Lifecycle & Retention Marketing Manager

The Global Talent Co.; South Africa; On-site; ZAR 540,000 - 760,000; Full time

Job summary

The Global Talent Co. is hiring a Lifecycle & Retention Marketing Manager to own the customer journey across email, SMS, loyalty, and retention programs.

This role sits at the center of our engagement strategy — you'll create personalized experiences that increase retention, repeat purchase rate, lifetime value, and brand loyalty. We’re looking for someone who combines strategy with hands-on execution: developing lifecycle strategy while executing campaigns, building automations, analyzing

Qualifications

• 3+ years of lifecycle marketing, e-commerce, or digital marketing with hands-on Shopify experience.
• Direct experience running email marketing flows—Klaviyo experience preferred.
• Direct experience running e-commerce loyalty programming.
• Balance hands-on execution with big-picture strategic thinking.

Responsibilities

• Own the email marketing calendar — promotional campaigns, product launches, seasonal initiatives, and automated customer journeys.
• Build, deploy, and optimize lifecycle flows: welcome series, abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase, replenishment, win-back, and re-engagement.
• Segment audiences to improve relevance, engagement, and revenue.
• Continuously test subject lines, creative, offers, content, timing, and targeting.
• Monitor email deliverability, list health, and subscriber engagement.
• Develop and manage the SMS program, including campaigns and automated flows.
• Own the loyalty and rewards program — strategy, execution, and ongoing optimization.
• Optimize end-to-end customer journeys from first purchase through long-term loyalty.
• Collaborate with SEO and content teams to align organic and paid search strategies.

Skills

Email marketing

SMS marketing

Loyalty programs

Lifecycle marketing

Data analytics

A/B testing

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing

Tools

Klaviyo

Shopify

SEO tools

AI tools

Job description

Lifecycle & Retention Marketing Manager

Location: Remote
Type: Full-time

About the Role

We're a fast-growing DTC health & wellness brand looking for a Lifecycle & Retention Marketing Manager to own the customer journey across email, SMS, loyalty, and retention programs. This role sits at the center of our customer engagement strategy — you'll create personalized experiences that increase retention, repeat purchase rate, lifetime value, and brand loyalty.

We're looking for someone who's both a strategist and an operator: someone who can develop lifecycle strategy while also executing campaigns, building automations, analyzing customer behavior, and optimizing performance. You'll partner closely with Ecommerce, Paid Media, Customer Experience, and Creative to make sure customers get the right message at the right time.

What You'll Do

Email Marketing

• Own the email marketing calendar — promotional campaigns, product launches, seasonal initiatives, and automated customer journeys
• Build, deploy, and optimize lifecycle flows: welcome series, abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase, replenishment, win-back, and re-engagement
• Segment audiences to improve relevance, engagement, and revenue
• Continuously test subject lines, creative, offers, content, timing, and targeting
• Monitor email deliverability, list health, and subscriber engagement

SMS Marketing

• Develop and manage the SMS program, including campaigns and automated flows
• Ensure SMS and email work together as one cohesive lifecycle strategy
• Grow and maintain a healthy, compliant SMS subscriber list

Loyalty & Retention

• Own the loyalty and rewards program — strategy, execution, and ongoing optimization
• Build initiatives that drive retention, repeat purchases, referrals, and LTV
• Create lifecycle campaigns tied to loyalty milestones, rewards, VIP tiers, birthdays, and anniversaries
• Monitor loyalty performance and recommend enhancements based on customer behavior and results
• Partner with Customer Experience and Ecommerce to create a seamless loyalty experience

AIO/SEO Optimization

• Optimize product, collection, and content pages for both traditional SEO and AI-driven search/discovery
• Monitor how the site and products surface in search engines and AI tools (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity), adjusting content and structure accordingly
• Keep site structure, metadata, and content optimized for crawlability and machine-readable answers
• Collaborate with content and paid ads teams to align organic and paid search strategies

Customer Lifecycle Strategy

• Develop and optimize end-to-end customer journeys from first purchase through long-term loyalty
• Identify customer segments and lifecycle opportunities using behavioral and transactional data
• Build personalized lifecycle programs based on customer needs, interests, and purchase history
• Create strategies to reduce churn and increase engagement
• Partner with acquisition teams for a seamless prospect-to-customer transition

Who You Are

• Passionate about health and wellness, motivated by helping people live healthier lives
• Driven by metrics and growth, with a constant curiosity to improve performance
• Comfortable moving fast in a high-growth, fast-paced environment
• Deeply curious about consumer decision-making and how small details shape the user journey
• A self-starter who stays on top of digital marketing and AI/search trends

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in lifecycle marketing, e-commerce, or digital marketing, with hands-on Shopify experience required
• Direct experience running email marketing flows — Klaviyo experience preferred
• Direct experience running e-commerce loyalty programming
• Ability to balance hands-on execution with big-picture strategic thinking
• Strong attention to detail and a proactive, ownership-driven approach to problem-solving
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to collaborate cross-functionally (especially with the Paid Ads Manager and broader marketing team)
• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Digital Marketing, or a related field, or equivalent experience

Technical Skills

• Comfortable working across both the front-end and back-end of a website
• Deep understanding of the Shopify ecosystem, including apps and integrations
• At ease in email marketing platforms (e.g., Klaviyo), both designing and executing campaigns, plus experience with SMS marketing tools
• Comfortable with numbers, analytics, and attribution modeling to inform decisions
• Strong grasp of the technical back-end, paired with an obsession for front-end polish and brand alignment
• Experience building landing pages for paid advertising campaigns