Director of Retention Marketing

CALPAK

$110K — $130K *
Retail & Consumer Goods
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 7+ years in retention, lifecycle, or CRM marketing, including 3+ years in leadership roles
  • Expertise in email, SMS, and lifecycle automation tools like Klaviyo or Attentive
  • Experience with loyalty and referral program strategy and execution
  • Strong skills in audience segmentation and data-driven decision making
  • Proficient with analytics tools, able to interpret data effectively
  • Experienced in managing teams and working with agency/technology partners
  • DTC or e-commerce experience mandatory; consumer product/lifestyle brand preferred
  • Builder's mentality focused on creating structure and clarity

Responsibilities

  • Establish strategic direction for lifecycle and CRM programs across all owned channels
  • Create an annual roadmap linking business goals to quarterly initiatives
  • Integrate lifecycle marketing into all major promotional events
  • Determine investment priorities for CRM flows and campaigns based on impact
  • Develop strategies to enhance emotional brand connection and customer advocacy
  • Manage loyalty and referral programs to improve LTV and repeat purchases
  • Define and execute on customer intelligence, leveraging data for decisions
  • Partner cross-functionally to align retention strategies with broader business goals
  • Evaluate and enhance the retention tech stack for better effectiveness
  • Lead team development, fostering a culture of high performance

Benefits

  • Annual bonus plan
  • Medical, Dental & Vision insurance
  • 401K with company matching
  • Life insurance & Disability coverage
  • Accrued paid time off & floating holidays
  • Monthly wellness credits
  • Dog-friendly office
  • Employee discount
  • Benefits subject to additional requirements/conditions
Full Job Description
Were looking for a Director of Retention to own CALPAKs lifecycle marketing engine, building and evolving the owned channel strategy that drives repeat purchase rate, customer lifetime value, and long-term engagement at every stage of the customer journey. This person will report directly to the Senior Director of Retention, lead and mentor the retention team, and serve as the lifecycle authority at CALPAK - bringing a data-driven, customer-obsessed perspective into every strategic decision, and partnering closely with Acquisition, Brand, Ecommerce, and Creative as a true peer.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities:

Lifecycle & CRM Strategy
  • Set strategic direction for lifecycle and CRM programs across email, SMS, loyalty, reviews, direct mail, and other owned channels, driving long-term revenue growth and customer lifetime value
  • Develop an annual retention roadmap that translates business goals into quarterly initiatives, defines measurable success metrics, and clarifies departmental priorities
  • Define the strategic vision for promotions and product launches across owned channels, ensuring lifecycle marketing is tightly integrated into every major moment on the calendar
  • Prioritize CRM flows and campaigns across the full lifecycle, determining where to invest, what to test, and how to sequence and segment programs to drive the greatest impact on repeat purchase and LTV
  • Champion brand advocacy through evergreen lifecycle content, building strategies that deepen emotional connection with CALPAK, reinforce brand identity, and turn customers into active advocates


Loyalty, Referral & Retention Programs
  • Own the loyalty program strategy, designing a program that is genuinely differentiated and compelling, giving customers meaningful reasons to return and driving measurable improvements in LTV and repeat purchase rate
  • Own the referral program strategy, building loops that drive incremental acquisition at an efficient cost
  • Own the reviews strategy, building programs that generate authentic social proof, strengthen brand trust, and feed customer insights back into the broader retention and product strategy


Customer Intelligence & Strategy
  • Serve as CALPAKs subject matter expert on retention and customer behavior, maintaining a data-backed point of view on program performance, knowing what drives customers to purchase and purchase again, and identifying opportunities for meaningful improvement across every stage of the journey
  • Define the segmentation and personalization vision for the lifecycle program, setting the strategic framework that ensures every customer interaction is relevant, timely, and grounded in data
  • Build systems to identify, understand, and engage CALPAKs core customer personas, ensuring messaging is tailored across channels and that meaningful shifts in persona behavior are surfaced quickly with a clear plan of action
  • Forecast lifecycle revenue by evaluating historical performance and modeling future outcomes to inform strategy and assess business impact
  • Own core retention KPIs, including LTV, RPR, and retentions share of revenue by projecting and setting goals, building the measurement framework to track them, and driving the decisions that deliver results


Cross-Functional Partnership
  • Partner cross-functionally with Acquisition, Brand, Ecommerce, and Creative teams to create a cohesive lifecycle marketing experience that attracts, converts, and retains customers
  • Think beyond retention revenue, connecting the dots between lifecycle initiatives, brand health, acquisition efficiency, and broader business performance to ensure decisions are made with the full picture in mind
  • Bring customer data and lifecycle insights into creative briefings, ensuring content is informed by what customers actually respond to
  • Evaluate and evolve CALPAKs retention technology stack, ensuring the right tools are in place to improve scalability, performance, and ROI, and that the overall program reflects industry-leading lifecycle marketing standards


People Leadership
  • Build and develop a best-in-class retention team, recruiting, growing, and retaining the talent needed to execute at the highest level while setting clear expectations, running consistent 1:1s, and actively investing in each persons career growth
  • Foster a high-performance team culture where briefs are tight, decisions are data-backed, and the team executes with confidence and consistency
  • Manage agency and technology partners with clear expectations and accountability across all retention programs
  • Provide additional support as needed


Qualifications:
  • 7+ years in retention, lifecycle, or CRM marketing, with 3+ years in a leadership or management role
  • Deep expertise in email, SMS, and lifecycle automation (Klaviyo, Attentive, or equivalent)
  • Experience with loyalty and referral program strategy, execution, and optimization
  • Strong command of audience segmentation, personalization, and data-driven decision making
  • Proficiency with analytics and reporting tools; you know the story behind every number and what to do next
  • Experience managing and developing a team, as well as agency and technology partners
  • DTC or e-commerce experience required; consumer product or lifestyle brand strongly preferred
  • A builders mentality, energized by creating structure, process, and clarity where it doesnt yet exist

Benefits

Why CALPAK: Benefits & Perks:
  • Annual bonus plan
  • Medical, Dental & Vision insurance
  • 401K w/ company matching
  • Life insurance & Disability coverage
  • Accrued paid time off & floating holidays
  • Monthly wellness credits
  • Dog friendly office
  • Employee discount
  • Benefits and incentive compensation may be subject to other requirements and conditions

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