Director, Digital & Loyalty Analytics

panerabread; United States; Hybrid; USD 177,000 - 202,000; Full time

Job summary

Panera Bread is seeking a Director of Digital & Loyalty Analytics in Newton, MA. This leader drives analytics strategy across loyalty programs (MyPanera), with deep SQL expertise and executive communication skills.

Hybrid role; partner with Marketing, Digital, and CRM to translate data into growth opportunities, ownership of data platforms, and mentorship for analytics teams.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive experience in Data & Analytics, with emphasis on Loyalty, CRM, or Digital E‑Commerce.
• Strong proficiency in SQL; ability to query large-scale relational databases and perform hands-on data exploration.
• Domain knowledge: CLV, churn prediction, incrementality testing, customer segmentation, lifecycle mapping.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication; ability to simplify analytical concepts for executives.
• Solid understanding of corporate finance, retail P&L drivers, and promo unit economics.
• Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field is required.

Responsibilities

• Loyalty & CRM strategic leadership with Marketing, Digital, and CRM leaders to optimize campaigns and opportunities.
• Quantify financial incrementality of loyalty offers and digital features and translate into EBITDA impact.
• Hands-on bridge between business strategy and data engineering; write SQL for ad-hoc validation and dataset builds.
• Design and oversee test-and-learn frameworks for digital and loyalty initiatives.
• Synthesize data into executive-ready presentations and strategic recommendations.
• Collaborate with IT, Data Engineering, and Marketing Tech to optimize CDP and tracking stacks.
• Direct and develop junior analytical talent and maintain data accuracy standards.

Skills

SQL proficiency

Executive communication

Data storytelling

Customer analytics

Education

Bachelor's degree in quantitative field

Tools

Cloud data warehouses

Job description

Director, Digital & Loyalty Analytics

Job Purpose: 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.

Location: Newton, MA (Hybrid - 3 days per week in-office)

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

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