Director, Loyalty Strategy & Lifecycle Growth

CAVA; Plano (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary & bonus

Early Wage Access

Unlimited PTO

401k enrollment

Company-paid STD/LTD/Life

Free CAVA food

Casual environment

Growth opportunity

Job summary

CAVA is seeking a Director of Loyalty & Lifecycle Marketing to lead the strategy, execution, and optimization of our guest loyalty program and lifecycle initiatives. You will build and mentor a team, own CRM journeys across email, push, SMS, and personalization, and partner with Product, Marketing, and Analytics to drive retention, frequency, and lifetime value.

The role demands strategic, data-informed leadership, experience scaling loyalty programs, and a passion for hospitality and guest

Qualifications

• 8–10 years of experience in loyalty strategy, customer marketing, CRM, or consumer engagement in a multi-unit or omnichannel environment.
• Experience designing or optimizing scalable loyalty programs (tiered, gamified, points-based, or behavior-driven).
• Proven success growing customer retention, frequency, and LTV through evergreen engagement strategies.
• Strong cross-functional collaborator with experience working alongside Product, Marketing, Digital, and Analytics teams.
• Experience with enterprise loyalty platforms and enterprise email/CRM marketing platforms. Experience with Braze and/or Talon.one preferred.
• Strong analytical acumen — able to translate data into insights, and insights into growth strategies.
• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead the long-term loyalty growth strategy with a focus on retention, frequency, and increasing share of wallet.
• Own the performance, evolution, and roadmap of the loyalty program.
• Design and oversee evergreen loyalty initiatives (tiers, bonus rewards, surprise & delight moments, referral programs).
• Partner with Product, Marketing, and Digital teams to evolve loyalty mechanics, functionality, and user experience.
• Develop and optimize CRM lifecycle journeys that drive ongoing participation and maximize lifetime value.
• Guide segmentation strategy for loyalty and CRM messaging based on behavior, recency, frequency, and preferences.
• Collaborate with Data & Analytics to track loyalty KPIs and uncover insights to guide strategy and improvements.
• Build and manage strategic partnerships to enhance loyalty rewards, experiences, or brand relevance.
• Work cross-functionally with Finance, Culinary, and Ops to validate and scale loyalty features in test markets and nationwide.
• Serve as a key voice in prioritizing loyalty-related product enhancements and platform needs.

Skills

Loyalty strategy

CRM marketing

Data-driven insights

Cross-functional collaboration

Analytics

Customer retention/LTV

Education

Bachelor’s degree

MBA preferred

Tools

Braze

Talon.One

Job description

CAVA is seeking a Director of Loyalty & Lifecycle Marketing to lead the strategy, execution, and optimization of our guest loyalty program and lifecycle initiatives. You will build and mentor a team, own CRM journeys across email, push, SMS, and personalization, and partner with Product, Marketing, and Analytics to drive retention, frequency, and lifetime value.

The role demands strategic, data-informed leadership, experience scaling loyalty programs, and a passion for hospitality and guest