Marketing Systems & Process
- Build scalable workflows, documentation, and SOPs across the marketing function.
- Improve project management systems and visibility into what is launching, when, and why.
- Reduce single-point-of-failure risk within marketing operations.
What Success Looks Like
- Marketing leadership exits daily tactical prioritization.
- Campaigns launch on time with minimal fire drills.
- Clear ownership exists across all active initiatives.
- Improved visibility into what is launching, when, and why.
- Marketing execution scales without increasing headcount.
- Operational risk is reduced and execution is no longer person-dependent.
What This Role Is Not
This role exists to create operational leverage and execution discipline. It is not:
- A pure creative role.
- A junior coordinator position.
- Responsible for pricing strategy or promotional analytics (owned by Marketing Leadership and BI).
- A role that waits to be told what to do—this person identifies what needs doing and makes it happen.
Required Skills & Experience
Experience
- 6–10+ years in marketing operations, marketing program management, or a similar senior execution role.
- Experience building marketing workflows and operating systems in multi-location or service-based businesses preferred.
- Strong project management discipline and ability to manage multiple complex workstreams simultaneously.
- Exceptional content writer who understands how people and algorithms read — fluent in SEO best practices, AI-assisted content workflows, and writing for search intent across web, email, and social.
- Experience collaborating cross-functionally with Finance, BI, and Operations.
- Systems-oriented thinker who improves structure, not just output.
- High accountability and ownership mindset.
Education
- Bachelor’s degree required — Marketing, Business, Communications, or related field.
Preferred Experience
- Multi-location retail, hospitality, or consumer services background.
- Marketing tech stack management.
- Vendor negotiation and cost management.
- Experience supporting partnership or affiliate programs.
- Familiarity with project management tools (Asana, Monday.com, or similar) and email marketing platforms.
- Hands-on experience with paid search (PPC) and/or paid social — comfortable managing campaigns, briefing agencies, and interpreting performance data.
Competencies
- Exceptional organizational discipline and ability to manage competing priorities without losing detail.
- Strong written and verbal communication across internal teams and external partners.
- Comfortable operating with ambiguity and building structure where none exists.
- Collaborative and low-ego—earns trust through reliability, not authority.
- Calm under pressure; thrives in a fast-moving, high-accountability environment.
About Wag Hotels
Wag Hotels began in 2005 when our founders couldn’t find a place they felt good about leaving their own pets. What started as a personal search has grown into a trusted destination for dogs and cats across California, Colorado, Illinois, and Texas.
We’re dedicated to providing a safe, fun, enriching environment for pets and exceptional service for their parents. Our hotels offer climate-controlled rooms, webcams, all-day play, enrichment activities, grooming services, and 24/7 care from trained caregivers. Whether it’s a vacation stay, daycare visit, spa appointment, or enrichment session, we make every day better for pets.
