Email & SMS Sr. Strategist

MERGE; Raleigh (NC); On-site; USD 68,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

401(k)

Lifestyle Spending Account

Paid time off

Job summary

MERGE seeks a Sr. Email & SMS Strategist to translate business goals into lifecycle-centric campaigns across email, SMS, and push. You will shape 1:1 customer journeys and collaborate with Creative, CX, Analytics, and Tech to turn strategy into measurable results.

You bring 3–5 years in owned-channel strategy, a Bachelor’s degree, and a data-informed mindset. Salary ranges are disclosed; MERGE offers comprehensive benefits and a culture built on agility, humility, and mastery.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of experience in email, SMS, or owned-channel strategy.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Strong understanding of lifecycle marketing, journey mapping, segmentation, and personalization tactics.
• Ability to work with data teams to understand constraints and translate insights into campaign improvements.
• Excellent communication to lead cross-functional discussions.

Responsibilities

• Develop channel strategies for email, SMS, and push across programs and journeys.
• Connect channel strategy to broader ecosystem and cross-channel orchestration.
• Lead discovery inputs and translate data into opportunity areas and roadmaps.
• Define 1:1 contact strategies and personalization for journeys across channels.
• Guide execution with Creative, CX, Analytics, and Tech teams.

Skills

Email strategy

SMS strategy

Lifecycle marketing

Journey mapping

Personalization

Data analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

At MERGE, we are Built Different. We are a marketing and technology agency purpose-built for the intersection of health and wellness—where human impact matters most. By weaving storytelling through technology, we move beyond traditional engagement to Whole Human Marketing. This approach recognizes that humans are multidimensional and complex, and uses AI to ensure every brand interaction feels natural, contextual, and relevant.

This commitment to human-first innovation is what brings us together and propels us forward. We are united by our North Star: to unite people and brands to empower healthier, happier lives.

Emerge to the Top of Your Career

At MERGE, we strive to create a superior work experience where talented and ambitious people grow. An experience that encourages people to think higher and feel deeper. An experience where people engage their minds and hearts to do the best work of their careers.

As our Sr. Email & SMS Strategist you will …

• Develop Channel Strategy: Translate broader business goals into actionable email and SMS strategies across programs and customer journeys. You ensure every tactic serves a clear purpose and aligns with long-term growth.
• Connect Strategy to Broader Ecosystem: Connect channel strategy to the wider ecosystem, ensuring your plans align with cross-channel orchestration and customer experience design. You focus on how campaigns fit into a larger system.
• Support Discovery & Gather Insights: Lead channel-specific discovery inputs for new initiatives, helping to synthesize data into opportunity areas and roadmap recommendations. You identify trends across programs and translate them into strategic improvements.
• Build Lifecycle & Contact Strategies: Develop 1:1 contact strategies across email, SMS, and push, defining the specific sequencing, segmentation, and personalization for each journey.
• Guide Cross-Functional Execution: Work closely with Creative, CX, Analytics, and Tech teams to ensure your strategy is clearly understood and effectively executed. You provide the "strategic glue" during the build phase.
• Define Measurement & Optimization: Define and implement measurement approaches to track how channel performance impacts business outcomes. Own the testing roadmap, ensuring learnings are documented and shared across the team.

Be Accountable and Responsible

• Own Program-Level Outcomes: Take responsibility for the strategic success of specific programs, ensuring they meet performance targets and maintain high quality.
• Inform Roadmaps & Prioritization: Provide data-backed recommendations for roadmap prioritization, helping to identify the highest-impact opportunities.
• Validate Strategic Output Alignment: Ensure all campaign and journey designs align with data capabilities and the intended customer experience.
• Identify Implementation Risks: Proactively flag potential dependencies or gaps in data and orchestration that could hinder campaign performance.
• Create Clear Strategic Deliverables: Develop compelling presentations and briefs that drive clarity and gain stakeholder buy-in for your initiatives.

Who You Are

• Core Strategic Expertise: 3–5 years of experience in email, SMS, or owned-channel strategy, with a track record of managing multi-touch customer journeys.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Lifecycle Proficiency: Strong understanding of lifecycle marketing, journey mapping, segmentation, and personalization tactics.
• Data-Informed Design: Ability to work with data teams to understand platform constraints and translate data insights into campaign improvements.
• Effective Communication: Ability to explain strategic concepts clearly and lead collaborative conversations with cross-functional partners.
• Industry Experience: Background or experience in Healthcare, Life Sciences, or regulated industries is a plus.

At MERGE, we’re committed to fostering an environment where our team members can thrive in both their careers and personal lives, ensuring they feel supported and empowered to succeed.

MERGE believes in transparency and equity. In accordance with state regulations, we’re proud to include salary ranges in our job postings to ensure fair compensation practices.

The salary range for this role is $68,400 - $100,350, based on the individual’s skills, experience, qualifications, location, and other relevant factors. The salary pay range is subject to change and may be modified at any time.

MERGE is proud to invest in benefits that includemeaningful Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, 401K, Lifestyle Spending Account, Employer Paid Life & Disability Insurance, Flexible Time off & Holidays plus many other benefits and rewards.

Applicants for employment in the US must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States.

And here’s how we live our values at MERGE

• Ability. Mastering our craft
• Agility. Delivering with a growth mindset
• Humility. Collaborating for shared success

MERGE is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer

MERGE welcomes and celebrates diversity regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status or people with abilities. We believe that the more diverse we are, the more creative our work will be!