Braze Technical Specialist

Virgin Active South Africa (Pty) Ltd; Wes-Kaap; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Virgin Active South Africa (Pty) Ltd is seeking a CRM solutions professional to design and build complex Braze journeys, segments and campaigns across email, SMS, WhatsApp, push and in-app channels.

You will work with territory, Product, Data, IT and Marketing stakeholders to translate engagement needs into scalable CRM designs, ensuring data privacy, QA, and adherence to global MarTech standards.

Qualifications

• 5+ years technical CRM, marketing automation or MarTech experience in a member, customer or client relationship environment.
• 3+ years hands-on experience with Braze or a comparable platform such as Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
• Experience translating requirements into journey maps, solution designs, campaign builds and data selections.
• Experience working cross-functionally in an Agile or iterative delivery environment.
• Relevant tertiary qualification or certification in Marketing Technology, CRM, Information Technology, Data, Digital Marketing or equivalent experience.
• Braze certification or comparable customer engagement platform certification is advantageous.
• Braze or comparable CRM platform configuration, journey orchestration and reporting.
• CRM data models, segmentation, triggers, APIs, data feeds and system integration concepts.
• Omnichannel engagement channels including email, app, SMS, WhatsApp and in-app messaging.
• Campaign QA, release management, consent, compliance and data protection principles.
• Member lifecycle, engagement, retention and journey mapping practices.

Responsibilities

• Consult with territory, Product, Data, IT and Marketing stakeholders to understand member engagement needs and translate them into CRM solution designs.
• Design and build complex Braze journeys, segments, canvases, campaigns and triggered communications across email, SMS, WhatsApp, push and in-app channels.
• Create and maintain technical design specifications, journey maps, data requirements and operational documentation for assigned initiatives.
• Ensure designs follow global MarTech standards, naming conventions, contact policies, data privacy requirements and QA protocols.
• Define operational data requirements, segmentation rules and trigger logic needed to deliver targeted and personalised member communications.
• Work with Data and Integration Engineers to troubleshoot data flows, API issues, event tracking and audience availability in Braze.
• Apply personalisation, dynamic content and audience selection logic to improve relevance and consistency across member journeys.
• Monitor data and platform issues affecting campaign execution, reporting or member experience and coordinate resolution.
• Build, test, launch, monitor and optimise CRM programmes and campaigns in line with agreed delivery plans and release governance.
• Conduct QA on journeys, content assets, links, data selections, triggers, suppression rules and tracking before deployment.
• Analyse campaign and journey performance and recommend improvements to messaging, timing, segmentation and channel mix.
• Maintain a clear view of live journeys and their dependencies to support a coherent member conversation across territories.
• Identify opportunities to simplify processes, automate manual work and reuse templates or components across markets.
• Support proofs of concept for new Braze features, channels, integrations and personalisation use cases.
• Coach the CRM Solution Architect I on platform usage, journey build standards and technical troubleshooting.
• Contribute to Communities of Practice and Centre of Excellence activities led by the Global MarTech Manager.

Skills

CRM experience

Braze

Journey mapping

Agile delivery

Data modelling

Omnichannel campaigns

Campaign QA

Data privacy

Education

Marketing/CRM degree

Tools

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Job description

Your Purpose

• Is to "change people's lives for the better through wellness";
• We deliver social wellness experiences that enable people to meet their personal wellness goals, through holistic physical, mental nutritional and social wellbeing.
• Design, build and improve operational CRM and MarTech solutions that support Virgin Active territories with complex member engagement requirements.
• Apply hands-on Braze, data, integration and journey design expertise to translate business needs into executable, compliant and scalable CRM solutions.
• Support the Group MarTech Manager by delivering high-quality technical execution, improving operational processes and identifying practical innovations that can be reused across territories.

