Marketing Operations Manager - University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Overview

Marketing Operations Manager

Marketing Strategy. Operational Leadership. One Campus Experience.

Thompson Hospitality is seeking a Marketing Operations Manager for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore bring marketing strategies to life across a dynamic campus dining environment. This is a hands-on role for a marketing professional who understands that great campus experiences require both compelling communication and operational excellence.

The Marketing Operations Manager will lead account-level marketing across unit marketing, residential dining, retail dining, and catering, while also serving as an active member of the campus dining operations team.

This is not a desk-only marketing position. You may coordinate a campaign in the morning, engage students during lunch, meet with campus partners in the afternoon, and support a special event or operational shift in the evening. You won't just market the dining experience—you'll help deliver it.

Responsibilities

What You'll Do

• Execute the established marketing, promotional, and activation calendar, ensuring campaigns and events are delivered accurately and on schedule.
• Coordinate campus-specific marketing initiatives with culinary, residential dining, retail, catering, and operations teams.
• Support meal plan education, participation, promotion, and sales initiatives.
• Develop strong relationships with students, campus departments, student leaders, and other key partners.
• Bring company campaigns, signature programs, events, promotions, and brand activations to life.
• Manage marketing communications, signage, merchandising, planograms, and program standards.
• Train and support managers, associates, and student ambassadors on marketing programs and execution.
• Use sales, participation, engagement, and feedback data to identify opportunities and improve results.
• Support initiatives that drive residential dining participation, retail revenue, catering sales, and technology adoption.
• Partner with the Catering Director to increase catering awareness, leads, and sales.
• Ensure marketing promises align with operational capabilities, including menus, pricing, products, service hours, and guest experiences.
• Document campaign results, photographs, feedback, and proof of performance through established reporting processes.
• Identify execution challenges and proactively communicate solutions to account and marketing leadership.

Marketing + Operations

Marketing creates the promise. Operations delivers it.

As a member of the account leadership team, you will also:

• Work scheduled operational shifts based on business needs.
• Provide hands-on leadership during peak meal periods, catering events, special programs, and major campus events.
• Support guest engagement, service recovery, merchandising, cashiering, stocking, order fulfillment, and other operational needs.
• Support account openings, transitions, high-volume periods, and special projects.
• Identify gaps between the marketed experience and the actual guest experience and help implement solutions.
• Step in wherever needed to support the team and ensure students receive an exceptional experience.
• Model Thompson Hospitality's A.C.E. standards: Attention to Detail, Commitment to Excellence, and Exceptional Service.

Qualifications

What We're Looking For

You may be a great fit if you:

• Know how to take an established marketing strategy and execute it successfully at the campus level.
• Are comfortable coordinating campaigns, engaging students, presenting to campus partners, and supporting a busy operation.
• Understand that creativity must be paired with accountability, operational discipline, and measurable results.
• Can influence and collaborate across departments without direct authority.
• See marketing as a business and revenue driver, not simply a communications function.
• Have strong attention to detail and understand how marketing impacts the overall guest experience.
• Thrive in a fast-paced environment where priorities can change quickly.
• Are willing to roll up your sleeves and work alongside the team.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Hospitality, Business, Public Relations, or a related field; equivalent experience may be considered.
• 3+ years of experience in marketing, hospitality, foodservice, retail, campus engagement, events, operations, or a related field.
• Strong project management, communication, presentation, and relationship-building skills.
• Experience managing multiple campaigns, programs, events, or business priorities.
• Understanding of digital marketing, social media, promotions, visual merchandising, and guest engagement.
• Ability to use sales, participation, and feedback data to drive decisions.
• Ability to work effectively in both an office environment and an active foodservice operation.
• Flexibility to work occasional early mornings, evenings, weekends, operational shifts, and special events as needed.

Preferred experience: Higher education, campus dining, restaurant marketing, retail operations, catering, meal plan sales, or foodservice technology.

Leadership & Reporting

The Marketing Operations Manager will report to the Vice President of Marketing & Programs, with day-to-day accountability to the Food Service Director and Thompson Hospitality Marketing Leadership.

This role sits at the intersection of enterprise marketing strategy and campus-level operational execution.

At Thompson Hospitality, we lead through A.C.E.—Attention to Detail, Commitment to Excellence, and Exceptional Service.

If you're a marketer who understands operations—or an operator with a talent for marketing—we'd like to meet you.

 

 

Who We Are:

Thompson Hospitality is of the largest restaurants, food service, and facilities management companies in the country. We are highly built upon our values, do the right thing, do the best you can, and treat others how you want to be treated, which are shaped by more than 33 years of relationships with our clients, guests, and communities.  We offer competitive benefits, see our website for more. https://www.thompsonhospitality.com/

 

We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.