Visit Middleton is hiring for the position of Tourism Marketing Manager to lead the marketing and advertising efforts for this charming, friendly and growing city in the heart of south-central Wisconsin. Visit Middleton is the tourism department and marketing arm for the City of Middleton — a city of just more than 23,000 next door to Madison, the state’s capital. Our mission is to promote the city to leisure travelers (we have more than 50 shops and 80 restaurants), as well as promote conferences, conventions and group travel overnight stays at our hotel properties. We have nine hotels, one of which is the largest convention center hotel in Dane County.

Middleton is a safe, clean and overall great place to live, work and play. We’re home to an award-winning brewery, cidery, and golf course, and beautiful conservancy lands — all nestled along the west side of Lake Mendota. We are about one and a half hours from Milwaukee and three hours from Chicago. We market our outdoor spaces, leisure amenities and local attractions like the National Mustard Museum and Capital Brewery.

The Tourism Marketing Manager, under the administrative supervision of the Director of Tourism, is responsible for the development, implementation and management of Visit Middleton’s marketing and communications initiatives, including: working with the Director and marketing agency of record on an annual brand and marketing strategy, writing ad copy, social media and blog posts, and newsletters; managing print and digital advertising campaigns and placements; and maintaining an updated website as well as social networking channels. Working with the Director, they serve as project manager and writer/editor for the annual visitor guide; oversee photo and video libraries and the annual photo shoot; and in collaboration with the Director, the Tourism Marketing Manager also serves as a liaison to the media.

This position will be in charge of all organic social media writing and posting; newsletter and website blog writing and editing; and will manage all online and digital ad placements. The Marketing Manager will also write and edit marketing materials, such as meeting flyers, group tour pieces, print and digital ads, and of course, the annual visitors guide. The ability to write clean copy that reflects Visit Middleton’s brand voice is a requirement. Associated Press style is used, but can be taught. This position will be asked to create social media reels, videos and some simple graphic posts. Visit Middleton utilizes the Adobe Creative Suite software (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premier Pro, etc.). Knowledge of these programs is a requirement in order to update pre-existing pieces and to work with the agency on future projects.

Any applicant who is not fluent in the basics of Photoshop and InDesign will be expected to become so within the first three months. This position will also oversee Visit Middleton’s photo and video library and work with professional crews to update our libraries, website content and commercials through scheduled photo shoots in Middleton. Experience with photo shoots and the process of producing/writing pieces for digital/TV is appreciated and will be given preference. Oversee, maintain and promote brand integrity and awareness; Write copy for social media platforms, newsletters, YouTube channel; Oversee and manage photography and videography libraries and needs in order to support organization’s marketing and sales efforts; Update, write, edit content for external website (CMS is on WordPress); Project manage and create content.

Salary $63,098.00 - $72,562.00 Annually.

• Participation in the Wisconsin Retirement System public employee pension program. Provides a contributory defined benefit retirement benefit (pension) to employees who meet the retirement eligibility requirements.
• Health Insurance available through SSM/Dean. Individual or Family plans with either a Health Management Organization (HMO) or Point of Service (POS) option are available. Cash in lieu of Health Insurance of $2000/yr available to those who qualify.
• Dental Insurance available through Delta Dental. Individual or Family plans are available. Insurance provided at no cost to the employee for both plans.
• Vision Insurance Vision Insurance available through Delta Vision. Insurance is 100% employee paid.
• Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) City funded HRA provides reimbursement of 75% of the Health Insurance deductible
• Employee Assistance Program Employee Assistance Program to assist in the prevention, early identification, and resolution of personal issues. Employees may consult with the EAP at no cost.
• Flexible Spending Account Accounts for health reimbursement and dependent care reimbursement. All FSA funds are deposited pre-tax and used tax free.
• Income Continuation Insurance Combined short- and long-term disability insurance provided at no cost.
• Deferred Compensation Qualified retirement 457(b) investment account. Employees may contribute to traditional tax deferred or Roth post tax investments for their retirement through this program.
• Life Insurance Group Term life insurance provided at 1x employee's annual salary provided at no cost. Additional units of life insurance, and spouse insurance also available for purchase by employees.
• Time Off Vacation accrual every pay period beginning with fifteen days a year total. Prorated for employees working 30-39 hours per week.
• Sick Leave accrual at one day per month.
• Four Personal Days a year.

Fulltime in-office position. Indoor, office work environment with artificial light, office machine sounds and noises. Occasionally will be off site for events; will be required to attend limited number of conferences with overnight stays. Will be required to work occasional weekends or after hours to cover the Middleton Visitors Center during events outside regular business hours (staff rotates coverage).

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field: marketing, advertising, communications, public relations, or journalism, with minimum three (post-graduate) years of related professional experience; THIS IS A MANAGER’S POSITION AND NOT AN ENTRY-LEVEL POSITION, internship time will not qualify; – or – A completed bachelor’s degree in another related discipline and a minimum of five years of post-graduate experience in marketing or advertising positions.
• Experience writing and editing projects solo, or as the lead writer;
• Experience in digital and/or social media marketing, i.e. Facebook campaigns, YouTube, connected TV, etc.;
• Experience managing marketing projects in a team or with an agency; Experience working with web-based CMS (like WordPress); Graphic design experience preferred;
• Photography experience preferred.
• Strong creative writing and editing skills;
• Strong understanding of interpreting marketing trends, analytics and data and ability to translate information into report form;
• Strong understanding of advertising and marketing, ad placement;
• Strong understanding of social media ad placement, digital ad placement; and Facebook/Meta business suite;
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of hospitality/tourism industry is preferred but not required.
• Exceptional customer service skills;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills;
• strong copywriting skills;
• High degree of critical thinking; High degree of proficiency in Microsoft Office;
• Experience in project management;
• Experience in Adobe Creative Suite, such as InDesign and Photoshop, or similar software, like Quark and Canva with ability to learn Adobe’s Creative Suite.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working (workplace and community) relationships;
• Ability to prioritize and complete multiple projects in a timely manner;
• Ability to perform light physical work as related to an office environment with occasional moderately heavy physical work.

Apply online on the City of Middleton website. Questions can be directed to Brian Wolhaupter, HR Manager, City of Middleton, [email protected].

Application deadline will be open until the position is filled.