Brand Development Manager

York City Football Club is looking for an ambitious, creative and commercially minded Brand Development Manager to help shape the next chapter of the YCFC brand.

Football will always be at the heart of York City, but we want to challenge some of the traditional perceptions of what a football club can be.

We want YCFC to feel modern, distinctive, relevant and unmistakably York, a club that supporters are proud to belong to, businesses want to associate with, and new audiences want to discover.

This role will take ownership of the development and consistency of the YCFC brand digitally across the entire organisation, working closely with our media, commercial, retail and, hospitality.

Key Responsibilities

Brand Strategy & Development

● Develop and implement a clear long-term brand strategy for York City Football Club.

● Define and protect the Club’s visual identity, tone of voice and overall brand positioning.

● Ensure the YCFC brand is consistently represented across every supporter and commercial touchpoint.

● Identify opportunities to modernise and strengthen the brand without losing the history, identity and authenticity of the Club.

Media

● Develop creative campaigns that make YCFC stand out beyond traditional football marketing.

● Ensure everything carrying the YCFC name feels coherent, professional and recognisable.

● Work closely with the media and content team to establish a distinctive creative direction across social media, video, photography, matchday and digital channels.

● Work alongside commercial and media teams on campaigns around major matches, launches, community initiatives and Club milestones.

● Help tell the stories of the Club, its players, supporters, city and community in engaging and unexpected ways.

● Ensure commercial creative output reflects the personality and ambitions of the Club.

● Ensure all commercial assets are up to date digitally across the club website and in-house LED screens and advertisements.

Commercial Brand Development

● Work alongside the Business Development/Commercial Director to make YCFC an attractive brand for sponsors and commercial partners.

● Develop creative partnership concepts that go beyond traditional football sponsorship.

● Help create compelling presentations and brand materials for prospective partners.

● Identify collaborations with brands, businesses, designers, creators and organisations that can expand YCFC’s reach.

● Ensure commercial activity strengthens rather than dilutes the YCFC brand.

● Produce regular marketing emails to supporters and sponsors, as well as taking a lead in the Junior Reds marketing process.

Retail & Merchandise

● Help develop the creative direction of YCFC merchandise and retail.

● Identify opportunities for limited-edition products, collaborations and lifestyle merchandise.

● Work with the retail team to improve presentation, storytelling and product launches.

● Help establish YCFC merchandise that supporters want to wear beyond matchday.

Matchday & Supporter Experience

● Review the entire home matchday experience through a brand lens.

● Help develop creative ways to improve atmosphere, presentation, entertainment and supporter engagement.

● Ensure hospitality, signage, concourses, fan zones and other supporter-facing areas consistently reflect the YCFC brand.

● Develop ideas that make attending York City feel distinctive from attending any other football club.

●Produce hospitality and supporter-based content to tell the stories that aren't often heard.

York & Community

● Strengthen the connection between York City Football Club and the City of York.

● Develop partnerships and collaborations with local businesses, cultural organisations, hospitality operators, universities and creative communities.

● Help position YCFC as one of the city’s most visible and exciting institutions.

● Work with the Foundation and women’s and academy teams to ensure they form part of a coherent YCFC identity.

We are looking for someone who combines creative instinct with commercial thinking.

The successful candidate is likely to have:

● Experience in brand development, marketing, creative strategy or a related discipline.

● A strong understanding of contemporary brands, culture and digital media.

● Excellent creative judgement and attention to detail.

● The confidence to challenge conventional thinking.

● The ability to take an idea from concept through to execution.

● Strong communication and presentation skills.

● Experience working with designers, photographers, agencies or content teams.

● An understanding of how strong brands generate commercial value.

● The ability to work collaboratively across multiple departments.

Experience within football is not essential. In fact, we are particularly interested in candidates who can bring ideas and experience from industries outside traditional football.

The Opportunity

York City is a historic football club with a passionate supporter base and significant ambitions for its future.

We want to retain everything that makes York City authentic while creating a brand capable of reaching a much wider audience.

This is an opportunity for someone to have a genuine influence on how the Club looks, sounds and feels — from a social-media post or piece of merchandise to a major commercial partnership or the experience of walking into the stadium on matchday.

Football is our foundation. The opportunity is to build something much bigger around it.