Director, Digital & Loyalty Analytics

Panera Bread; Newton (MA); On-site; USD 177,000 - 202,000; Full time

Job summary

Panera Bread is seeking a Director of Digital & Loyalty Analytics to guide analytics for its digital ecosystem, including MyPanera Loyalty and e-commerce. You will partner with Marketing, Digital, and CRM to turn customer data into growth opportunities and strategic insights for leadership.

The role blends strategic leadership with hands-on data fluency, requiring SQL proficiency, data interrogation in modern cloud warehouses, and collaboration with engineering to optimize loyalty programs.

Qualifications

• Experience: 8+ years of progressive experience in Data & Analytics, with loyalty, CRM, or digital e-commerce experience preferred.
• Strong proficiency in SQL; ability to query large-scale relational databases and perform hands-on data exploration.
• Domain knowledge: CLV, churn prediction, incrementality testing, lifecycle mapping.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to present to senior leadership.
• Knowledge of corporate finance, retail P&L drivers, and promotional economics.

Responsibilities

• Lead analytics strategy for Panera’s digital ecosystem, including MyPanera Loyalty, Unlimited Sip Club, and e-commerce platforms.
• Partner with Marketing, Digital, and CRM to evaluate performance, optimize campaigns, and drive guest frequency and lifetime value.
• Quantify financial incrementality of loyalty offers and campaigns; translate metrics into EBITDA impact and franchise profitability.
• Bridge business strategy and data engineering; perform ad-hoc validation and prototype dataset building using SQL.
• Design and oversee test-and-learn frameworks (A/B testing, personalized offers) for ongoing optimization.
• Synthesize complex datasets into executive-ready narratives for senior leadership.
• Collaborate with IT/Data Engineering/Marketing Tech to optimize CDP and event-tracking schemas; ensure data quality and accessibility.
• Lead and mentor junior analysts to maintain high data accuracy and impact.

Skills

SQL

Data analytics

Loyalty & CRM

Executive communication

Business acumen

Education

Bachelor's degree in quantitative field

Tools

None

Job description

The Director of Digital & Loyalty Analytics serves as the strategic analytics leader for Panera’s digital intelligence vertical. Sitting within the Business Analytics organization, you will lead the end-to-end analytics strategy powering Panera’s $B+ digital ecosystem—including the MyPanera Loyalty program, the Unlimited Sip Club, and our e-commerce platforms.

This role serves as the primary strategic partner to Marketing, Digital, and CRM leadership, translating complex customer data into actionable growth strategies. The ideal candidate is a rare "hybrid" talent: a strategic commercial leader with executive-level communication skills who also possesses the technical depth to write SQL queries, interrogate raw datasets, and partner directly with data engineering teams.

Key Responsibilities:

• Loyalty & CRM Strategic Leadership: Partner with Marketing, Digital, and CRM leaders to evaluate MyPanera performance, optimize campaign strategies, and identify high-value opportunities to drive guest frequency, retention, and lifetime value (CLV).
• Commercial & Financial Impact: Quantify the true financial incrementality of loyalty offers, promotional campaigns, and digital features, translating digital performance metrics into EBITDA impact and franchisee profitability.
• Hands-On Technical & Data Fluency: Serve as a bridge between business strategy and data engineering. Maintain hands-on capability in querying databases (SQL) to perform ad-hoc validation, build prototype datasets, and interrogate complex customer tables in modern cloud data warehouses.
• Experimentation & Incrementality Frameworks: Design and oversee a rigorous test-and-learn infrastructure for digital and loyalty initiatives (A/B testing, personalized offer design, multi-cell campaign evaluation) to ensure continuous optimization.
• Executive Communication & Storytelling: Synthesize complex behavioral datasets into clear, executive-ready presentations and narratives for senior leadership, distilling technical findings into strategic business recommendations.
• MarTech & Customer Data Stewardship: Collaborate with IT, Data Engineering, and Marketing Tech teams to optimize the customer data platform (CDP) and event-based tracking stacks, ensuring loyalty schemas are accurate, structured, and accessible for advanced analysis.
• Team Leadership & Mentorship: Direct and develop junior analytical talent, establishing high standards for data accuracy, technical methodology, and business impact.

Qualifications:

• Experience: 8+ years of progressive experience in Data & Analytics, with a strong emphasis on Loyalty, CRM, or Digital E-Commerce (QSR, Retail, or Hospitality experience highly preferred).
• Technical & Querying Proficiency: Strong proficiency in SQL required; ability to independently query large-scale relational databases and perform hands-on data exploration.
• Domain Expertise: Deep knowledge of customer analytics frameworks, including Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), churn prediction, incrementality testing, customer segmentation, and lifecycle mapping.
• Strategic Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; proven ability to simplify complex analytical concepts for non-technical executive stakeholders.
• Business Acumen: Strong understanding of corporate finance, retail P&L drivers, and promotional unit economics.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field (Industrial Engineering, Business Analytics, Statistics, Computer Science, Economics, or Finance) required.

Direct Reports:

• Analyst / Senior Analyst, Digital & Loyalty Analytics

Competitive Pay $177,243 - $202,056 annually

The actual pay offered will be determined by multiple factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s relevant experience, job-related knowledge, skills, and geographical location. Individual compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.

Equal Opportunity Employer: Disabled/Veterans