VetStrategy

Senior Director, Client Retention

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

Qualifications

  • 7-10 years of CRM, loyalty, or lifecycle marketing experience, including 3 years in leadership.
  • Proven success in building/scaling loyalty programs in multi-location settings.
  • Expertise in CRM platforms, marketing automation, and email lifecycle management.
  • Experience leading cross-functional teams without direct authority.
  • Strong commercial acumen connecting retention metrics to revenue.
  • Data-driven decision-making with skills in segmentation and campaign measurement.
  • Veterinary or healthcare experience preferred; Bachelor's in Marketing or Business required.

Responsibilities

  • Own the CRM strategy and ensure timely, relevant client messaging.
  • Oversee lifecycle communication campaigns like newsletters and reminders.
  • Drive client segmentation based on key metrics like species and visit history.
  • Provide leadership for the Pet Health Club loyalty program to enhance growth and retention.
  • Define the complete client journey to foster loyalty and recurring engagements.
  • Identify and address client attrition points within the lifecycle.
  • Lead and inspire a dedicated retention team to prioritize client-centric approaches.

Benefits

  • Opportunity to shape the newly created Sr. Director role and influence client retention strategy.
  • Direct influence on a key organization-wide initiative with high visibility.
  • Access to a wealth of resources and support for team development.
  • Engage in a proactive culture that emphasizes continuous improvement.
  • Executive-level mentoring under the Chief Customer & Marketing Officer.
Full Job Description
Role Mission & Mandate

The Sr. Director, Client Retention is accountable for deepening client relationships, maximizing client lifetime value, and driving retention across the network. Leading teams responsible for CRM and email/lifecycle marketing, and the Pet Health Club loyalty program, this role ensures that every existing client receives a consistent, personalized, and value-driven experience that keeps them coming back. This is a newly created role that reflects the organization's strategic ambition to build world-class retention capability. Reporting to the Chief Customer & Marketing Officer, the Sr. Director, Client Retention provides direct leadership of the Manager, CRM Operations and the Manager, PHC.

Accountabilities

Accountability

Deliverable

CRM & Email/Lifecycle
  • Own the CRM strategy and roadmap, ensuring the right messages reach the right clients at the right time.
  • Oversee campaign-based and automated lifecycle communications including reminders, newsletters, and re-engagement programmes.
  • Drive high-level segmentation leveraging patient species, visit history, and product/service profiles.
  • Ensure CRM platforms (AllyDVM, Vetup) are optimised, and clinic teams are well-supported.

Pet Health Club (PHC)
  • Provide strategic leadership and direction for the Pet Health Club loyalty program.
  • Work with the PHC team to drive membership growth, retention, and renewal rates.
  • Partner with Central Operations team to ensure clinic teams are equipped to sell and support the programme.
  • Own the PHC P&L contribution targets and report on program performance.

Client Lifecycle Strategy
  • Define and own the end-to-end client journey from first visit through to loyal, recurring client.
  • Identify and close gaps in the lifecycle where client attrition is highest.
  • Develop personalized retention strategies by species, visit frequency, and product usage.

Leadership
  • Lead, develop, and inspire the Retention team
  • Build a culture of client-centricity, data fluency, and continuous improvement.
  • Establish clear goals, performance rhythms, and career development pathways.

Metrics & KPIs
  • Client retention rate and repeat visit frequency.
  • Pet Health Club membership growth, renewal rate, and revenue contribution.
  • Email/lifecycle engagement metrics (open rate, click rate, conversion).
  • CRM programme ROI and incremental revenue attributed to retention activities.
  • Net Promoter Score (NPS) trends across the network.

Accountability & Performance
  • Report weekly on retention performance and PHC metrics to the CCMO.
  • Deliver monthly retention scorecards with trend analysis and program recommendations.
  • Own the retention portion of the annual marketing planning cycle.

Experience Profile
  • 7-10 years of progressive CRM, loyalty, or lifecycle marketing experience, with at least 3 years in a people leadership role.
  • Demonstrated success building or scaling a loyalty or membership program in a multi-location consumer environment.
  • Deep expertise in CRM platforms, marketing automation, and email/lifecycle program management.
  • Experience leading cross-functional teams and influencing across clinic or field networks without direct authority.
  • Strong commercial acumen with the ability to connect retention metrics to revenue and lifetime value outcomes.
  • Data-driven approach to decision-making; comfortable with segmentation, cohort analysis, and campaign measurement.
  • Veterinary, healthcare, franchise, or subscription business experience an asset.
  • Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, or related field; MBA an asset.


Living Our Values Through Leadership

This role is more than a checklist of accountabilities - it's a reflection of how we show up as leaders in our practice, with our teams, and across our network. The table below highlights how this role brings our values to life through everyday leadership behaviours that build trust, drive performance, and foster a culture of care and collaboration.

These behaviours are not extras, they are core to how we deliver excellent patient and client care, inspire our people, and build a stronger network together.

Our Values guide what we stand for. Our Leadership Behaviours define how we bring those values to life in practice, every day, in every role.

Our Values

We Care

We Dare

We Share

We care for animals and people, keep our promises, treat each other with decency and respect.

We dare to innovate, encourage entrepreneurial thinking and identify opportunities to succeed in a changing world.

We share knowledge, best practice and make decisions based on trust, dialogue, commitment and engagement.

Our Leadership Behaviours

Value

The Why

Behaviour

The How

Behaviour Definition

What it looks like

How This Role Brings It to Life

We Care

Motivating

Show self-belief, build strong teams, motivate others to reach their potential.

Inspires the Retention team and clinic partners to champion client loyalty, celebrating programme milestones and individual contributions.

We Care

Resilient

Effectively manage their own well-being and that of others, quickly recover from challenges, and learn from mistakes.

Navigates the complexity of a newly formed function with steadiness, keeping the team motivated and focused through periods of change.

We Dare

Results-driven

Relentlessly seek to improve business performance, act decisively, drive progress through clear expectations.

Sets bold retention targets, holds the team accountable, and drives a performance culture that connects CRM and PHC activity to measurable business outcomes.

We Dare

Lead for the future

Balance the perfect and pragmatic, prioritize long-term progress, drive sustainable innovation.

Builds scalable retention infrastructure and introduces best-in-class loyalty practices that position the organisation for long-term client lifetime value growth.

We Share

Humble

Act with integrity, earn trust through transparency, pursue personal development.

Earns the confidence of clinic teams by listening first, sharing programme insights openly, and continuously seeking feedback on what is and isn't working.

We Share

Collaborative

Stretch outside their own area of expertise to drive performance, happy to learn from others, inspire teams through great communication.

Partners closely with Acquisition, Planning & Analytics, and Ops & Clinic Support to ensure retention efforts are integrated into the full client experience.

About VetStrategy

VetStrategy is a Canadian company that owns and operates veterinary clinics across Canada. The company was founded in 2013 and has since grown to become the largest operator of veterinary clinics in Canada, with over 170 locations. VetStrategy's clinics offer a range of services, including preventative care, surgery, and emergency care. The company is committed to providing high-quality care to pets and their owners, and has a team of over 500 veterinarians and 5000 support staff. VetStrategy is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta.
Learn more about VetStrategy
Size
5,000 employees
Industry
Net Income
$20 million
Founded
2013
5 Year Trend
+30%
Revenue
$500 million

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