Director of Retention Marketing at CALPAK in Gardena, CA

CALPAK is a Los Angeles-based travel lifestyle brand founded in 1989 on the belief that the right gear should make travel feel effortless, not like one more thing to plan around. From our earliest days as a luggage company to the design-forward, functional products we make today, we've built a loyal community of travelers who return to us trip after trip — and that loyalty is exactly what this role is built to deepen. We're looking for a Director of Retention to own CALPAK's lifecycle marketing engine, building and evolving the owned channel strategy that drives repeat purchase rate, customer lifetime value, and long-term engagement at every stage of the customer journey. This person will report directly to the Senior Director of Retention, lead and mentor the retention team, and serve as the lifecycle authority at CALPAK — bringing a data-driven, customer-obsessed perspective into every strategic decision, and partnering closely with Acquisition, Brand, Ecommerce, and Creative as a true peer.

Key Responsibilities:

Lifecycle & CRM Strategy

• Set strategic direction for lifecycle and CRM programs across email, SMS, loyalty, reviews, direct mail, and other owned channels, driving long-term revenue growth and customer lifetime value
• Develop an annual retention roadmap that translates business goals into quarterly initiatives, defines measurable success metrics, and clarifies departmental priorities
• Define the strategic vision for promotions and product launches across owned channels, ensuring lifecycle marketing is tightly integrated into every major moment on the calendar
• Prioritize CRM flows and campaigns across the full lifecycle, determining where to invest, what to test, and how to sequence and segment programs to drive the greatest impact on repeat purchase and LTV
• Champion brand advocacy through evergreen lifecycle content, building strategies that deepen emotional connection with CALPAK, reinforce brand identity, and turn customers into active advocates

Loyalty, Referral & Retention Programs

• Own the loyalty program strategy, designing a program that is genuinely differentiated and compelling, giving customers meaningful reasons to return and driving measurable improvements in LTV and repeat purchase rate
• Own the referral program strategy, building loops that drive incremental acquisition at an efficient cost
• Own the reviews strategy, building programs that generate authentic social proof, strengthen brand trust, and feed customer insights back into the broader retention and product strategy

Customer Intelligence & Strategy

• Serve as CALPAK's subject matter expert on retention and customer behavior, maintaining a data-backed point of view on program performance, knowing what drives customers to purchase and purchase again, and identifying opportunities for meaningful improvement across every stage of the journey
• Define the segmentation and personalization vision for the lifecycle program, setting the strategic framework that ensures every customer interaction is relevant, timely, and grounded in data
• Build systems to identify, understand, and engage CALPAK's core customer personas, ensuring messaging is tailored across channels and that meaningful shifts in persona behavior are surfaced quickly with a clear plan of action
• Forecast lifecycle revenue by evaluating historical performance and modeling future outcomes to inform strategy and assess business impact
• Own core retention KPIs, including LTV, RPR, and retention’s share of revenue by projecting and setting goals, building the measurement framework to track them, and driving the decisions that deliver results

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Partner cross-functionally with Acquisition, Brand, Ecommerce, and Creative teams to create a cohesive lifecycle marketing experience that attracts, converts, and retains customers
• Think beyond retention revenue, connecting the dots between lifecycle initiatives, brand health, acquisition efficiency, and broader business performance to ensure decisions are made with the full picture in mind
• Bring customer data and lifecycle insights into creative briefings, ensuring content is informed by what customers actually respond to
• Evaluate and evolve CALPAK's retention technology stack, ensuring the right tools are in place to improve scalability, performance, and ROI, and that the overall program reflects industry-leading lifecycle marketing standards

People Leadership

• Build and develop a best-in-class retention team, recruiting, growing, and retaining the talent needed to execute at the highest level while setting clear expectations, running consistent 1:1s, and actively investing in each person's career growth
• Foster a high-performance team culture where briefs are tight, decisions are data-backed, and the team executes with confidence and consistency
• Manage agency and technology partners with clear expectations and accountability across all retention programs
• Provide additional support as needed

Qualifications:

• 7+ years in retention, lifecycle, or CRM marketing, with 3+ years in a leadership or management role
• Deep expertise in email, SMS, and lifecycle automation (Klaviyo, Attentive, or equivalent)
• Experience with loyalty and referral program strategy, execution, and optimization
• Strong command of audience segmentation, personalization, and data-driven decision making
• Proficiency with analytics and reporting tools; you know the story behind every number and what to do next
• Experience managing and developing a team, as well as agency and technology partners
• DTC or e-commerce experience required; consumer product or lifestyle brand strongly preferred
• A builder's mentality, energized by creating structure, process, and clarity where it doesn't yet exist

Why CALPAK: Benefits & Perks:

• Annual bonus plan
• Medical, Dental & Vision insurance
• 401K w/ company matching
• Life insurance & Disability coverage
• Accrued paid time off & floating holidays
• Monthly wellness credits
• Dog friendly office
• Employee discount
• Benefits and incentive compensation may be subject to other requirements and conditions