VP, Strategy & Analytics

COMPANY BACKGROUND 

The Houston Dynamo Football Club (HDFC) is a multi-faceted organization dedicated to inspiring and supporting soccer participation and growth in Houston, TX and beyond. The Club’s brands include men's and women's professional teams - the Houston Dynamo (MLS) and Houston Dash (NWSL), a development academy, Houston Dynamo Dash Charities, as well as Shell Energy Stadium and Houston Sports Park.   

The Club has a rich history, including MLS Cup titles (2006, 2007) and in-season tournament championships for both the Dynamo (2018) and Dash (2020) and is focused on building toward the next championships, inspiring and uniting the city of Houston through the sport of soccer and community outreach, and creating the most inclusive sporting experience and diverse fan base in the city and state. 

PURPOSE OF THE JOB

The VP, Strategy & Analytics for a Houston Dynamo Football Club leads the enterprise-wide data, analytics and business intelligence functions. This position helps to drive revenue growth, optimizing ticketing, sponsorships, fan engagement, and operations through data-driven insights, predictive modeling, and strategic planning. The VP, Strategy & Analytics is a high-impact leadership role responsible for enabling better decisions across the organization through strategic insight, rigorous analysis, and strong cross-functional partnership. This role reports directly to the Chief Financial Officer / Chief Operating Officer of the club. 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITES

Strategy & Planning 

• Lead annual and long-range strategic planning processes, including materials prepared for senior leadership and ownership review 
• Develop and execute growth strategies across revenue streams — ticketing, sponsorship, events, and emerging business lines 
• Expand the understanding of fan behavior, values, and sentiment across digital and in-venue channels 
• Lead research initiatives that go beyond traditional reporting – uncovering strategic insights on new audiences, content consumption, regional behaviors, and evolving entertainment preferences. 
• Develop pricing strategy and tools to optimize yield across tickets, premium, and partnerships 
• Lead org-design and operational improvement initiatives to drive efficiency across business units 

Analytics & Data Platform 

• Proactively identify and drive opportunities for new reporting, analytics, and research methodologies and best practices 
• Interpret multiple data sources and design strategic approaches that will demonstrate value and deliver business results 
• Oversee the management and evolution of the organization’s data platform, ensuring infrastructure supports analytical and reporting needs across the business 
• Oversee ongoing analysis of marketing investments and ROIs for product, category and audience segmentation performance across all channels 
• Drive standardization and accessibility of reporting to ensure consistent, trusted metrics across the organization 
• Oversee the data, CRM, and AI-driven fan data architecture to improve customer retention and lifetime value 
• Develop ongoing training for key stakeholders and users of CRM and AI-driven systems 
• Ensure data integrity across all systems 

Team Leadership & Development 

• Lead and develop the Business Strategy & Analytics team, fostering a high-performing, accountable, and curious culture 
• Manage team capacity and priorities to focus on high-impact work  
• Own analytics intake, prioritization, and roadmap — balancing strategic goals, urgency, and team capacity 
• Provide clear, proactive communication on analytics initiatives, including status, timing, and impact 

Cross-Functional Partnership 

• Act as a strategic advisor to the C-Suite and functional leaders, integrating data-driven insights into decisions across revenue, marketing, operations, and fan engagement & experience. 
• Align analytical insights with organizational goals by working closely with Senior Leadership, Revenue, Marketing, Strategy, HR, Finance and Operations teams. 
• Collaborate with the Partnerships and Ticketing team on sales strategy, retention strategy, and partner valuation frameworks 
• Manage department budget and serve as a resource for ad hoc analysis and evolving business needs 
• Other duties as assigned. 

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree required in Analytics, Business, Economics, Computer Science, or a related field. MBA from a top program strongly preferred. 
• 8-10 years of experience in strategy, analytics or related field, required within the sports and entertainment industry. 
• Proven leadership experience, with a track record of managing teams and achieving business development goals. 
• Experience managing large-scale event negotiations and creating strategic plans for venue utilization. 
• Experience developing and managing budgets, with a strong financial acumen. 

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES, AND OTHER ATTRIBUTES 

• Deep knowledge of CRM, ticketing platforms, marketing analytics, pricing models and sponsorship valuation frameworks 
• Experience with advanced analytics tools (SQL, R, Python), data visualization platforms (Tableau, Power BI, etc.) and CRM systems. 
• Demonstrated success in building, scaling and managing high-performing analytics teams 
• Ability to work non-traditional hours including nights, weekends and holidays as needed 

ORGANIZATONAL CORE COMPETENCIES 

• Accountable – Holds themselves (and when appropriate others) accountable for achieving goals and objectives. 
• Collaborative – Works collaboratively with others to achieve organizational outcomes. 
• Progressive – Open minded, accepting, creative, and innovative in approach. 
• Values Driven – Being ethical in decision making and operating with professional integrity. 
• Agile – Achieves personal and organizational success within a changing, dynamic and complex environment. Ability to handle ambiguity. 

Additional Competencies for Leadership 

• Strategic – Leads opportunity and is committed to continuous improvement aligned with the organizational vision and direction.  
• Resilient – Demonstrates personal resilience within a demanding environment of high expectations. 
• Enabling – Drives excellence through valuing and developing others. 
• Business Acumen – Superior ability to understand and effectively navigate area of responsibility and various business scenarios.  
• Good Judgment – Strong critical thinking skills and ability to exercise discretion and good judgement. 

OTHER INFORMATION 

Diverse candidates of all backgrounds are welcome, and the Club seeks individuals passionate about sport, inspiring the city and devoted to the organization's growth. While duties and responsibilities vary across positions, we are seeking individuals who are accountable, collaborative, progressive, agile and ethical/values driven.  

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.