Your Duties and Responsibilities

CRM Solution Design and Build

• Consult with territory, Product, Data, IT and Marketing stakeholders to understand member engagement needs and translate them into CRM solution designs.
• Design and build complex Braze journeys, segments, canvases, campaigns and triggered communications across email, SMS, WhatsApp, push and in-app channels.
• Create and maintain technical design specifications, journey maps, data requirements and operational documentation for assigned initiatives.
• Ensure designs follow global MarTech standards, naming conventions, contact policies, data privacy requirements and QA protocols.

Data, Integration and Personalisation Support

• Define operational data requirements, segmentation rules and trigger logic needed to deliver targeted and personalised member communications.
• Work with Data and Integration Engineers to troubleshoot data flows, API issues, event tracking and audience availability in Braze.
• Apply personalisation, dynamic content and audience selection logic to improve relevance and consistency across member journeys.
• Monitor data and platform issues affecting campaign execution, reporting or member experience and coordinate resolution.

Execution, QA and Optimisation

• Build, test, launch, monitor and optimise CRM programmes and campaigns in line with agreed delivery plans and release governance.
• Conduct QA on journeys, content assets, links, data selections, triggers, suppression rules and tracking before deployment.
• Analyse campaign and journey performance and recommend improvements to messaging, timing, segmentation and channel mix.
• Maintain a clear view of live journeys and their dependencies to support a coherent member conversation across territories.

Innovation and Team Support

• Identify opportunities to simplify processes, automate manual work and reuse templates or components across markets.
• Support proofs of concept for new Braze features, channels, integrations and personalisation use cases.
• Coach the CRM Solution Architect I on platform usage, journey build standards and technical troubleshooting.
• Contribute to Communities of Practice and Centre of Excellence activities led by the Global MarTech Manager.

Our Minimum Requirements

We can't live without...

• 5+ years technical CRM, marketing automation or MarTech experience in a member, customer or client relationship environment.
• 3+ years hands-on experience with Braze or a comparable platform such as Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
• Experience translating requirements into journey maps, solution designs, campaign builds and data selections.
• Experience working cross-functionally in an Agile or iterative delivery environment.
• Relevant tertiary qualification or certification in Marketing Technology, CRM, Information Technology, Data, Digital Marketing or equivalent experience.
• Braze certification or comparable customer engagement platform certification is advantageous.
• Braze or comparable CRM platform configuration, journey orchestration and reporting.
• CRM data models, segmentation, triggers, APIs, data feeds and system integration concepts.
• Omnichannel engagement channels including email, app, SMS, WhatsApp and in-app messaging.
• Campaign QA, release management, consent, compliance and data protection principles.
• Member lifecycle, engagement, retention and journey mapping practices.

Core Interpersonal Skills

• Emotional Intelligence- proven ability to anticipate the needs of others before they are voiced
• Active Listening- Able to genuinely hear concerns with the ability to defuse tense situations and ensuring members and staff feel heard and valued
• Cultural Awareness and Fluency- understand international norms, etiquette and diverse backgrounds to provide a welcoming environment for our international and VIP members
• Empathy - be able to understand, or and be aware of, someone else's feelings especially during stressful situations, such as travel delays or billing disputes

Operational & leadership Skills Required

• Attention to Detail, noticing the small things
• Resilience and Composure, be able to remain calm and optimistic under extreme pressure, during peak or periods or system failures
• Problem solving and conflict resolution - be able to turn challenges into opportunities by thinking and acting quickly to resolve issues before they impact a member’s experience
• Adaptability: be flexible to handle unpredictable shifts in processers, resource changes, last minute VIP guest arrivals, or sudden changes in event plans.
• Relatability - the capacity to connect with diverse stakeholders across all backgrounds
• Situational Awareness - constantly monitoring the environment to identify members who need support or help
• Curiosity- the ability to seek out and transform standard transactions into personalised stories and memorable experiences
• Time Management - the ability to efficiently meet stringent deadlines while maintaining a relaxed and unhurried demeanor for guests.
• Digital Fluency - must be proficient in new age technology and systems