Associate Director, Retention Marketing

We are looking for a highly innovative, data-driven, and creative Associate Director, who’s motivated by the challenge of working with some of the fastest-growing e-commerce and digital brands. You will lead a team of email, SMS, and retention marketing industry experts to drive client revenue, and partner with internal cross-functional colleagues to go deeper on understanding our customer needs and insights with a specific focus on deepening retention and building loyalty. You will lead a cross-functional team to go deeper building creative strategies in email and SMS campaign development to help our clients grow.

This is a fully remote role supporting a team in the EST time zone and is open to candidates based in Portugal, Brazil and Spain.

You Should Apply if this sounds like you:

You’re passionate about e-commerce and digital marketing. You’re immersed in the world of direct-to-consumer growth marketing. We're looking for an expert Associate Director, Retention to join our team! In this role, you will lead a growing team within the Retention Marketing Department to strategically develop customized retention (and customer loyalty) marketing strategies that help our clients grow and scale.

• 7+ years of work experience in digital marketing.

• You’re passionate about developing creative customer journeys that drive loyalty and lifetime value.

• You’re passionate about building teams, training them on best practices, and helping them grow into experts.

• You immerse yourself in scaling personalized D2C/e-commerce email and SMS programs that build deep customer relationships for clients.

• You have experience working in Klaviyo (or a similar ESP’s) including list segmentation, lifecycle drip automations, and triggered events. Additionally, you have knowledge of Shopify and their tech stack options such as Privy, JustUno, Yotpo, Octane AI etc.

• You have developed SMS and loyalty programming strategies and have experience working with SMS platforms such as Attentive, PostScript, SMSBump, or Klaviyo .

• You're used to working in a fast paced environment and can project manage multiple tasks at once for yourself, your team and your clients.

• You love making data driven decisions and excel at turning analytics into actionable SMS and email strategies that drive client revenue.

• You dedicate time to learning and being on the cutting edge of trends and best practices in the world of DTC marketing.

• You have experience developing and executing customer loyalty programs that enhance LTV.

• You've had at least one direct report before OR exceptional leadership skills working with cross-functional teams.

• Excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills, plus ability to clearly articulate and express complex and sometimes technical ideas to a wide variety of people and groups at any level.

A Day in the Life:

• Serve as the senior point of contact for select clients, working to develop best-in-class retention strategies. On a weekly basis, you will meet with clients to discuss current and future initiatives.

• Conduct weekly 1:1s with your direct reports and manage their workload and capacity to ensure their success. Additionally, you will help train the team to help your direct reports succeed and grow.

• Develop strategic campaign calendars and prioritize projects and initiatives designed to scale your clients’ email and SMS programs.

• Provide support and guidance to help Retention Specialists analyze data, develop winning retention strategies and create reports for clients happiness.

• Project manage and delegate client tasks to your team, consisting of both specialists and designers. Review all client briefs and designs for approval before they are sent to the client.

• Coordinate cross-departmentally with the Performance Marketing and Strategy teams to develop cohesive and creative campaigns that drive client growth.

• Develop strategic KPI’s for clients and work with the retention team to create insights and actionable recommendations.

• Execute on automation/flow logic set-up, pop-up builds, and app integrations.

What it's like to work at Darkroom:

Darkroom is not a typical agency. We are looking for A players who want to build something great. We move fast, think deeply, and expect every team member to bring insight and rigor to everything they touch. We hold a high bar for performance, creativity, and ownership — but we also support each other relentlessly. No egos, no red tape — just world-class talent building something remarkable.

We believe in autonomy with accountability, truth over comfort, and outcomes over optics.

• Unlimited PTO + Local holidays (Relevant to your hub): Rebooting is part of the work. Take the time you need to stay sharp.

• Remote-First Culture: Many roles are fully remote. Employees based in or near our New York or Lisbon HQs are expected to work hybrid with weekly in-office time. Hub locations include the Brazil and Spain.

• Parental Leave: Flexible parental leave to support new parents during this important transition.

• Growth: Our interdisciplinary model gives every Darkroomer exposure far beyond their core role. Grow your skills, expand your influence, and stay at the forefront of the industry.