Email & SMS Sr. Strategist

MERGE; United States; Hybrid; 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

Flexible PTO

Job summary

MERGE is a health-focused marketing and technology agency seeking a Sr. Email & SMS Strategist. You will translate business goals into actionable email and SMS strategies across customer journeys and ensure alignment with cross-channel orchestration and CX design.

You will lead discovery, define lifecycle and 1:1 contact strategies, and collaborate with Creative, CX, Analytics, and Tech teams to drive measurable outcomes. Healthcare industry experience is a plus.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of experience in email, SMS, or owned-channel strategy.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Lifecycle marketing knowledge including segmentation and personalization tactics.
• Ability to work with data teams to understand platform constraints and translate data insights into campaign improvements.
• Effective communication and cross-functional collaboration with partners.

Responsibilities

• Develop Channel Strategy: Translate goals into email/SMS strategies across programs and journeys.
• Connect Strategy to Broader Ecosystem: Align campaigns with cross-channel orchestration and CX design.
• Support Discovery & Gather Insights: Lead discovery inputs and synthesize data into opportunities and roadmap.
• Build Lifecycle & Contact Strategies: Define 1:1 sequencing, segmentation, and personalization for journeys.
• Guide Cross-Functional Execution: Collaborate with Creative, CX, Analytics, and Tech teams to execute strategy.
• Define Measurement & Optimization: Define measurement approaches and own the testing roadmap.

Skills

Email strategy

SMS strategy

Lifecycle marketing

Cross-functional collaboration

Data-informed decision making

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Kansas City, MO; Raleigh, NC

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.

#LI-VM

#LI-HYBRID

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!

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in MERGE’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or a not?