Marketing and Sales Operations Director

Gracie’s Ventures

is a people-first hospitality organization rooted in exceptional guest experiences, culinary craftsmanship, education, and community. Gracie’s offers a refined dining experience; Ellie’s is a café by day and bistro by night. Our HEARTS values—Hospitality, Empathy, Aim to Educate, Reach Results, Teamwork, and Share Compassion—guide how we lead, serve, and grow.

Position Overview

The Venture Marketing, Sales & Community Leader builds awareness, relationships, and measurable business opportunities for Gracie’s and Ellie’s. This leader stewards each brand’s voice, develops thoughtful campaigns, cultivates strategic partnerships, and proactively generates qualified leads for dining, events, catering, classes, and other experiences. Working with the Proprietor, operations, events, and culinary leaders, the role connects creative storytelling with guest engagement and revenue growth.

Brand, Marketing & Communications

• Own an integrated marketing calendar for both concepts, including campaigns, newsletters, press releases, seasonal programming, and promotional collateral.
• Maintain consistent, distinctive brand voice across written communications, websites, digital assets and printed materials; coordinate with designers and website partners.
• Guide social media strategy and collaborate with the social media coordinator on content plans, publishing priorities and performance.
• Develop media relationships, award nominations and thoughtful public-relations opportunities.
• Evaluate emerging marketing tools, including responsible uses of AI, to improve effectiveness and efficiency.

Sales & Business Development

• Create and execute a proactive outreach plan to grow private dining, corporate events, catering, classes, wine experiences, and other relevant offerings.
• Identify and cultivate prospective clients, including corporate offices, executive assistants, meeting planners, local employers, and organizations.
• Build a qualified lead pipeline; track outreach, meetings, referrals, proposals, conversions, and estimated revenue in coordination with Gracie’s Events Leader.
• Coordinate warm handoffs to the events team for proposals, contracting, and event execution
• Develop cross-promotional packages and partnership opportunities that fit each concept’s hospitality standards and capacity.

Networking & Community Partnerships

• Represent Gracie’s Ventures at selected chamber, tourism, convention, neighborhood, and business-networking gatherings; attend in person when appropriate.
• Build and maintain relationships with hotel concierge and sales teams, universities, schools, cultural institutions, theaters, and local businesses; build and execute a loyal strategic relationship.
• Develop a structured follow-up plan after meetings and networking events to turn relationships into referrals, collaborations, and repeat business.
• Support community initiatives, including Warm a Heart Gingerbread, as assigned and aligned with organizational priorities.

Guest Engagement & Retention

• Partner with guest relations and operations on segmented email campaigns, reservation-platform marketing, guest re-engagement, and loyalty efforts.
• Support thoughtful communication and promotion of Grace Membership and other guest-recognition programs.
• Coordinate promotional plans and RSVP communications for special events
• Review campaign performance and guest response to refine messaging and improve repeat visits.

Leadership, Collaboration & Accountability

• Participate in weekly CORE meetings and lead focused monthly marketing and business-development reviews.
• Collaborate across culinary, operations, events, and hospitality teams to ensure promotions match service capacity and guest expectations.
• Maintain an organized campaign calendar, partnership contact list, lead tracker, and clear project deadlines.
• Share a concise monthly dashboard of activity, outcomes, opportunities, and next steps with the Proprietor.
• Model HEARTS values, professional communication, initiative, and a solution-oriented approach.

Measures of Success

• Qualified sales leads, referral sources, and new business opportunities generated.
• Lead-to-booking conversion and attributable event, catering or experience revenue, tracked collaboratively.
• Strategic partnership meetings, follow-ups and active referral relationships.
• Campaign reach, engagement, website or inquiry traffic and repeat-guest response where measurable.
• On-time execution, brand consistency, communication and effective cross-department collaboration.

The Proprietor will establish specific monthly and quarterly targets based on baseline performance, seasonality, and organizational priorities.

Qualifications & Working Expectations

• Experience in hospitality marketing, business development, communications, or a related field; strong writing and relationship-building skills.
• Comfort with proactive outreach, networking, presentations, CRM or lead tracking, and performance reporting.
• Maintain an average schedule of 45–50 hours per week, with flexibility for occasional evenings and weekends, in-person networking, partner meetings, special events, and weekly CORE meetings. Remote work is supported where appropriate and documented through a weekly recap.
• Sound judgment, discretion, follow-through, and an understanding of the distinct guest experiences at Gracie’s and Ellie’s.

Compensation Package

Does not include bonuses or commission. Performance check-ins at 90 days and six months, followed by annual review.

Eligible benefits, subject to current plan documents and policies: health/dental/vision, paid time off, 401(k), paid sick time, wellness program, discounted dining, professional development and continued education. Eligibility and waiting periods are governed by current policies.

*This description outlines primary expectations and may evolve with organizational needs. Leadership reviews responsibilities and goals periodically.*

More detail about Gracie's part of Gracie's Ventures